Posted by wilde on April 15th, 2007 — Posted in Vegetable
This past week we saw more signs of Spring. A few other trees showed interest in starting their spring growth by breaking open their buds, namely the stone fruits, peach and cherry. Hawthorns and dogwoods are also starting to open their buds.
Even though Spring is continuing on its march toward warmer weather, a dip in the jet stream is causing a bit of confusion.
We are in the midst of an historic April snow storm! Folks in the mountainous areas of New York and Pennsylvania are expecting a foot or more of the heavy white stuff.
Elsewhere, in the northeastern U.S. many people should be watching nearby creeks and streams for flooding. This storm is a really big one and has brought a couple inches of rain to quite a few major cities already and it’s only half over.
As the old saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers!”
North of the Catskill Mountains in eastern New York the Spring bulbs are awakening but not yet flowering. Crocuses, daffodils and tulips are coming out of the ground, but now have their greenery hidden under the snow.
Spring here has been rather tumultuous. The Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis) have now experienced five different snow events. Usually a single snow fall will cover those cute little blooms and this year they are showing themselves to be quite hardy!
Snow drops are very early Spring flowers that can withstand several snow events.
Yesterday, the hanging blossoms were opened wide after a couple days of snowy weather and now, again, they are closed and tucked under the snow.
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Posted by wilde on April 8th, 2007 — Posted in Animal, Vegetable
We were greeted this Easter morning with a blanket of fluffy, flakey snow. About 4 inches covered everything but the driveway, where the stones must have held enough heat to melt most of it.
Snowy April morning. Note the pile of snow on top of the bird house!
As the morning turned into afternoon the snow silently disappeared except for a few patches under the trees.
I was lucky to see a couple of warblers on the grass along the driveway about noontime. A palm warbler - noted by his brown cap and bobbing tail - was shadowed by a yellow warbler as they hopped around in our forest opening. The palm warbler’s breeding grounds are in northern Canada, so it was probably on the way north, migrating up to Canada. But what about the yellow warbler? Was it on the same journey? Or was she a resident of the surrounding woods showing the migrant which way to go? Guess we’ll never know that answer.
Anyway, it’s always fun to see the dog get a kick out of the snow.
Time to frolic!
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Posted by wilde on April 7th, 2007 — Posted in Vegetable
My walk through the woods today was rather chilly, but not uncomfortably so as I was prepared by wearing long-johns and an earband.
I was looking for new sprouts and found several. Brambles and wild roses have started poking their leaves out of their winter buds. The plants along the lane are further along than others in more wooded areas. Forsythia and hawthorn have also opened their buds to start their spring growth.
Wild rose leaves catch the early April snow.
The star magnolia has opened a couple of its large buds and the elderberry shrubs are continuing their leaf development.
I found my favorite Spring Ephemeral in its earliest stages of bloom. The round-lobed hepatica, Hepatica americana, was sporting a single bloom so far. The evergreen leaves collected the flakey snow, while the bloom hung with her head down as if to say she wasn’t ready to show all.
A single, closed blossom of round-lobed hepatica surrounded by its leaves catching snowflakes.
Columbine has been growing for a couple weeks now. Many small plants are arising from one original plant that was allowed to go to seed. Guess we’ll have to start transplanting as soon as possible!
Columbine greenery starts life as a tight little ball of leaves that gradually open to catch the sun’s rays.
Spiderwort has come up and multiplied since last growing season and the wild ginger is about ready to break out of the ground. Other garden dwellers that have been revived from winter’s sleep include the mints, chrysanthemums and the false indigo.
A group of yarrow that I spotted last fall coming up in the lawn has begun its growth, too. These plants will be scooped up and placed into a native plants garden. We’ll see if it transplants well.
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is noted by its finely dissected leaves that give off a pleasant ‘flower arrangement’ aroma when touched.
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