Recent travels to Arizona have me a bit behind on my early spring flowers blog posts. So picking up where I left off with the early risers Dwarf Iris and Crocus, onward with Pasque flowers!
Pasque Flowers are one of the first perennial flowers to bloom in spring. The flowers actually appear before the leaves of the plant. Sections of the xeric gardens I frequent to photograph them have been reworked. And plants I’ve photographed previously were no longer there. However, walking around the gardens and doing some early spring recon, there were new discoveries to be made!
Braving the Unpredictable Spring Elements
Coming in various shades of purple, pinks and even white, Pasque (Easter) Flowers are a low-growing, herbaceous perennial plant with stems and buds covered in tiny white hairs. It’s like they have their own built in insulation system to aid in protection against the cold, snow and wind of the unpredictable spring elements. An observation I made this year is that the earlier in the season they begin to bloom the fuzzier they are. I suppose that makes sense. They don’t need as much protection as the temps warms up.
As in the photo above, the flowers initially appear as purple looking goblets which are furry on the outside. The insides come equipped with bright, golden yellow stamens which attracts early season bees!
While they appear mighty happy growing in the xeric gardens, they are actually native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia.
A bit of history on their name:
“Derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, “pasakh”, the common name Pasque flower refers to the Easter flowering period, in the spring”.
By all accounts, they are lovely early spring flowers with their soft, fuzzy, gray-green foliage and silky-hairy stalks. Fun to photograph and to simply enjoy.
Bees Foraging on Pasque Flowers
In mid-March and April, it’s still slim pickens’ for bees foraging for pollen. So a patch of blooming Pasque flowers is perfect for these little fellas. They’re a bit slow moving as the temps are still a bit on the cooler side. The frenetic pollen gathering frenzy of summer is a ways off.
On this mid-March morning I was not expecting to see any Pasque blooming just yet – let alone any bees. Thus I was ill-equipped and had to resort to utilizing my phone’s camera. Not exactly the best photo – but I was grateful none-the-less for the primo bee moment!
Silky Seed Heads with Wispy Filaments
The transition of these flowers to silky seed heads never ceases to amaze me. One minute they are big purple flowers with bright yellow centers. Shortly thereafter they morph into these bizarre looking seed heads. The roundish heads with wispy filaments. If you did not witness the before and after of this transition you’d be hard-pressed to believe they were once even flowers!
This side by side comparison from bright purple flower to wispy seed head is a true marvel. Below are more examples of this fascinating flower transition.
Observing Nature and flora as it evolves is such a gift. And it’s a privilege to be able to get up close to photograph these fuzzy gems regardless of the state they’re in 🙂
If you‘re a fan of these fuzzy flowers, check out these other posts with accompanying photos:
● Purple and Yellow Pasque Flowers in Early Spring
● Purple Pasque with Their Bright Yellow Centers