Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-15
BLOOMING UNDER SNOW
AND LEAVES, HEPATTCA
HERALDS EARLY SPRING
Woods Around City Sheltering
Beautiful Wild Flower "Blue
as the Heaven 1t
Gazes At"
END WINTER DREARINEss

Go into the woods these early March
days. Upon the face, everything seems
brown and gray and dreary. Save for
piles here and there of unmelted snow
there seems naught else but mass OF
crnkled leaves OF last autumn's falling
of broken twigs and branches, Of brown
underground bent by the winters wind
of drab and faded pine needles. Of moist
and muddy earth, Of naked trees reach.
ing up into the sky. Excepting your
self, and perhaps n brown winter wren
upon an equally brown branch, all life
seems far away, and nature dead.
But stoop a little, brush aside that
mass Of dead leaves, or this clump OF
snow. and there bravely blooming you
will find the delicate and beautiful hepa-
tca, the first true flower of spring,
wrapped in fuzzy furs that seemingly pro.
tect its stems and noddlng buds from
cold, These fuzzy furs are fuzzy hairs
that thickly cover the stem beneath which
and close to the ground are the three.
lobed, smoothedged, thick, coarse leaves
that, having lasted through the winter,
are turned a leathery evergreen color,
mottled with a reddish purple Reaching
out from their centre and bravely up
ward. is q single fuzzy stem with, at its
end. a blossom in blue or purple or laven.
der, and, now and then, pinlSish or white I;
but mostly blue, soft, gentle, tender
blue, like faroff summer sky.
AS early as the 10th of March in this
locality, beautiful hepatica may be found
under the sheltering warmth of snow and
dead leaf waiting for midday winter sun
shine to open its eyes.
The sensation of wonder and delight
at finding this brave and lovely flower
amidst what seems the desolation of
brown dreariness In winter wood or
upon a winter hillside, is quite beyond
mere words to describe. II forecasts all
the wonder of the coming and unfolding
Spring with its scheduled opening Of bud
and leaf in many and varied green upon
tree and bush and shrub. AS poet has
said to II, the hepatica is
"Bitte as the heaven Il gases at
Startling the lotterer In the naked groves
with unexpected beauty; for the time OF
Blossoms aud green things Is yet dtdr.'
It's towering season runs into May.
After each bloom, its day of lovelness is
done until another year. New light green
leaves then appear to darken as the Sum-
mer passes, and In their turn become
ruddy as Autumn approaches. And here
presents itself the amazing, fascinating
| thought that not only the hepatica, but
| every living green thing Is preparing dur
| ing a period of from $40 to 363 days for
| It's supreme effort, It's objective in life, its
| fragrant, colored, blossomed flower, In
some cases to last but day.
Year after year It is so. Each at Its
appointed time, every flower. every shrub
and bush and tree breaks into it's appointed
green and blooms its span to die SEEM
| lngly; but in reality to begin again at
| once its preparation for the bloom of the
| year to come. The thought Is not only
| amazing and fascinating, but full of a
great reverence.
OF all the wild flowers of which hepa.
| tica is the advance guard, none are fairer
| In full maturity in late April or early
| May II is the gem of the woods. Fully
an inch and often an inch and half II
diameter. with from five to ten petals