Bloodroot by Shane Perfect The curtain is going up on the greatest show on earth. Its nature’s display of spring wildflowers. And we have ringside seats, because the most beautiful display of spring wildflowers in the world is found in the American Midwest. Actually the curtain parted over a month ago, but few people recognized …

By John J. Smith Skunk cabbage (1 below) is the first native plant to flower, most years in March. Then come harbinger-of-spring, hepatica, false rue anemone and many more. But 2016 may have surprises. Already on Christmas day 2015 I found skunk cabbage spathes starting to emerge a few inches, and one hepatica flower and one false …