spring flowers

Signs of Spring in South Central Pennsylvania

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After a long, hard winter and a week of very mild temperatures – in the 60s! – people are smiling again. We still have some cold and chilly weather ahead, here in the mountains of South Central Pennsylvania, but that’s ok. It’s not like we can expect more snowfalls that are measured by the foot instead of the inch!

Counties of the South Central Region of PA
Counties of the South Central Region of PA

To our south the snow piled up deeper and more often, but we did enjoy the wood furnace immensely. Talk about a radiating heat that lasts…once the floor and stone heated up it carried over through the night. It is so pleasing to not burn all that petroleum oil. Sorry, Canada, but we’d rather use our reusable resource that is so plentiful in PA! Time to re-order another 3 cord of wood for next winter.

Now that we’ve officially said goodbye to Winter and hello to Spring, we can list the signs of Spring all around us:

  • Canada geese flying north
  • slate-colored juncos no longer here
  • increase in songbird’s morning music
  • perennials like lilacs and raspberries showing off buds
  • maple trees flowering bright red
  • crocuses flowering beautifully in purple and white
  • first blooming yard weed — the white-flowering Pennsylvania Bittercress
  • strawberries greening up with new leaves starting to push
  • lilies, echinacea, mint, catnip, columbine showing new growth
  • tulip greenery up about halfway
  • garter snakes visiting the garden and spooking the leaf raker
  • garlic and parsley re-greening in the garden

Time to get to the woods to see the Spring ephemeral flowers, like hepatica, bloodroot, trout lily, violets and lots more. Check out the local parks and forests near you for places to see these beautiful Spring flowers. Your state department of conservation or forests and parks will be able to help you find a walking trail. In Pennsylvania we have the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to help find a local state park.

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