HALLIE EPHRON: Here in New England we have “sprung ahead” so daylight is breaking at around the time I am waking and signs of spring abound!
A pair of downy woodpeckers are doing their darndest to make a dent in my brick chimney. Cardinals are back and proclaiming wallah-ballou from the rooftops. A flicker is drilling for worms between the stones in my patio. A house finch (with a bright red head) is singing from the top of a maple tree in front of my house. And I’m bidding a fond farewell to the darling little juncoes (snow birds) that have literally flocked to my garden all winter.
My yard is shaking off winter doldrums. Carpets of blue scilla are popping up everywhere, and some have hopped the fence and are colonizing in my neighbor’s garden. The little clump I planted at Jerry’s grave is blooming.
Sedum, which will bloom in October, are starting to poke their tidy succulent heads heads out of the soil.
What’s happening in your neck of the woods that says: Spring has sprung! Or maybe not so much...
JENN McKINLAY: Spring came and went and we’re back to summer here in AZ! It was 99 degrees the other day. Hoo boy! I’m hoping the heat slows its roll. Summer is long enough out here. But my vegetable garden is busting out, so I am very happy!
RHYS BOWEN: I’m with Jenn! Just when I was loving spring it was suddenly summer and 99 degrees. I had to switch from heating to air conditioning. I think it’s back to more normal temps next week but if it stays like this it’s back to California for me.
Lucy Burdette: Spring in Key West is not subtle! We have the bright red royal Poinciana trees, yellow, or pink plumeria (which also smell lovely), and what my sister calls yellow rain. This tree has delicate bright, yellow flowers that rain down onto the sidewalk. Also, the orchids that have been tied to various palm trees seem to burst into blossom this time of year. Here’s one from my neighbor.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: In one word: ducks! They are back, and Flo and Eddy are as adorable as ever.
Also, spring brings the opening salvos in the humans vs. squirrels/rabbits skirmish over the tulips–who will prevail? We are spreading Rabbit Scram like mad. Sorry bunnies, you are so cute, but our hosta and tulips are not bunny salad. Grrr.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: The squirrels are very helpfully turning our flowerbeds for us, Hank. But I can't say a bad word about them since Rick has tamed one of them. He's named her Tikka and she eats peanuts out of his hand. As annoying as the digging up of things is, I have to admit she's pretty cute.
Spring is springing in full force here in north Texas, although it seems a couple of weeks later than is normal for us. Last night we moved the big plants back outside, and today I'm off to hit the stores for Boston ferns.
I bought tomatoes last weekend so hopefully we will get those in this next week, as well as getting new plants in the deck and patio pots.
The roses are all thick with buds and the Climbing Old Blush (always the earliest) has a bloom or two. The bridal wreath is blooming, the Japanese maples have leafed out in brilliant scarlet.
There will be something new every day now–and so many chores and projects! The gorgeous pots and hanging baskets I brought back from Round Top will need to be repotted into bigger containers. Here's one of the pots with the Japanese fishing float that was my fun find at the show.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’m experiencing just the opposite of Rhys and Jenn here in Maine - just as I was enjoying the first signs of spring, The Old Crone of Winter came back for another go-round! We have four inches on the ground and more sleet and freezing rain in the forecast.
The few song birds that already arrived are very quiet today - probably wondering why they weren’t still in the Carolinas!
I did get out yesterday afternoon while it was nice and warm and started my annual spring task of picking up all the branches that fell over the winter. I have two enormous trees in the front of the house, and it amazes me how many deadfalls they have over the course of a year and still keep right on leafing out.
As for other signs of spring… sigh. I’m visiting friends in the Hamptons in a week and a half; I’m hoping the landscape is more hopeful there.
HALLIE: It should be super-springy week after next in the Hamptons!
Now over to you! Is spring bursting out, limping along, or in hiding in your neck of the woods?
DEBORAH CROMBIE: The squirrels are very helpfully turning our flowerbeds for us, Hank. But I can't say a bad word about them since Rick has tamed one of them. He's named her Tikka and she eats peanuts out of his hand. As annoying as the digging up of things is, I have to admit she's pretty cute.
