The work of the botanist is light during the early spring, especially if his attention is directed only to plants and trees in their flowering stages; but, to one whose ambition is to study Nature in all her varied phases, this season of the bursting of the bud, when all things are awakening into new life, is full of interest, and demands no small amount of time.
The first flowers observed in the spring are mainly those hardy weeds which may be seen in bloom almost through the year, such as the Shepherd's Purse, Chickweed, Groundsel, White Dead Nettle, Red Dead Nettle, and Henbit Dead Nettle. These are soon followed by the Furze, Strawberry-leaved Cinquefoil, Snowdrop, Hazel, Common Whitlow-grass, and other flowers that are truly blossoms of the spring. All these will be described in turn, according to their various habitats; the object of the present short chapter being to note those signs of early spring which demand the attention of the lover of Nature while flowers are as yet few and inconspicuous.
A ramble over bleak downs and moors during the cold days of early spring will probably reveal but little of interest in the way of vegetable life, but in sheltered vales and woods, copses, and protected waysides, there is much to be observed. Here it is that we find the hardy weeds which have continued to bloom throughout the winter months; the earliest of the spring flowers; the fresh green foliage of herbs and shrubs that, in more exposed situations, have been completely denuded; the first tender seedlings appearing above the ground long before the frosts are over; and the expanding 'leaf-buds' showing their green while elsewhere all life seems dormant.
This is the season when the young botanist requires his notebook more than the collecting-book or vasculum; for his records of early flowers, and of the times of the appearance of the leaf in our trees and shrubs, will prove of great interest when compared with the corresponding events and times of other years. Not only do our spring seasons vary considerably from year to year in such a manner as to alter the general times of appearance of leaf and flower, but the vicissitudes of our climate even change the order in which these events occur.