signs of spring (5 of 6)

Delicate bloodroot is the very first of the woodland spring ephemerals to bloom every year. Sometime hepatica gets there first. Together they announce the season of spring ephemerals: The short window of spring wildflowers that take advantage of the leafless trees for the sunshine they need to bloom. It’s a fleeting season, and all the more precious for it.

bloodroot: spring woodland flower (Sanguinaria canadensis)