Eranthis hyemalis: seeds are ripe

My winter aconites' seeds are ripened.

Eranthis hyemalis: unripe seed pods

Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) has to be one of my favourite plants. Not only is its flower very pretty, it is also one of the very first flowers to emerge at winter's end, just when I'm feeling most desperate for blossoms.

Here are the developing seedpods. To me, this plant is beautiful at every stage of development.

Eranthis hyemalis: blooms!

Finally, after over a week of watching the half-open buds, here is my winter aconite in all its glory!

Eranthis hyemalis: first growth

As I mentioned earlier, I was worried that my winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) wasn't coming back this year, since the neighbours' snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) and crocuses are already up, and my aconite hadn't shown up at all. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to see this tiny, not-yet-opened winter aconite emerging in front of the house this morning.

I rooted around under the leaves and found two more baby Eranthis. (And then I tucked them in under their blanket of leaves once again.) Maybe tomorrow I will have a photo of a fully-opened bloom to post!

(I'm not sure what those long thin leaves are, but they are definitely not the aconite, which has leaves like a clown's ruffle under the flower.)

Eranthis hyemalis: seed pods

The seeds on my winter aconite are finally ripe.

Eranthis hyemalis: flower

Eranthis hyemalis, known in English as winter aconite and in French as éranthe d'hiver, helléborine, hellébore d'hiver or aconit d'hiver is a perennial native to southern France to Bulgaria. One of the earliest flowers of spring, a single bright yellow flower, like that of a buttercup, is borne on a short (less than 10 cm) stem. Below the flower, the stem is circled by two leaves which resemble a clown's neck ruffle. After setting seed, the plant becomes dormant (i.e. it is a "spring ephermeral").

The flowers have a pretty fragrance, but you have to get low to the ground to smell it!

I bought my winter aconite pips from Veseys.