Winter Lemon Arenaria

This compact evergreen perennial works its way in between stones and other plants, its dark green oval leaves forming a seamless mat. If you come by in the late spring, you won’t see that at all, because at that time of year it’s completely covered in brilliant white flowers. It often does its magic in mountainous areas, so it’s sometimes called Mountain Sandwort. The montana in the Latin name refers not to the state, but to that mountain environment. This category of plants is sometimes known as a polster, or cushion plant.