Virginia bluebells and golden ragwort in bud:

In forty-nine years of living in Montgomery County, I can’t remember a colder or snowier winter.  I spotted the first wildflower of 2013 (a spring beauty) in mid-February.  This year, it was mid-March before I saw anything.  By the end of March I’d found a handful of spring beauties, a single squirrel-corn, some spicebush, and two different species of toothwort.  The Virginia bluebells are a few days away from blooming (the buds are prominent), and the golden ragwort and early saxifrage are starting to bud, too. And I’ve seen leaves of early meadow rue, Virginia waterleaf, and trout lily poking up through the leaf litter, so there’s hope.

I’ve also seen periwinkle, ivy-leaved speedwell, common chickweed, and vast mats of lesser celandine, all aliens.

Moderate temperatures are predicted for the rest of the week.  I expect the spring ephemeral season will be compact this year.

cut-leaved toothwort (Cardamine concatenata, formerly Dentaria laciniata)

large toothwort (Cardamine maxima, formerly Dentaria maxima)

squirrel-corn (Dicentra canadensis)