Winter is almost done and was not only late, but a rather ill-mannered no-show in my garden this year.  Here in Central Texas, the trees are flowering and leafing out with abandon, seemingly racing one another to full-fledged foliage.  Even so, the only plants that are weirdly early in my gardens are the Shumard Oaks–they don’t normally flush new growth until the very end of February or beginning of March.

But like an excellent and welcomed dinner guest, the Golden Groundsel, Packera obovata, is right on time in preparation for its flower show. One of our earliest bloomers,  the bloom stalks have arisen and will brighten this shady area in the next few weeks.

While the brilliant flowers are stunning,

…the foliage of this tidy, woodland wildflower is what I find most appealing about this North American beauty.  Evergreen and ever-lush, the plant forms a colony of finely serrated, ovate leaves and those make up the  “staple” foliage of the plant, year round.

A sprinkling of rain in the last 24 hours is the only rain for the past month.

As the plant prepares for flowering, the foliage connected to the bloom pedicels develops a more fern-like, deeply serrated character.

The two-fer foliage quality of this wildflower is captivating.

My colony of Golden Groundsel hasn’t spread much in the  5 or 6 years that I’ve grown this plant and I’ve had no good luck in transplanting newer clumps-with-roots to other places.  But it’s a happy and hardy filler in this spot,

…and a handsome ground-cover throughout the year.

Perhaps the blooms will be up and running in time for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day in March!

In celebration of February foliage, thanks to Christina’s lovely Creating my own garden of the Hesperides.   Check out her Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Day meme for a look at foliage from many gardens.