"The very first is a plant that comes up without leaves."

"Nurse, that is the Christmas-rose; [Footnote: Winter Aconite.] I have
seen it in the old country."

"No, Lady Mary, it is the colt's-foot; [Footnote: Tussilago Farfara.] it
is a common looking, coarse, yellow-blossomed flower; it is the first that
blooms after the snow; then comes the pretty snow-flower or hepatica. Its
pretty tufts of white, pink, or blue starry flowers, may be seen on the
open clearing, or beneath the shade of the half-cleared woods, or upturned
roots and sunny banks. Like the English daisy, it grows everywhere, and
the sight of its bright starry blossoms delights every eye."

"The next flower that comes in is the dog's-tooth-violet." [Footnote:
Erythronium.]

"What a droll name!" exclaimed Lady Mary, laughing.

"I suppose it is called so from the sharpness of the flower-leaves
(petals), my lady, but it is a beautiful yellow lily; the leaves are also
pretty; they are veined or clouded with milky white or dusky purple. The
plant has a bulbous root, and in the month of April sends up its single,
nodding, yellow-spotted flowers; they grow in large beds, where the ground
is black, moist and rich, near creeks on the edge of the forest."

"Do you know any other pretty flowers, nurse?"

"Yes, my lady, there are a great many that bloom in April and May; white
violets, and blue, and yellow, of many kinds; and then there is the spring