April Blooms

Grape hyacinth and tulips are the only garden flowers that are blooming right now. I have always liked looking inside tulips to see their patterns. This purple tulip is showing a white and blue design on the inside of the petals. The bright yellow stamens have shed some pollen probably with the help of a bee or other pollinator.

The inside of this tulip has a design you can't see from the outside.

The inside of this tulip has a design you can’t see from the outside.

We also planted some wild ginger (Asarum canadense), a native plant, and I was happy to see it breaking out of the ground. The flowers will come a little later in the spring. One of our two peach trees is blooming. The second peach tree is putting up suckers and most of the woody parts from last year appear dead. It is planted a little too close to the septic drain field and I will try moving it to a different location.

Peach blossoms are giving off a very faint, fruity scent.
Peach blossoms are giving off a very faint, fruity scent.

Ferns that volunteered next to the house are showing their little fiddle heads. Each year this batch of fern looks lovelier than the previous year’s growth. It is thriving in the shade on the north side of the house. Several pieces of the root have been transplanted to different areas in hopes of propagating it.

Ferns rolling out their fiddle heads.
Ferns rolling out their fiddle heads.

Cinquefoil with its five bright yellow petals and five-part leaves is running all over part of the backyard. It seems to thrive in areas nearest the large oak trees where grass has a hard time growing, most likely due to a lack of sufficient water. Most would call it a weed but I enjoy seeing the bright yellow flowers dotting the landscape.

Cinquefoil flowers are a happy yellow sight.
Cinquefoil flowers are a happy yellow sight.

Dandelions are taking over part of the front yard. This shot of the leaves is simply here to compare with goatsbeard when I see it blooming.

Dandelions are ok in my yard. No attempt at monoculture here!
Dandelions are ok in my yard. No attempt at monoculture here!

Another native flower that we have growing in the same area as the cinquefoil is the northern violet. Northern violet has downy, oblong-shaped leaves instead of the typical heart-shaped leaves of the common violet.

The oblong leaves are distinctive to Northern violet.
The oblong leaves are distinctive to Northern violet.

I was pleasantly surprised to see another patch of hepatica in the woods yesterday. White hepatica was found blooming in the northeast corner of the property on a north-west facing slope. It was adjacent to a large patch of purple, round-leaved hepatica.

Round-leaved hepatica blooming white in the woods.
Round-leaved hepatica blooming white in the woods.

Spring in North Carolina

Looks like we’ll be lucky this year and experience two Spring bloomings! Vacationing in North Carolina last week we saw dogwoods, azaleas, lilacs, oxalis, violets, buttercups, wild strawberries and vincas in full bloom. The timing was too early for the garden roses, although there were buds present, and we were just in time to see the first garden iris bloom.

This beautiful iris just opened to greet the sunrise.
This beautiful iris just opened to greet the sunrise.

On our next trip to North Carolina I’ll get a cutting of this gorgeous Formosa azalea — its blossoms are probably two to three times the size of a typical azalea bloom.

Beautiful Formosa azalea practically shouted — It's Spring!.
Beautiful Formosa azalea practically shouted — It’s Spring!

A wildflower that caught my eye was the Star-of-Bethlehem which appeared in the lawn. The white blossoms contrast nicely with its bright yellow stamens. It has a habit much like the oxalis in that its blooms open in the sunlight and close without the sun. It took until about noontime on a sunny day for the blooms to fully open. The Star-of-Bethlehem has basal leaves that are entire and have a pale midrib. The white petals have a distinctive green stripe on the backside.

The white blossoms of Star-of-Bethlehem open only in the sunshine.
The white blossoms of Star-of-Bethlehem open only in the sunshine.

We stayed with friends on our vacation to collect marine fossils from sediments that date back to over one million years. Their very affectionate cat, Squeaky, found a great place to soak up the morning sun as he lay near the pink azaleas in full bloom.

Squeaky soaks up the sun!
Squeaky soaks up the sun!

We had a fantastic time on our trip and can’t wait to repeat it. During the recuperative days when we were not crawling around on our hands and knees looking for fossils, we enjoyed our time visiting with our friends and watching the hummingbirds chase each other from the sugar water feeders. The plentiful flowers attracted many swallowtail butterflies like this female on a lilac blossom.

