It’s a bit early for wildflowers season, but they are starting to show.

I had caught glimpses of them earlier in the week, so I headed out today to catch some wildflowers.

First up, is the beautiful Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis). I spotted these in a local landscape and the early weekend rains had just stopped. The beautiful brown bark is glistening with water and big drops are hanging off the blooms.

Redbuds are small native trees which look fantastic in our landscape. The flowers appear before the tree has leafed out and it makes for a lovely display. I frequently see them growing wild and looking just as nice, so I know they are well-adapted and require little care.

Eastern Redbud

The Dewberries (Rubus trivialis) are also blooming right now. I spotted these beside a small creek to which I hiked down. They form thick sprawling mounds of stems and lie close to the ground.

I found this nice arrangement of flowers, with the top one not quite open yet. The petals are delicate and papery. Not all our wildflowers are brightly colored. The dewberries are striking and they’re a simple white.

Dewberry

I’m not sure, but I think these are Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum). These are not native plants. I saw them growing in someone’s front yard and I could tell they had mowed around them. They formed a neat spattering of purple color against the lawn green.

Grape Hyacinth