One of the earliest blooming spring perennials!
Spring Gold blooms early spring through early summer, and like other members of the carrot family, its flowers take the form of a flat umbel. Spring Gold's flowers are very bright yellow, very dense, and very showy! In early spring, Spring Gold flowers mingle with Camas blooms in meadows and prairies, creating a bright blue-and-yellow celebration of spring. Spring Gold plants will initially start with just a couple blooms, and add more over time as it grows. A very long-lived plant, it is well-adapted to grasslands, and looks really good planted among native bunch grasses and other native wildflowers.
In addition to beautiful blooms, Spring Gold is also an important nectar source for the endangered Taylor's Checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas Editha Taylori). We also see many small native bees using it, especially small sweat bees (Lasioglossum spp.).
Spring Gold was once widespread in the Seattle area, typically growing in prairies that were maintained by Coast Salish peoples through fire. Habitat destruction, fire suppression, and invasive species have cut this habitat down to approximately 3% of its original size - but on that last remaining area, Spring Gold is still a classic sign of spring and a workhorse wildlife food source. It can serve those same purposes in your garden!
Photo Credit: By Walter Siegmund (talk) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6856330
Photo Credit: By Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington - Spring Gold, San Juan Islands, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45635405