Spring is springing in full force here in north Texas, although it seems a couple of weeks later than is normal for us. Last night we moved the big plants back outside, and today I'm off to hit the stores for Boston ferns.
I bought tomatoes last weekend so hopefully we will get those in this next week, as well as getting new plants in the deck and patio pots.
The roses are all thick with buds and the Climbing Old Blush (always the earliest) has a bloom or two. The bridal wreath is blooming, the Japanese maples have leafed out in brilliant scarlet.
There will be something new every day now–and so many chores and projects! The gorgeous pots and hanging baskets I brought back from Round Top will need to be repotted into bigger containers. Here's one of the pots with the Japanese fishing float that was my fun find at the show.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’m experiencing just the opposite of Rhys and Jenn here in Maine - just as I was enjoying the first signs of spring, The Old Crone of Winter came back for another go-round! We have four inches on the ground and more sleet and freezing rain in the forecast.
The few song birds that already arrived are very quiet today - probably wondering why they weren’t still in the Carolinas!
I did get out yesterday afternoon while it was nice and warm and started my annual spring task of picking up all the branches that fell over the winter. I have two enormous trees in the front of the house, and it amazes me how many deadfalls they have over the course of a year and still keep right on leafing out.
As for other signs of spring… sigh. I’m visiting friends in the Hamptons in a week and a half; I’m hoping the landscape is more hopeful there.
HALLIE: It should be super-springy week after next in the Hamptons!
Now over to you! Is spring bursting out, limping along, or in hiding in your neck of the woods?
Spring is here . . . the daffodils are blooming . . . there are buds on the lilac bush. We've had very strange weather, though . . . temperatures in the seventies one day, in the low forties the next . . . .
ReplyDeleteTemps have been swinging here, too. Our daffs are coming out of the ground but not yet blooming. And the rabbits have woken up. Boo.
DeleteLike Julia, we had a couple of days that hit 60° and then it was back to inches of snow. An ice storm was predicted for this weekend but though we had a lot of ice, we did not lose power and yesterday afternoon it warmed enough for much of the ice to slide off the roof of the house and barn. Last night it was rain. I'm definitely ready for spring but to be realistic, snow is a possibility here through mid-May. (Selden)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a whole lot of "weather"
DeleteHere's to the Adirondacks, Selden! There's a reason I write about the area instead of living there!
DeleteWe have daffodils blooming and blessedly no snow, even though I'm only an hour south of Julia. We barely avoided freezing rain on our drive north to NH yesterday midday, but I'm loving all the light in the sky.
ReplyDeleteI haven't started greens in the boxes yet. Maybe this week I'll start some lettuces indoors. It's way too early to do much else in the garden, and anyway, I have a book to finish writing.
Here, too, finches are chowing down at the new feeder, cardinals are busy everywhere, house wrens are calling, and downy woodpeckers pecking. Alas, the bluebird couple who had been in and around the nesting box seem to have gone missing, despite the dried mealworms I spread for them every morning. Maybe next year.
Oooh, I'd love to see a bluebird, even in passing.
DeleteHope the bluebirds come back to you, Edith. Have you guys cleaned the nest box? That seems to make a difference here. The local bluebirds look like they are either starting a nest or at least investigating the housing opportunities here.
DeleteI am north of Edith and south of Julia in Kittery Maine and the freezing rain flattened hopeful daffodils and crocus, but the birds are building nests and singing up the dawn.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great time for bird walking since the trees haven't yet leafed out so birds are easier to spot.
DeleteI'm not hearing a lot of dawn singing - although that may be because I wear an eye mask and am sound asleep at 6am!