A female swallowtail butterfly sipping nectar from a lilac.
A female swallowtail butterfly sipping nectar from a lilac.

Thanks to Pat and Ken for a fantastic vacation! See you again real soon!!

The Blooming Begins

For the past week or so I have been watching the maple trees awake from their winter slumber. For a long time I never considered trees very much or even thought about how they propagate themselves. Who knew that trees flower? Of course the beautiful ornamental trees like crabapples or the fruit trees like apples and peaches flower — how else would they provide their fruits? And the regular old trees of the forest? They blossom, too, as many allergy sufferers can tell you. The tree pollen is in the air here and the earliest culprit seems to be the maples.

This maple tree has been blooming for more than a week.
This maple tree has been blooming for more than a week.

We should have planted this beautiful star magnolia nearer to the house so we could smell the sweet blossoms through an open window.

A beautiful star magnolia in full bloom.
A beautiful star magnolia in full bloom.

On Friday I walked around the property and finally spotted my favorite flower in bloom — the round-leaved hepatica. A member of the buttercup family, hepatica appears in Pennsylvanian woodlands before the trees produce their leaves. For a couple weeks I have spotted the waxy leaves that over-winter under the cover of oak leaves. After a rain on Thursday the blossoms appeared the next day. It has been very dry this winter and spring. Only four blossoms have been seen. So far, I have only seen hepatica on the upper part of a west-facing slope near the big stand of hemlock trees. Last year there were at least 11 individual plants in this area and they produced many more blossoms that what I have seen this year.

Round-leaved hepatica in bloom.
Round-leaved hepatica in bloom.

A single grape hyacinth plant returned from last year’s planting. Since there are so many squirrels and chipmunks in the area, I guess we should be glad to see any bulbs make it from one year to the next.

Grape hyacinth showing off its grape-like, deep purple flowers.
Grape hyacinth showing off its grape-like, deep purple flowers.

Spring Snow Sticks Around

I certainly did not think I would be sharing any winter-like photos in April! This morning we were surprised by about a half-inch of the stickiest snow I’ve ever seen. Every blade of grass was covered to the full extent by the wet snow that seemed on the verge of melting.

Snow sticking to the grass this morning.

I do have to wonder about the health of the garden plants that are just sprouting out of the ground. Will they all survive the night’s cold snap? Surely, the little amount of snow won’t kill them — or will it? I was struck by the way the snow adhered to every surface this morning. Check out this little spruce tree with every square inch covered in white.

Little spruce tree covered with snow in April!

Perennials coming up in the gardens include spiderwort, clematis, hostas, french geranium, tiger lilies, hardy mum, butterfly bush, lamb’s ear, moss peony, purple coneflower, and blue false indigo. The maple trees are flowering and the buds of the top-most blooms of the star magnolia are opening up. The sassafras trees are not yet flowering, but their buds are getting bigger. The azalea bushes were greening up nicely and now are put on hold.

Will the little azalea flower this Spring?

A Warm Breeze Starts the Sprouting

The nights have still had lows in the mid-30 degree range, but the last two days have been warmer than usual for this time of the year. Today’s high temperature is pushing up to 65 degrees and the sun feels wonderful!

The peppermint and spearmint growing right next to the house have been active for about a week. The first sprouts are already vining up the stone and reaching for the sunlight. They are already eight or ten inches tall.

Peppermint crawling up the stone of the house in a southern exposure.

Peppermint vining up the stone of our house in a southern exposure.

The spearmint seems a little bit behind the rapid growth of the peppermint as it is at most two inches tall.

Spearmint getting started on its Spring growth.

Spearmint getting started on its Spring growth.

Last year both plants grew well in this location on the south side of the house, but the peppermint was much more aggressive. We had to keep trimming the peppermint back so that it would not overtake other herbs in this bed. It is worth keeping around though — mint tea is really enjoyable, hot or cold!

