It’s been a winter of extremes for many of us – very mild here in Germany with practically no snow, extremely wet and windy in the UK with serious flooding for many, and then freeezing temperatures in the north of the US and Canada for most of this year so far, not to mention the horrible drought in California…
I just hope spring will be a little kinder – to everyone. Having said that, March came in like a lamb here… does that mean it will go out like a lion? Hope not!
It may not be spring officially yet, but this signifies spring to me…
Hepatica nobilis
Hepatica nobilis, also known as Anemone hepatica, is one of the first native plants to flower here. And when I see its petals unfurling my heart does a somersault and I feel like jumping up and down jump up and down with happiness!
(Click on this picture to admire those perfectly pretty colours at the centre more closely)
Liverwort is actually not a very attractive common name, but it does at least remind us of the distinctive foliage. One of its many common names in German dialect is Haselblume – “hazel flower” – which I rather like as it appears when the hazel is also in flower.
I can relate to this plant so well – its petals furl back up when it rains and at night. Very sensible.
My post on Hepaticas from 2012 can be seen here: Hepatica nobilis
And here is something that may be of interest to any British readers:
“Hepatica 2014” at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Sunday 16th March
I also discovered this wonderful website: www.hepatica.eu Take a look at the wonderful slideshows – I had no idea there are so many different ones!
Picture from Wikimedia Commons
Do you like Hepaticas too?
Happy March!
😀
Cathy, I’ve admired your Hepatica for a couple of years now and just learned last week we have some native Hepatica in North Carolina. I’ve only seen pictures but am looking for the real thing. Happy March to you!
It is hard to find plants here too, but I will have to look harder as they do like our soil here. And there are so many American ones I would like too!
Such a pretty flower – wish they would grow for me here. They just don’t seem to like my garden so I’ll have to make do with your lovely photos!.
Thanks Sarah. When I noticed how well they grow in the wild here I knew they’d like a certain position in my garden too – dry, on the edge of woodland, poor and chalky soil, and sloping, so well-drained. Not many plants like all those things, so I’m very lucky! I bet they’d be fine in pots too, so might try that if I find some more varieties this year.
I’m not sure I’ve seen these before. So pretty!
Huge clumps of these grow in the woods near us, and they smell wonderful – wish I could bottle that perfume!
Hi Cathy, the Hepatica are lovely, I love the color! They are a really beautiful native plant for you, I have never seen them in my area. We do have a lot of wild flowers growing on the mountain but nothing like your Hepatica. I like them a lot!! 🙂
There might be some native to your area too… The wild ones here are all blue, but pinks and white are also posssible. If you have some limestone near you they love that kind of soil.
Hi Cathy, not any lime stone around us here that I know of. It turned cold on us again today, 27 F right now with light snow. 😦 I want to the snow to go away!
Do you like Hepaticas too? Of course I do. Happy March to you my friend….I’m jumping up and down with you! 😀
I jumped again today… a spring iris opened! Hope your spring is underway too. 😀
I’d say the daffodils here ought to signify spring, but we had them by the end of January, so maybe not!
That’s a beautiful flower, and it looks like it’s got some sun shining on it? Lucky you!
Yes, we have had some sun the past few days – on and off, but so welcome. My daffs still need a few weeks I think… or perhaps the squirrel has had them all!
Yes, I like them 🙂 Happy March to you!
Thanks Uta. Do you have a favourite spring flower?
Always the one, I just see. Right now I can see crocus in front of my window and I do remember the scent of Jasmine
Yes, I love them, I bought three, one white, one blue and one pink, they only survived one year here, never to be seen again!
Some of mine haven’t reappeared over the years, but I put that down to me disturbing them with summer planting, or the fact that they weren’t always natives. I can always go a few paces into the woods though, and there are hundreds of them! I think they like well-drained sunny slopes under trees best.
Yes! We have beautiful ones in South Caroliana too: Hepatica acutiloba and Hapatica americana. They’re among our earliest woodland bloomers, usually white flowers but sometimes pale pink or lavender. I hear they have just begun to open, but I haven’t been able to get away for a hike this week. Yours is a real eye catcher!
Glad you can see them in your part of the world too Marian! (And hope you can get out to see some wildflowers this spring) 😀
The colour is beautiful, looks more like the blossom on a tree. I wish I could grow it but most Heptaticas like cool soil don’t they?
I suppose so. They like a proper winter and well-drained chalky soil, on the edge of the woods especially. The wild ones always seem to grow on wooded slopes. They are a bit choosy though, unlike the violets that have multiplied like mad – I can see violet leaves everywhere!
I see Hepatica noblis are native european. I would love some for the garden so it should be a good time to look for them on sale. Do you know if any bees in particular like them?
The bees do like them, but I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you which type of bee. We have only seen the ones on the hazel so far, and they are what I call honey bees. I think hepaticas would like your soil too – it’s chalky isn’t it?
I couldn’t ask for more from them and all this area is limestone although I have never done a proper test to the garden soil.
That’s such a pretty little sign of spring for sure!! Oh, how I wish we had some of that.. any tiny blade of grass would do:)
Oh Barbara, I wish I could send you one of these flowers! Hope you get some warmer weather soon!
Funny I said almost the same thing on my Facebook page 🙂
I have a birthday and surgery and a 2 huge fundraisers for our garden club sadly I will be so busy creating pretty things, growing seeds I many not notice much of my weather 🙂 Have a great week Cathy!
HUGS
Eunice
Great minds think alike, as they say! 😉 So your surgery is this month? I wish you all the best Eunice. Hugs to you too! Let’s hope all that snow and ice has melted by then. It’s so mild here still – so good to get outside in my garden again! Have a great week too Eunice!
What a sweet flower, I love it! Especially that blue color. There is also an American Hepatica (H. americana) that is similar. The flowers can be blue, lavender, or white. It is called liver leaf or just hepatica.
I love the American ones too – I think the fact that it’s one of the first to bloom makes it special. And mine’s a native wild flower too. 😀
Such an amazing colour! They just look so fresh and cheerful! 🙂
You’re right – they just shout out that spring is here! 😀
The lavender color is just so beautiful! I haven’t seen this little flower before. It’s delicate and very appealing, Cathy! Our March did come in like a lion! Storms! But since they were so welcomed, it was a friendly lion. 🙂 I think we’re all starved for a little spring color no matter where we live. And I, too, can’t believe it’s already March. My goodness that almost scares me. LOL!
I spent so long waiting for sprng to arrive now I know it will fly by far too quickly! LOL! If the sun comes out again tomorrow I shall see what other colour I can find out there. It’s great to be outdoors gardening again!
Spring ist coming 😉 I hope we’ll have some warmer temperatures and lots of sunshine soon!
The forecast is looking good for the weekend Simone! 😉
Yaayyyy!
I adore my native hepaticas…can’t wait to see them. March came in like a lamb here too.
I would love to see pictures of your Hepaticas Donna. Hope your snow is melting!