(Why) Are all the first wildflowers of the season violet?
I had never realized, but most flowers that bloom now when the winter is finishing are violet! For the experts out there: any biological reason for this, or just chance?
Four violet wildflowers blooming by the end of the Swiss winter
1: Probably some species of Scilla
Not sure about its name and identity, but it’s probably some kind of Scilla. Based on some photos it could actually be Scilla siberica… but I may well be wrong!
Whatever its name, it is a fact that this is by far the most abundant flower right now in the lower Swiss forests, especially in meadows next to rivers.
A closer look at the flowers:
2: Probably a kind of Crocus
At least according to what I found in Wikipedia, here.
Sometimes I’ve seen them blooming from under the snow, painting violet spots on it that look quite cool. I will show you if we have one more snow!
3: Viola odorata
I like these especially because they look like pansies in a tiny format, and in only violet colors. Even the leaves and the stem that holds the flower are similar to pansies’. Just smaller!
4: Vinca
Vincas are mostly planted here, but some like this one have spread into the wild.
I wonder if there’s any reason for all these late-winter flowers to be violet. Do you know? Perhaps Inge E. Knudsen?
Bonus: there are a couple of yellow wildflowers too!
But usually, they show up a couple of weeks later, thus making the title of this story true on a “normal” year! I guess this time the spring is coming up a bit fast.
Here are a couple of yellow wild Primroses, which show up largely in this pale yellow color. Sometimes some pink, light red and violet specimens show up, but there will be better chances to spot them as more plants bloom, a couple of weeks deeper into the Spring.
Of course, these are wild versions of primroses, so their flowers are more modest in size, shape and color. Yet they are very cute! So much that I often take some wild plants and plant them on my balcony to give it some green and colors when everything else is pretty much dead.
What else is coming up with the spring?
Well yes, lots of wildflowers. But I’m waiting for the wild garlic, or literally “bear’s garlic" from the translation from French and Swiss German. And it’s already sprouting, so pesto time and an article on how to prepare it will come up soon!
All the green on the floor in the next two photos is wild garlic sprouts:
Want more?
Two recent stories featuring photos of other late-winter flowers (and they aren’t violet either!):
And check this interesting list of early spring flowers at Wikipedia:
Last, another interesting resource:
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