Mid April Flowers
April 20, 2019 by New Hampshire Garden Solutions
I had given up on finding any coltsfoot flowers (Tussilago farfara) last week and then there they were, blooming in a roadside ditch. I was thinking that I was just too early but a 70 degree day must have triggered their bloom. But not only them; many flowers appeared literally overnight.
From a distance a coltsfoot blossom might look like a dandelion but the flowers are often smaller than dandelions and they are usually flat, rather than the mounded shape of a dandelion. But the real clincher is the stem, which is scaly like that seen here. Dandelion stems are smooth.
They’re very pretty little flowers but they aren’t with us long. Depending on the weather and how hot it gets I’ve seen them disappear in two weeks. Coltsfoot is native to Europe and Asia and was brought here by early settlers. It has been used medicinally for centuries and another name for it is coughwort.
I went to the place where spring beauties grow last Saturday afternoon and though I saw a plant or two I didn’t see a single blossom. Then on Sunday, less than 24 hours later, there were 5 or 6 blossoms so it has started, and soon there will be thousands of them carpeting the forest floor. They’re such small flowers; each one is only slightly bigger than an aspirin, but there is a lot of beauty packed into a small package. For me spring isn’t really here until I hear the sad fee-bee mating call of the black capped chickadee and see these beautiful little flowers. Now I’ve seen and heard both and there’s no turning back; spring is in my bones.
Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) gets its common name from the way chickens peck at it. The plant is in the mint family and apparently chickens like it. The amplexicaule part of the scientific name means clasping and describes the way the hairy leaves clasp the stem. The plant is a very early bloomer and blooms throughout winter in warmer areas. Henbit is from Europe and Asia, but I can’t say that it’s invasive because I rarely see it. I’ve read that the leaves, stem, and flowers are edible and have a slightly sweet and peppery flavor. It can be eaten raw or cooked.
Fly honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis) is one of our earliest blooming shrubs and one that not many people see unless they walk in early spring. This example that I saw recently had pink tipped buds but no flowers yet. I’d guess it would be blooming today, but as always that depends on the weather. It’s unusual flowers are joined in pairs and if pollinated they become small, red orange, oval, pointed end berries that are also joined in pairs. The flowers form on branch ends of small shrubs and many songbirds love the berries, so it would be a great addition to a wildlife garden. Look for the flowers at the end of April on the shaded edges of woods.
Red maples (Acer rubrum) are still blooming heavily and their bloom is staggered over thousands of trees, so some years it seems to go on and on. This photo is of the thread like female stigmas that catch the pollen from male trees. Soon they will become seeds; millions of them.
I found a red maple with many thousands of male flowers all blooming at once and for the first time I smelled their sweet fragrance. I had to actually put my nose right into a bud cluster to make sure the fragrance was coming from them, and it was. This tree was amazing, and just look at all that pollen.
I wish everyone could see and smell a red maple in bloom. It’s something they wouldn’t soon forget.
This box elder, another member of the maple family, was just opening its buds. Box elders (Acer negundo) have beautiful lime green female flowers and I can’t wait to show them to you.
American elm trees (Ulmus americana) are also flowering, as this shot of the male flowers shows. Though both male and female flowers appear in the same cluster on elms I didn’t see any female flowers on this example, which was one of only a handful that I could reach. Female flowers are white and wispy like feathers and male flowers have 7 to 9 stamens with dark reddish anthers. Each male flower is about 1/8 of an inch across and dangles at the end of a long flower stalk (Pedicel.)
Willows (Salix) are another plant that decided to bloom overnight. Last week these buds were still gray and fuzzy and showed no color at all. Now both male and female flowers are everywhere. These are the male blossoms seen here. They’re the showiest.
The female willow blossoms were just showing color last week and here they are on the same plant already becoming seed pods. Once it starts it happens fast, so if you want to see spring in all its wondrous forms you really have to be outside each day.
Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) was trying but still wasn’t looking much like cabbage to me. I hope I can find some of the fruit this year. I’ve never seen one and I’m guessing that their rarity must be due to most of the flowers not being pollinated.
I recently said that I thought an in-ground sprinkler system installed last fall at a local park must have destroyed the only striped squill (Puschkinia scilloides, var. libanotica) that I know of, but last weekend they were all up and blooming beautifully. Since blue is my favorite color I’m very happy to see them. But I don’t see many; they border on rare here and I hardly ever see them. Though catalogs will tell you that the blue stripes are found only on the inside of the blossom they actually go through each petal and show on the outside as well as the inside, as the unopened buds will show. The flowers on this spring flowering bulb are about the same size as the scilla (Scilla siberica) flowers I think most of us are familiar with. They’re beautiful little things.
These are the first Forsythia blossoms I’ve seen this spring but they certainly won’t be the last. Soon they’ll be blooming on every street in the region. Overused? Yes, but try to imagine spring without them.
The Cornelian cherries (Cornus mas) are hedging their bets and waiting just a little longer before opening their small, waxy yellow flowers. I’d guess another week before we see them.
Bees have suddenly appeared and though this one wouldn’t pose for the camera I think it was a honeybee. I haven’t seen a bumblebee yet but I have seen hoverflies and many other insects.
Magnolias have also started to bloom, with only a handful of blossoms on each tree. This one had beautiful deep pink buds which opened to paler pink flowers.