DeleteIt has been delightful to see things blooming in March, as it is a good two months earlier than I am used to. Azaleas and drift roses, I believe. The other day I saw an orange butterfly flit by my front porch, but I didn’t get a good enough look to identify it. Still hoping to see some hummingbirds, but it may take some time to attract them in a new construction area. I’ve planted some things in pots toward accomplishing that and have a feeder out. It rained all day yesterday so things are really green now. Poor folks back in Minnesota had enough snow to cover the grass once again yesterday.
ReplyDeleteNo butterflies here but I did see a honey bee.
DeleteWe had false spring here in Manitoba for a short while, then on Thursday to Friday about 4-6 inches of snow fell. Sigh. Beautiful and white, with that bright sunshine that seems almost luminous compared to the pale winter sun. But we are weeks and weeks away from anything sprouting up through the earth, so your reports from further south are balm to my soul.
ReplyDeleteNote to self: skip "spring" in Manitoba.
DeleteHa ha, Hallie. March is definitely NOT the month to visit here! But our lakes and gardens are lovely come late June, July and August.
DeleteI am between Lucy and Brenda in Tampa. Spring is gone and the wet season is here. Happy for me, I no longer have to wash the pollen off the car, house, and sometimes me. The outside temp right now is 70 degrees, and the humidity is 97%, Space heaters are stowed, fans and dehumidifiers are now ready for action.
ReplyDeleteThe birds that wake us now are blue jays, and mocking birds. Not many butterflies as yet; some quite toxic caterpillars are crawling around the front door. The lizards are not eating them (wise ways of nature). The indoor cats have relocated, the outdoor cat has moved on.
There's a reason so man of us "fly" north from Florida come spring...
DeleteForsythia and daffodils, nature's first pairing of the year, are in full bloom. The pear trees exploded into bloom two days ago, just in time for horrific storms and our first tornado warning of 2025. Limbs of the red buds are lined with tiny fuchsia blossoms and the crabapple trees are leafing out, to be followed by white blossoms.
ReplyDeleteI cut some forsythia branches and forced them indoors. So cheerful! They're still not blooming outside, though.
DeleteTHAT'S what I'll do today, cut some forsythia branches.
DeleteOur redbuds are just finishing. I wish they lasted longer. They are so gorgeous.
DeleteIn Québec, we are at the stage when the sap of the maples flows and we can pick it to make syrup.
ReplyDeleteSpring will come later but I hear more birds singing even if I don’t still see many.
I want to hear more about maple sap picking...
DeleteI don’t know the English terms. Most of us who have only a couple of maples can take the old ways and drill a hole in the tree and attach some can under it to get the sap. It is so delicious, a little sugared water. It is mostly for the pleasure if it.
DeleteFew producers of maple syrup use this method anymore . Now, after drilling a whole, they tie lengths of tubulure to bring the sap where it will be transformed in syrup.
Danielle, if you will allow me to add to maple syrup making. Here is a part of an essay that I wrote in 2017 explaining it to Maritimers.
DeletePart 1
Another ‘Canadian’ ritual of spring is the tapping of maple syrup. I am sure that it is done in Cape Breton, but it is not something that everyone attends here. We lived in Quebec and Eastern Ontario, where the Cabane à sucre and the tapping of the trees is a yearly event. The first time that I ever attended one of these, we were just married and living in Quebec. The place that we visited was a commercial enterprise and was run more efficiently than a church supper. The huge cabane was nestled in a wooded area, and surrounded not only by a parking lot, but by plastic hosing. It was through this hosing that the sap would travel from the tree through a meandering of tubing to arrive in the giant vat where it was stored until it was time for the evaporation process. They also had a demonstration area that showed the old way, in which a hole was bored into the tree to just the right depth and a spigot inserted. A pail was hung from the spigot and the watery liquid was collected. Each pail was emptied daily and taken back to the huge pans where the water was boiled off and the magic of the syrup happened.
We had one maple tree on our land in Ontario, so one year the neighbour showed the kids how to tap. We collected the syrup and began to boil the water off. It takes 40 litres of sap to make 1 litre of syrup, so it takes a lot of time and puts off a lot of steam especially if you are boiling it in your kitchen. The kids became bored and so did I. It was a difference of a matter of fortunate seconds that I caught the stuff as it went poof from water to syrup. It was quickly taken off the stove and popped into a snow bank to cool, and hence saved the bottom of my pot. Many pots are sacrificed during this season.
