These short-lived flowers, which are the first to bloom each year, are the reason I love spring best. They’re such a fun sight after a long winter.

Rue anemone’s purple swirled leaves just after emergence:

Two weeks later, the leaves are green and there are more flowers than previous years:

Only one or two hepatica flowers opened – they’ve never bloomed well in our garden:

Its leaves always look nice after the flowers are done, though:

Tiny, delicate spring beauty:

Merry little bellworts:

Wild ginger with its strange little flowers hidden under its big leaves:

These violets are native, but I know how much they spread, so I attempted to contain them when I moved some to the front yard by planting them in a pot:

That apparently didn’t work, since there is a new plant now growing just inches away:

Trillium sessile:

I’m so antsy for these showy trilliums to bloom:

And soon, there will be jack-in-the-pulpit and wild geranium.