2019

Early Spring Bloomers

When moving to daylight saving time, the clock was turned one hour ahead, thus seemingly prolonging the daylight time. Also, the coldness that can still be felt at night is slowly stepping away. Plants are waking up from their winter sleep. Those who like maple sap have already had their harvest, while those who prefer birch sap have to harry up because buds are ready to grow and blossom.

Immediately after awakening, hazel trees are rushing to bloom. This year, their small female flowers could be seen already at the end of February. A little later, when the pioneers hazel trees were generously blooming all over Latvia, alders joined them. The wind is now carrying and spreading hazel and alder pollen. Willows and osiers open very early and are preparing to bloom.

Soon after snow has melted, the mezereum starts blooming with fragrant, small flowers. Around the same time, the bright yellow coltsfoot can be spotted on sunny slopes. However, the leaves of these flowers are not in rush and will only blossom after flowering.

The most attentive visitors will find the liverleaf in forests. Other early bloomers usually wait until it gets a little warmer.

Among them there is the aspen, then gradually also the birch. Anemones are also beginning to bloom relatively early. These flowers will bloom richly until late June.

While tree leaves are not yet blossomed, the anemone nemorosa is already joined by the yellow anemone. The rare (and therefore protected) pulsatilla patens is also among the early bloomers. The yellow star-of-Bethlehem is also a common early flowering spring plant.

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Early bloomers

In the warmer days of spring, cotton-grass rushes to flower its buds. The marsh-marigold grows and blossoms early in wet and humid areas.

One will often spot the alternate-leaved golden-saxifrage in the bushes against the grey background. In spring, we can see the common toothwort - a parasite plant, which does not have a green coloured surface part. The flowers of these plants are pink. The common toothwort sucks nutrients from adjacent bushes (hazel trees) or trees, mostly linden trees, attaching to the roots of these host plants with their special root suckers.

Many violet species also belong to the early bloomers, while some violets are also blooming until the autumn cold.

As May is approaching it is the time of maple trees, dandelions and wood-sorrels. Spring is turning towards the other side.