American Spring Flowers

Rocky Mountain columbine, Aquilegia coerulea

I'm celebrating spring, despite recurring cold rainy days. Last week I posted pictures of classical spring garden flowers and intentionally only used those from Eurasia. Here is a celebration using only North American plants.


Columbines (genus Aquilegia, buttercup family, Ranunculaceae) are so widely grown as to seem cliché but, although there are many Eurasian species, the ones grown in the U.S. are largely native American species. My top photo is the Rocky Mountain columbine, Aquilegia coeralea.  Western North America has blue, purple, yellow, and white flowered species, in addition to red-and-yellow-flowered ones, similar to but different from the columbine of eastern North America, Aquilegia canadensis. Planted together in gardens, many will hybridize, leading to even greater diversity of color and shape. I love them. In my garden they are one of the few plants allowed to break the "no plants in the paths" rule. I am hoping, though, that they will migrate around the yard until they find a flowerbed they really like, at which point I will enforce the "no plants in the paths" rule. Right now I don't have as many as I want so I let them grow where they will.

columbine, Aquilegia

Blue flax (Linum lewisii, flax family, Linaceae) is named after Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It has wonderful native perennial with light blue flowers, open in the morning, closed by the heat of the day.

blue flax, Linum lewisii

Also really neat are the larkspurs (Delphinium species, buttercup family, Ranunculaceae).

blue larkspurs, Delphinium species

As you see, I have a tiny "prairie" in my yard, where I started the native wildflowers, rather than in a garden bed, but, though my photos don't show it, they routinely seed into my more traditional flowerbeds.

Other regions of North America have spectacular spring flowers that are often grown in gardens but most do not survive long in my northern Colorado's climate (hot and dry in summer, cold and dry in winter, changing temperature suddenly). Enjoy, for example, trilliums (Trillium spp.), camellias (Camellia spp.) and magnolias (Magnolia spp.) if you can grow them. 

The first of my native geraniums is flowering. They were on the property when I bought it and a quick attempt to identify the flower to species did not turn up a clear match, so this is a geranium, genus Geranium (family Geraniaceae), an American wildflower whatever species it is.

wild geranium, Geranium

Western wallflower (Erysimum asperum) (mustard family, Brassicaceae) has lovely large yellow to orange flowers. A short-lived perennial, they reseeded around my yard.

Western wallflower, Erysimum asperum

And then there is serviceberry, also called saskatoon, Amelanchier alnifolia (rose family, Rosaceae). It is an early blooming shrub with a pleasant scent.

serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia

And I celebrate redbud, Cercis canadensis (pea family, Fabaceae).  It is not native to Colorado, but does occur naturally in the adjacent states of Nebraska, Kansas, and New Mexico. I carefully brought this one as a tiny (3") plant from Nebraska in 2006 so I'm very pleased that it lived to become a pretty tree, and I admire it greatly each year when it flowers. They have been planted all over the world.

redbud, Cercis canadensis

Our last killing frost or six-inch snow can happen as late the middle of May. Consequently the native plants do not flower nearly as early as the introduced garden plants: if a garden plant is killed by the cold, gardeners buy another. Wild plants are on their own and they have survived by adapting to the climate, for example, staying dormant longer.

The garden sage (Salvia officinalis) was all green before the May 9th frost.

There will be a big outburst of flowering in early June. Coming soon, Missouri evening primrose, Oenothera missouriensis (evening primrose family, Onagraceae). They open in the night, stay open through the morning. 

Missouri evening primrose, Oenothera missouriensis

Also coming soon, blanketflower, Gaillardia (sunflower family, Asteraceae) a short-lived perennial. The two widespead species of Gaillardia, G. aristida, blanket flower and G. pulchella, Indian blanket have been hybridized into a widely-sold cultivated variety, G. grandiflora, so are readily available beautiful American garden plants.

blanketflower, Gaillardia

I am enjoying those now in bloom and will appreciate the others as they appear. Happy Spring!

Comments and corrections welcome.

Blog posts on some of the flowers mentioned here:

columbine Colorful Columbines link
delphinium The Dramatic Larkspurs link
geranium - Wild Geraniums, A Treat to See link
serviceberry- Flowering Shrub of Spring link
redbud - The Striking Eastern Redbud link
garden sage - Plant Confusions: Sage and Sagebrush are Different link
evening primroses - Evening Primroses, Beautiful Wherever You Meet Them link
blanket flower - Beautiful Blanket Flower link

Kathy Keeler, A Wandering Botanist

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Post Script: Winter won't stop this year. May 21st snow. The native plants are saying "we told you it happens!"