Native Plants for Your Garden
Spring Ephemerals
“All through the long winter I dream of my garden.
On the first warm day of Spring I dig my fingers deep into
the soft earth. I can feel its energy and my spirts soar.”
Helen Hays, 1992
(A year before her death at age 93)
These are a few of the familiar woodland species that usually begin flowering in mid-March. They are called ephemeral because they bloom for a short time and then go dormant. Unless noted, the plants discussed here are native to Prince William County’s deciduous forests and are easy to grow in a woodland garden with similar growing conditions: sun before the trees leaf out, and a humus-rich, moist, well-drained, slightly acid soil. Drier soil and shade after they go dormant by early summer will be fine for most species.
Most will self-sow, and all can be transplanted as they’re going dormant. Since many of these plants are small, give them a prominent location beside a path, or nestled against a tree trunk, or at the front of a woodland bed where they can be appreciated. Include native companions such as ferns, foamflower, wild geranium and phlox that will fill in after the ephemerals have disappeared but won’t crowd them out. Unless noted, all are available at local plant sales or from local or mail order native plant nurseries.
Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) has 3-6” grass-like foliage and small, delicate five-petaled white or pink flowers. Flower petals are lined with darker pink to rose pollinator lines that direct small native cuckoo, mining and sweat bees, as well as bumblebees and flies, to its nectar and pollen. It’s the host plant for the specialist Spring Beauty Mining Bee. Specialist bees are usually uncommon or rare, but this is one of the top ten most common bee species in Mt. Cuba’s 2018-2019 Native Bee Survey. Plants will spread to cover large areas. Mulch with a very light covering of chopped leaves because a thick layer can smother these low-growing plants. Spring Beauty was the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS) 1990 Wildflower of the Year.
Dwarf Larkspur (Delphinium tricorne) has quickly become a favorite spring ephemeral since a friend gave me a start a few years ago. This uncommon, but not rare, species is surprisingly easy to grow in woodland gardens. It grows naturally in nearby Fairfax County as well as a few western and other scattered Virginia counties. Beautiful dark blue-purple flowering stalks are 12-16” tall with typical delphinium cut-leaf foliage. Plants set seed after pollination by the bumblebees and small miner and carpenter bees that visit them for nectar. They can be transplanted at this time, and then they quickly go dormant. Plants seed around nicely but never invasively. Unlike most spring ephemerals that are okay in dry summer soil, Dwarf Larkspur needs moisture throughout the year. Since plants are hard to find in nurseries, I’m happy to share seeds with anyone who wants to try growing them.
Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) has low-growing, bluish-green, ferny foliage and clusters of pantaloon-shaped white flowers on 10” stalks. Plant them in areas that won’t be disturbed because their tiny pink tubers grow close to the soil surface. Plants grow naturally in slightly alkaline soil but have spread nicely in my slightly acid garden soil. Flowers are a nectar source for bumblebees and small mason, digger, and mining bees. Foliage persists long after the flowers have disappeared.
Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) has formed large carpets of maroon-mottled foliage in several spots in my garden. The occasional appearance of a lovely miniature yellow lily with backward curved petals on a 6-8” stem is a source of joy and a cause for celebration. The foliage on most of the plants in my garden is single-leaved, and I’ve learned that only mature plants with two leaves will produce a flower. I recently learned that dividing clumps will encourage flowering and that mulching plants with a thick layer of leafmold will keep them moist and delay dormancy, which allows them to store more energy so next year’s clumps will be larger and will bloom more profusely. Erythronium umbilicatum, also native throughout Virginia, is more likely to form nice blooming clumps. Plants will need consistent moisture through the summer and fall. Trout Lilies are a nectar source for bumblebees and small mason and mining bees, and their pollen supports the rare Trout Lily Mining Bee. Trout-lily was the 2003 Wildflower of the Year.
Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), a favorite and easily recognized spring ephemeral, was VNPS’s first Wildflower of the Year (1989), and, thanks to efforts by Prince William Wildflower Society’s Nancy Vehrs, is the official flower of Prince William County. It’s one of the earliest ephemerals to appear with clumps of gray-green foliage that soon gives rise to drooping 12” clusters of porcelain blue bells. Buds are pink, and an occasional pink flower will appear among the blue. I have a patch of alba, the white-flowered species. Foliage is a caterpillar host for a moth species, and flowers are a nectar source for butterflies, moths, digger, and mason bees. Most spring ephemerals go dormant unobtrusively, but bluebell foliage yellows slowly and should be left until you can remove it by tugging gently.
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) gets its common and botanical names from thick, reddish rhizomes. It blooms very early with bright white daisy-like flowers with 8-12 petals wrapped in gray-green leaves. Flowers prolong their life by closing at night and on cloudy days. The deeply lobed foliage continues to expand after the flowers have faded, and, with sufficient moisture, are attractive well into summer. Plants are pollinated by small mining and sweat bees. All except very young plants produce eliasome-rich seeds that are dispersed by ants. Bloodroot was 2005’s Wildflower of the Year.
As my plants start blooming, I’ll be watching closely to see if I can spot any small native bees visiting them for nectar and pollen. I’m unlikely to see the very rare specialist bees that some species support, but one can hope. Apps such as iNaturalist should help with identification.
Photo: Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) by Eric Hunt, Wikipedia
Nancy Arrington
Centennial Garden Club
March 14, 2024
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