Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Virginia Bluebells
It seems to me that most of the early wildflowers that appear in the Shenandoah Valley in mid-March have blooms colored in shades of white or yellow, or mixtures thereof.
(For some examples displayed in the Gallery, visit the Field Pansy, Hairy Bittercress, Yellowrocket, Whitlow-grass, Shepherd's Purse, or Garlic Mustard rooms.)
Virginia Bluebells, however, are one exception to this observation: As you can see its blooms are a distinctive sapphire-blue.
The buds are a pastel pink, to which shade the blossoms will revert when they begin to decline. (See the left blossom petals for the beginning of this change.)
This jewel, a native perennial, can be found beautifying shady areas along fence lines and open forest throughout the eastern United States.
Also known as Virginia Cowslip, this wildflower is, along with some of the other early bloomers, categorized by botanists as an "ephemeral perennial."
Plants of this category lose their blooms and go dormant relatively soon—in May for this variety—when many other wildflowers are just making their seasonal debut.
Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.