Thanks to the very warm weather we are experiencing, there’s more activity in the way of what’s blooming this week! Quite a swing to be 15-20 degrees warmer than usual after the very late snows we had in central Pennsylvania and upstate New York.
The spiderwort leaves are at least 6 inches out of the ground now. The wild ginger leaves are just out of the surface and rising up from their shallow-rooted rhizomes.
Sassafras trees are enlarging their bright yellow-green buds. The buds in sunny areas are starting to open.
Cherry trees are blooming now in earnest. As you drive along the country roads no other trees are showing green leaves, except for the evergreens of course. The view is mostly gray and brown but here and there you see the white, dotted outline of Prunus trees in bloom. With the exceptionally warm weather the cherry blooms will not last long.
Pin cherry, Prunus pensylvanica, grows at the edge of the woods or in disturbed or opened areas of the forest. Blossoms overhead are in clusters of four or five.
Also this week I was surprised by the grape hyacinth that had doubled in size from last year. I had forgotten about it until I saw the deep purple blooms. What a terrific scent, too! Crocuses are history for 2007, and the star magnolia will be too very soon. Greenery of the lily-of-the-valley is coming up and there are others to look forward to…so stay tuned!