Tulips, crocuses, daffodils, and blue squill are up and beginning to bloom in our gardens. On the prairie the Pasque Flowers unfurl their fuzzy stems, leaves and petals to reveal the cup of yellow stamens and sticky stigmas inside. Harvest the feathery seed plumes in May and plant right away. Mid April Bloodroots and Hepaticas begin flowering in the maple woods. Though these plants produce seeds, they are perennials and they mostly reproduce through spreading roots and tubers.
Seeds are backup strategies that can lie dormant in the soil for a long time.
Chickadees mix cattail seed fluff with rabbit fur and moss to build a soft nest in an old tree stub or bluebird nestbox. When the birds leave, a pair of Deer Mice moves into the soft cozy nest and raises a family. These same mice gather seeds and store them in old birds' nests and other cubbyholes for midnight repasts. Late April Dandelions, in warm protected spots, begin to bloom in April. The flowers emerge from a flat rosette and continue to extend upward until the seeds are ripe and ready to float away on the wind.