EARLY Bloomers

Anxious to see spring blooms? Look for these plants that come into flower in early spring.

1. BLUET: These four-part flowers have pale blue petals and a yellow center. Stems are up to 8 inches tall with one flower per stalk. Bluets thrive in moist acidic soils in shady areas, growing especially well among grasses in the Eastern part of the U.S.

2. BLOODROOT: This delicate bloom has 8 to 12 white petals, many yellow stamens and two sepals below the petals, which fall off after the flowers open. The Bloodroot flowers open in sunlight.

3. COLTSFOOT: Often found in colonies of dozens of plants, coltsfoot has flowers that resemble dandelions. The leaves, which appear after the flowers have set seed, wither and die in the early summer.

4. GHOST FLOWER: These cup-shaped flowers are native to the U.S. Southwest. The blooms are up to 1.5 inches long; the corolla is white to pale yellow, flecked with maroon spots, with a more extensive reddish patch at the base.

5. SNOWDROP: The plants have two linear leaves and a single small white drooping bell-shaped flower with six petal-like tepals in two circles. Most species flower in winter, before the 20th of March, but some flower in early spring.

6. SPRING BEAUTY: This trailing plant grows to 2–16 inches tall. The flowers are usually ¼ to ½ inch in diameter with five pale pink or white petals that reflect UV light. The individual flowers bloom for three days, although the five stamens on each flower are only active for a single day. Flowering occurs between March and May, depending on location within its range and the weather.