March Perennial of the Month-Spring Beauty

Cuteness alert!

Tulips can be bold and beautiful, and daffodils can be stunning or stoic, but when a lawn full of charming spring beauties comes alive, it usually brings a sweet smile of surprise. Spring beauties, Claytonia virginica, win in the cute flower category this time of year hands down.

My neighbor’s front lawn is the poster child for spring lawn displays once the spring beauties are peak. He delays mowing until they reseed and withdraw back to the earth for their long slumber. The strategy pays off since I now have a small patch of spring beauties in my front yard.

Not a true bulb but a native wildflower grown from a corm, spring beauties are found naturally in woodlands and savannas but are common in rural areas, older parks, and cemeteries.

The five dainty white to light pink petals have darker pink stripes and pink anthers. Its 5-10” height makes it perfect for lawns or other shorter groundcover beds, forming large colonies if allowed to reseed.

Spring beauties are visited by a wide variety of early bees and butterflies, and mice, chipmunks, and voles eat the corms.

What I like about this plant;

-It’s native!

-Early spring bloomer.

-Can be planted anywhere, in flower beds or lawns.

-Adorable, dainty flowers.

-Will naturalize.

What’s not so great;

-Goes dormant for the rest of the year.

-Will spread into places you might not want it…but where wouldn’t you want such a cutie?

Comments or questions? Email Garden-Lou at gardenloustl@gmail.com

Words and photos by Jo Batzer

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