Bluebells will be singing next to the creeks and streams all over central PA for the next week or so.
Look for it in wet places like lowlands, land adjacent to rivers, and the edges of streams and creeks.
You may find perennial bluebells planted in gardens because it’s one of the more showy early spring flowers. The bright green foliage of alternating oval leaves develops before the light blue flowers and that lends a little anticipation to the development of the pretty flowers.
Flower buds start small with a rich purple color that fades to pink as the blossoms develop. As the flowers get bigger they take on their light blue color. Several light yellow stamens give bluebells a pastel feel.
Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica, have the largest leaves at the bottom of the plant. The alternating leaves scope down in size with each new leaf smaller than the previous one.
The last four or five small oval-shaped leaves each have two or more flowers that dangle from the leaf axils on long stems.
The arching single main stem of bluebells allows the bell-shaped flowers to sway in the breeze. There is a concentration of flowers at the terminal end and that may help to bend the main stem to one side.