Pasqueflower 2010

It was a gray and chilly Tuesday morning—perfect for gardening—and volunteers met up at Chautauqua at 9 to play in dirt.

Gardening at ChautauquaWe tackled the small stuff: tiny dandelions, not-yet-out-of-control curly dock, a few hardy sprigs of creeping bellflower.

I spent much of the first hour just looking—training my eyes to distinguish the natives from the invasives, memorizing placement of valuables like wild iris. All the shoots are small and green, and at this early stage of spring, it takes an educated eye to tell the friendly from the aggressive ones.

Imagine my surprise when I suddenly spotted right under my nose the first pasqueflowers of the season! I had been staring at this piece of ground for an hour or more before I saw them.

Pasqueflower 2010Pasqueflowers are famous for the tiny hairs, the furry surface, they present to the sky to preserve their tissue-paper petals and lancelike leaves from getting iced by spring snows. Here is the post I wrote about them a year ago.

In another day or two the blooms will be wide open, their whitish interiors framing a crown of golden stamens. Ahhh! When I see pasqueflowers, I know spring is finally here.

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4 Responses to Pasqueflower 2010

  1. Debbie Mihal says:April 22, 2010 at 10:33 am

    So that’s what the fuzz on those flowers is for! I wouldn’t have guessed.

  2. Kathleen Christensen says:April 23, 2010 at 9:23 am

    Saw my first (and, so far, only) pasqueflowers of the season on the McClintock Trail last Sunday, up near where it meets the Mesa Trail. They’re so lovely! Going to go read your other post about them …

  3. Priscilla Stuckey, PhD says:April 24, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    Debbie, who knows what else the fuzz is for! This is just what botanists have told me. Wouldn’t it be crazy if we somehow discovered that flowers smell (or whatever) through their fuzz?

  4. Priscilla Stuckey, PhD says:April 24, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    Kathleen, I’ve been haunting the McClintock Trail too but didn’t make it there this week. I feel happy knowing the pasqueflowers are there!