I had the opportunity to observe some wild Hepatica growing near Perth in Ontario between the 12th and 16th April this year. Ontario had an unusually mild winter so I imagine these flowers were earlier than usual. Excluding trees and grasses these and Coltsfoot were the only wild flowers I found initially, although a spell of warm weather brought on violets and dandelions. It was still too early for Trilliums.
I found the flowers surprisingly easy to miss. They never seem to grow very densely and the flowers turn to face the sun so they are much easier to spot if you approach with your back to the sun. They seem to locate themselves in clearings in woodland or in areas where the trees are less dense. My first photograph shows the most densely-packed area I found. Yet you can barely make out the Hepaticas as tiny dots of white, blue or pink.
