Virginia Bluebells are pink in bud and the nodding bells turn a bright lavender-blue as they open above blue-green foliage; flowering for about 3 weeks in early spring. The leaves usually turn yellow and disappear by mid summer, so it is best to use these with other, later, shade perennials. In a moist setting they will slowly colonize a large area. Mertensia virginica is native to eastern Canada and the central and eastern United States, typically found in nutrient-rich, moist soils of floodplain forests.