A weed that I see everywhere is blooming and will continue to bloom throughout the summer and fall. Since the ground ivy blossoms are so low to the ground and very small, I used a scanner with the lid open to get this picture. The blossoms open towards the ground and it’s practically impossible to obtain an image without breaking apart the plant. Here you can see the growth habit where one layer of leaves and blossoms grow up and over the previous set.

Ground ivy blossoms are dainty.

The ground ivy has irregular flowers that remind one of a miniature orchid.

Many of the perennials are starting to wake up. Today I saw the sprouting of false indigo, purple cone flower, hard mums, and even the star magnolia tree looks like it will blossom in the next day or so.

Coltsfoot by the Covered Bridge

Out for a Sunday drive today we came upon a one-lane covered bridge.

Go thata way!
Reconstructed wooden bridge in Central Pennsylvania.

Plank wooden floor clappety-claps when you cross the bridge.

Covered bridge in Pennsylvania.

Close-up of the covered bridge. Were all of them red?

Trees to the left along the creek give away their identity by showing off their beautiful white trunks. These cottonwood trees are almost always found near water.

Cottonwood trees along the creek.

Cottonwood trees along the creek sporting white bark.

Covered bridges were constructed in sections to help fortify the roof and the entire structure. Large wooden members make up this reconstructed covered bridge.

Look inside to see how the bridge was made.
Inside the covered bridge you can see how it was constructed.

Just after passing through the bridge we spotted a nice grouping of Coltsfoot growing near the roadside and an active spring. The weather has been quite dry of late so I wouldn’t expect this to be any runoff other than from a natural spring.

Coltsfoot growing in a moist area near a spring.
Coltsfoot growing in a moist area near a spring.

Coltsfoot blossoms are probably mistaken for dandelions by many due to its bright yellow blossoms. Closer inspection reveals the blossoms are atop scaled stalks with some reddish tones, not a smooth light green stem like the dandelion. At this stage of growth the green leaves have not yet appeared. The outline of a leaf is in the shape of a colt’s foot, so that is where coltsfoot gets its name.

Bright yellow coltsfoot blossoms along a road in Central Pennsylvania.

Bright yellow coltsfoot blossoms along a road in Central Pennsylvania.

Driving back to the house we saw a brave little groundhog run across the road and back again before we got very close to it. These chickens were out of the coop for a breath of fresh air, too!

Rooster and chickens out in the barnyard.
Rooster and chickens out in the barnyard.

When we got to our dirt road we watched a pileated woodpecker as he moved from tree to tree in search of lunch. Sounded like a great idea to us!

Blustery March

The water in the outdoor cat dishes has been frozen solid for three mornings in a row. This morning it was 32 degrees and the wind chill was 22, so the cats must have appreciated staying in the garage for the night. The suet feeder in the backyard was knocked to the ground, opened and emptied of its goodies. Since the dog went crazy sniffing around the area and barking quite excitedly this morning, we wonder if the neighborhood bear made a late night visit for a snack. This time of year must find the bears quite hungry! There has been a lot of bird activity at the window-mounted feeder — they just love the sunflower seeds, don’t they? We hope the window feeder is too high up for the bear to reach.

Well, as far as the plants go, they are not making much progress in emerging from their winter rest. Now that the weather is colder than normal the Spring emergence has been put on hold for a short time. A few more maple trees have cracked open their winter buds, but we don’t expect many more signs of Spring until the nights get above a chilly 30 degrees.

Brisk, Windy and Cold

The weather today is quite brisk with the trees swaying in the wind and making ocean sounds. It is surprising how well the leafless trees do sway in the wind. One would think that there is not much there for the wind to hold on to. Mornings have been in the upper 20s or low 30s and the high temps are struggling to get over 42 degrees. Never mind the wind chill.

Scared up a rabbit near the plentiful wild roses by the gravel drive as I took a walk this afternoon. Some of the greenery is starting to re-appear after the long, mild winter. Chives, garlic mustard and cinquefoil were all coming up. Ferns that had been protected by the fallen oak leaves for the winter are starting to get green again. Mosses in the woods and the grass on the lawn look a little brighter green, too.

A couple maple trees are just starting to bud out, but no other trees seem to be ready to join them yet.