by Leslie Cox; March 28, 2016

Ephemerals have been on my mind lately. I have added a description of one, Corydalis solida, to the “Plants We Grow” section under “In the Garden”.

Speaking botanically, an ephemeral plant is one which spends most of the year underground, only appearing for a brief part of the year to flower and set seed.

Technically, my corydalis is what is called a spring ephemeral because it comes up in early spring, produces flowers, sets seeds, and dies back…all before the real onset of summer can get underway.

Another spring ephemeral in our garden is Anemone nemerosa, or wood anemone. I love this plant! Especially the cultivar A. n. ‘Robinsoniana’ which forms a mat of dainty, fern-like leaves. As I write this blog entry, the flower buds are appearing on their single stems with some beginning to open up now the sun has begun to shine in earnest. In a few days, the whole mass will be ablaze with the delightful bluish-mauve blossoms. And the floral display will last for almost a full two months before the petals drop and the seed pods become pregnant with another generation of plants.

We also have the double, white-flowered wood anemone, A. n. ‘Alba Plena’. This one is a little taller than ‘Robinsoniana’, but not by much. It also does not form a uniform mat like ‘Robinsoniana’…although this may be due to its location in deep shade in a border on the north side of house. ‘Robinsoniana’ gets sun for most of the day…when the sun comes out. However, the absolute purity of the double white blossoms on ‘Alba Plena’ more than makes up for its inability to create a solid carpet of green finery.

Other spring ephemerals are the crocuses, tulips, and daffodils which grace many gardens in early spring. Such bright and cheery harbingers of a much fuller floral display to come in summer…which is why these spring bulbs will all disappear pretty soon after their petals drop to make room for the summer perennials.

I have just mentioned a very few ephemeral plants…as examples of what the biological term means.  Enjoy a walkabout your spring garden and see if you can spot some others.