Do you know why Drabas are called Whitlow Grass? I assumed they were named after a Mr. Whitlow, but no, apparently Whitlow is a finger, toe or nail infection caused by the Herpes virus... never heard of such a thing! and apparently Draba (mainly/only? D. verna) was/is used to treat it! Huh! Well, here, the 3 that I grow are just prized for their early season flower power
Draba aizoides is usually one of the very first things to flower here, though the full show is a week or two later; it has tidy but not tiny dark green shiny foliage and bright yellow flowers, largest of the 3. Draba dedeana comes next, with some overlap, also dark green shiny foliage, a bit lower, but very attractive almost geometric mounds. Draba bruniifolia ssp olympica is last- this one has nice slightly paler yellow flowers, and slightly grayish fuzzy foliage, tiny mounds, not so organised as the other two; it was slower to take off and start to occupy real estate, but is doing pretty well for itself now.
First photo has all 3 species, with D aizoides toward the rear of the photo (front of the bed);
Second photo shows D aizoides in a sea of D dedeana
Third photo is D bruniifolia ssp olympica with semps and D dedeana in mid-ground and D aizoides in front
