Winter Foliage

The garden continues to unveil one surprise after another! It's quickly getting ahead of me ~ new flowers are blooming before I've had time to identify the ones that bloomed the week before.

For example, what's this little beauty? I've found some close matches when I search for anenomes, but nothing that is a sure match. For a few days, this was my only view, and I almost overlooked it because it really is so tiny {the mass of green in the picture above is from another, yet-to-be-identified plant}::

Then there are these deep purple, fuzzy guys:: A few of these are planted near the mailbox, and they're taking forevvvvvvvvver to open up!

Under the plum tree is this little guy:: That opened to become this::

And it's close, but not exactly the same as this one peaking out from under a little evergreen tree:: This last flower appears to be some type of anemone blanda.

Any ideas? The comments are open, and any help identifying the plants above will be greatly appreciated, because as you're about to see, my naming schemes are not very helpful!

.... While you're thinking, I'll leave you with our one identifiable success of the week. Bloodroot! Such an unfriendly name for such a pretty flower:: Looking from above ground, I assumed a different name for bloodroot : Dinosaur Egg Flower. Can you see the resemblance as they emerge from the ground:: Searching for "dinosaur egg flower" didn't get me anywhere, and I can't even remember how I lucked upon Bloodroot. All I know is that after learning the name, there was not a fivehead*-slapping moment where I exclaimed "of course! why didn't I think Bloodroot?"

Bloodroot gets its name from the red sap that emerges when the root is cut, and that's not the only awesome thing about this plant::
~ The sap can be used to dye fabrics and yarns. Useful since I got this book for Christmas!
~ It has been used by Native Americans as an herbal remedy and included in name-brand toothpastes as antibacterial and anti-plaque agents.
~ Its seeds are spread by ants! The ants carry the seeds back to their nest where they eat the fleshy, protein and fat-rich part of the seed called an elaiosome. They then leave the rest of the seed, where it will grow in the next season, nourished by the rich soil produced by wastes in the ants' nest.
In searching for Bloodroot, I came across the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum blog. It seems to be a fairly new blog, but I'm really excited about it because they are posting pictures of plants as they bloom. Being in Maryland they're just a week or two ahead of my garden, so it should be a great resource to help me identify plants throughout the season!

*My forehead's so big that it's been referred to as a fivehead. The offenders shall remain unnamed.