The pretty white crocuses with purple on the outsides of their petals are still blooming but this will probably be the last time we’ll see them this year. Last week I saw a bed with hundreds of crocuses blossoming in it and by this week they had almost all gone by.
Daffodils of all color combinations have just started blooming.
As I said earlier I’m afraid it might be time to say goodbye to crocuses already so I’ll end this post with this little beauty. For a flower that is with us for such a short time their impact seems huge. They’re another flower that it’s hard to imagine going without in spring.
The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full of flowers. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Thanks for stopping in.
Posted in General gardening | Tagged American Fly Honeysuckle, Box Elder Buds, Canon SX40 HS, Coltsfoot, Cornelian Cherry Buds, Crocus, Daffodils, Early Spring Plants, First Bee, Forsythia Blossom, Henbit, Keene, Magnolia, Native Plants, Nature, New Hampshire, NH, Olympus Stylus TG-870, Red Maple Flowers, Skunk Cabbage, Spring, Spring Beauty, Striped Squill, Swanzey New Hampshire, Willow Flowers | 33 Comments
I’ve been seeing Spring Beauties here in Tennessee. Love the pics of the red maples.
Thanks! It must be warm in Tennessee!
Yes, it was.
Nice to see your crocuses! I had a few come up here but before I got any pictures the deer ate every one of them.
That’s too bad. I didn’t know they ate them!
I just love your blog. I moved from Milwaukee, WI to Boston last summer and your writing and photos are really helping me feel at home out east here. Just lovely.
Thanks very much. You’re a little warmer in Bostan than we are but most of what you see here you should also find in Massachusetts.
I’m glad I helped you feel at home. I think you’ll find that people are pretty nice in New England. Welcome!
At last, at last!
Yes!
Spring’s here. The earth awakens and smiles in flowers.
Finally!
My heart is SINGING….JOY….JOY…JOY…
Many thanks
I’m glad to hear that. Mine too!
So many colourful blooms in this post, Allen, I am happy Spring has arrived in New Hampshire!
Thank you Clare, I hope the same is true for your area!
Yes, thank you, Allen. We are much warmer all of a sudden and the plants and trees have responded beautifully!
That’s great!
I love those little white crocuses with the purple outside but the whole post was full of spring joy.
Thank you. It’s hard to have a bad day in the spring.
Cheshire County is looking a little prettier than Strafford right now. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank you Judy, I’m sure your turn will come before long now that it’s finally warmer.
Coltsfoot does look like dandelion at first, very nice. I don’t think I have smelled a red maple blossom, I’ll have to give one a sniff soon. We have had a few more wildflowers blooming closer to home. Bloodroot, hepatica, Marsh Marigold, toothwort…It has still been cool. As you say things can pop up fast. Thanks for letting us seeing what’s blooming in your state.
Thanks Chris! Check out the male red maple flowers. I never smelled them either but this tree just about knocked me over with it’s sweet fragrance.
I haven’t seen any of the flowers you mention yet but marsh marigolds and bloodroot should be along any day now.
Happy spring!
Thank you for going outside so often on behalf of those of us who cannot.
You’re welcome Joyce. I’ve heard from quite a few housebound folks over the years and they are one of the reasons this blog has gone on as long as it has.
Take care, and be well.
Your tree flower photos are excellent! They remind me of this book written by Nancy Ross Hugo – Seeing Trees: Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees. The photographs in the book were taken by Robert Llewellyn. Thanks for posting, Marie 🙂
Thanks very much Marie, that sounds like a great book. I love books like that so I’ll have to look for it!
I tried to imagine spring without forsythia, but I couldnt!! Do you cut stems to bring inside and force in February? In spring I always make my bulb order for fall and it says “more crocuses”. The joy they bring is certainly disproportionate to their size, isn’t it? Wish I could show you a pic of my black maple (acer nigrum), which is a marvelous combo of bright yellow flowers and emerging burgundy leaves, all at the same time – stunning! Thanks for making me look closer, Allen. Enjoy your finally advancing wildflowers 😊.
Thank you Ginny. I used to force Forsythia every spring but I haven’t done it in a long time. Pussy willows are fun to force too, but then of course nobody else gets to see them.
Yes, crocuses and other spring bulbs do bring people much joy. It’s something almost everybody talks about here.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black maple but from your description I wish I could. Its flowering habit sounds a lot like box elder, which is just starting to flower now.
I think looking closer makes our whole life experience that much more beautiful and I wish I had started doing so long before I did!
Happy spring!
Thank you so much. If you have seen all this, we can’t be far behind up here in Maine!
On Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 4:13 AM New Hampshire Garden Solutions wrote:
> New Hampshire Garden Solutions posted: ” I had given up on finding any > coltsfoot flowers (Tussilago farfara) last week and then there they were, > blooming in a roadside ditch. I was thinking that I was just too early but > a 70 degree day must have triggered their bloom. But not only them; many” >
Thank you Christy. I hope spring comes to Maine soon. Just a little warmth and it can happen quickly.
Splendid quote you chose which describes your post accurately. Loved all that colour.
Thank you Susan. That’s one of my favorite quotes but of course I can’t use it very often.
I’m hoping I can show you plenty of color from now on!