Today I found quite many Hepatica in our garden. That is unusally early. I do not think I saw them in March any other year.

The common Hepatica (Anemone hepatica, formerly Hepatica nobilis) is one of the first wild flowers here in spring. It is common around where I live, but quite rare in many parts of Sweden. Maybe that is because in these parts we have a lot of limestone, which is common only in some parts of Sweden. Around here it is Ordovician.

For me, and many others, the hepatica is almost a bit magical, rising out of the dead leaves on the forest floor, while there is not much green plants and the trees are still without leaves. The colors shift from light to dark blue, lilac and red, even plants growing right next to each other (more samples at Wikipedia page). I think they are very beautiful. They make a quick start before other flowers take over for the race to spring and summer. Somewhat like humble cold climate lotuses. My photo does not do justice to those brave little flowers 🙂