Wildflower Wednesday~Spring Beauties

Are a sure sign that spring is here.

Claytonia virginica are just beginning to flower in the Middle South
where our humble, yet lovable garden
Clay and Limestone is located.
These much loved native wildflowers
are members of the Portulacaceae family
and are among the earliest spring blooming plants in my garden.

Know by the common name Spring Beauty...
the sweet little flowers grow from edible tubers
that were a cherished food of
Native Americans because of
their chestnut like flavor.
Some people call them fairy-spuds!

There is nothing like drifts of these sweet flowers
to make you appreciate spring.

They look beautiful in lawns and if you can hold off mowing
you will be rewarded with a beautiful display year after year.
They bloom for about a month and I've noticed that
they disappear from lawns that have been weed and fed.
If you want a traditional lawn then Spring beauty will not grow for you.

I wish that Spring Beauty blanketed my yard.
They don't, but flower instead here and there.
My goal is to have those delicious drifts and I beg plants from neighbors!

They are delightful harbingers of springtime,
sweet ephemerals that bloom, set seed,
then disappear until next spring.

Spring beauty flowers are about the size of a dime
with five equal-sized petals that spread wide as the sun warms them.
From a distance, the flowers appear white,
but, each petal is suffused with a delicate network of pastel pink veins.
Those pink veins are nectar guides.

There are two species of Claytonia in Tennessee.
The common, Claytonia virginica has grass-like leaves and
Claytonia caroliniana has broader leaves.
The flowers are almost identical.
Claytonia caroliniana is found in the Southeastern states, while
Claytonia virginica is found growing in Canada,
as far south as Florida and west into Kansas and Texas.
Translated that means Zone 3 to Zone 9.

Spring Beauties are pollinated by over 100 species of insects. That's a lot of bees, flies and other winged creatures relying on nectar and pollen. That makes them an important early food source. Some states have declared them endangered. That is not the case in Tennessee, but I would still be very sure I buy from nurseries that propagate their plants. There are still businesses that collect from the wild.

In case you have an abundance of Spring Beauties
and don't mind harvesting your own fairy spuds.
The tubers are found about two to three inches under the soil
and measure from a half inch to two inches in diameter.
I found this recipe for a fairy spud version of Salade Niçoise


Salade Niçoise Amuse-Gueule (A novel approach to the classic salad: makes 24 canapés)


* 24 spring beauty tubers, boiled, chilled, and halved
* 12 quail eggs, hard-boiled, shelled, chilled, and halved lengthwise
* 1 can of high-quality tuna in olive oil, drained and flaked
* 24 niçoise or picholine olives, pitted
* 12 anchovy fillets, halved lengthwise to make 24 strips
* 1 generous cup of mâche (lamb's lettuce), washed and spun dried
* 48 haricots verts, boiled and chilled
* 24 slices of French-style baguette, sliced 5-inch thick, brushed with olive oil and lightly toasted, cooled
* Unsalted butter, softened

Butter the baguette toasts and adhere a little mâche to each. Divide and artfully arrange the rest of the ingredients on the toasts and serve.
From Scott D Appell
writing for the Brooklyn Botanical Garden


Wildflower Wednesday is about sharing wildflowers/natives/naturally occurring plants no matter where you garden~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes show the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

I hope you join the celebration..It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!

Gail