Winter Aconite
I sowed some wildflower seed today with the expectation of snow tonight, and found not only lots of snowdrop in flower, but also winter aconite (Eranthus hymalis).  These little bulbs are the true harbingers of spring. They thrust through matted leaf litter and mulch with surprising gusto to carpet the ground with color and catch the early-spring sunlight before trees and shrubs have leafed out. Their arrival depends on seasonal temperatures, but bloom time can be anywhere from early February through the end of March, depending on the region and severity of winter.

	Often described as spring ephemerals, the little bulbs thrive in the cool, damp days of early spring and vanish before other plants have upstaged them.  In their short life, they offer enormous pleasure.
	The winter aconite greets you with cheery, cup-shaped, lemon-yellow flowers sitting atop collars of frilly, bright green leaves.  A member of the buttercup family and a native of open woodlands in southern Europe, it grows four inches tall from underground tubers. The knobby, dormant tubers are tiny when planted, but they quickly form large colonies, particularly in high-alkaline soils.
	I purchased 100 tiny bulbs from Shemin's Nursery about 12-years ago and had significant mortality (probably due to our high-acid soils), so it was nice to find a few today.  I found it in a riparian woodland strip along our stream in our back field in a place where I will typically see coltsfoot, spring beauty, may-apple,Christmas fern and joe-pye weed.
	I expect the six-petaled flower to be under snow by tomorrow, but at peak bloom within the next two-weeks.  Cool!