Part 2
DeleteMeanwhile back to the commercial meal. The place was rustic inside, and the seating was all people together along benches and tables. You took a seat and began to be served. There was a huge platter of green bacon which was something that I had never encountered before. The bacon is not cured as we know it, but served ‘green’. It contains the rind and the fatty layer underneath. It is cut into long slices about ¼ inch thick and then fried until not quite crisp. Then great gallons of maple syrup are poured over it, so you get a chewy, sweet, but not salty piece of meat. People rave over it. Next came vats of homemade baked beans with more syrup poured over that before serving. There were plates and plates of pancakes in what seemed like a never diminishing pile. Slices of cold ham were on the table as well as browned sausages. Some places have pea soup and may or may not have meatballs. A good place will also have eggs served in the form of an omelette boiled in maple syrup. So, having taken your seat on the bench, you proceed to put all this food on your plate, and then just in case there is not enough maple syrup cooked with the dishes, there are huge jugs of it on the table so you can top it up. A diabetic heart attack on a plate – but amazingly good once a year.
Part 3
DeleteOur neighbour had their own maple lot and so tapped the trees for themselves and for a few sales. They did not do the whole commercial meal thing, but every year in May when the weather was warm and the ground was suitable for walking on, she held her sugar party. Other than having neighbours walking about in kilts and blowing on bag-pipes in the spring sun, it was just a friendly neighbourhood get together where the highlight was the maple taffy. She would boil great pots of maple syrup to just the correct temperature and then pour it on big pans of fresh snow that she had rescued in the early spring and kept in her freezer especially for this event. The pans were brought outdoors and popsicle sticks were passed out. The taffy edge was caught delicately on the edge of the stick and together with fragments of the icy snow was slowly rolled around the stick and then popped into your mouth. Nectar of the gods! Then came the strange part. There was a plate of home-made dill pickles cut in long pieces. Between bites of the taffy, you ate the pickle. Once more, one of those things that is greater than the sum of its parts. Nirvana.
This was our memory of the rite of spring, even if it did not happen until May. It had all the prerequisites – good food, good company, good neighbours, a fine day – and taffy on a stick.
In Northern Virginia everything is budding up because yesterday was over 80 degrees. My cat REALLY wants to go outside to check out grass & birds. Today I’m finally confident enough to put out cushions on the yard swing & plan the veggies for my new raised garden beds.
ReplyDeleteYou're WAY ahead of us...
DeleteWith a day of over 70 degrees, the lilac leaves popped out, the forsythia is blooming as are the daffodils, and the maples are red with buds. The understory shrubs are leafing out in the woods, and my Merlin app for birds picked up 20 bird calls/songs yesterday--so yes, definite signs of spring. However, this being northern Ohio, I'm waiting for the final delivery of propane to top off the tank, because April can bring snow and ice and cold nights can linger into early June.
ReplyDeleteMerlin app! I use it almost daily on my early spring walks.
Delete20 birds, Flora! Do you think some are migrating?
DeleteSome of the birds, maybe, but on some summer walks we can easily have more than 20 birds. My neighborhood has a wooded preserve, a creek, wet thickets, a pond or two or three, fields, and a mix of trees--evergreens, deciduous, nut trees--lots of variety to attract birds. I'm still hoping to get a good glimpse of an Indigo bunting. They're here in the summer, but I never see one close enough to admire. Although, mid-morning I looked out my kitchen window to find a plump male bluebird alight on a post in my flowerbed.
DeleteAfter the typical tease of warm weather followed by a dip back into the 30s, we are on the upward trend here in the Laurel Highlands. Daffodils are everywhere. I had some volunteer crocuses in the front yard and something purple is blooming on the hillside. There is a faint brush of green on the bushes. I saw a forsythia in full bloom as I was driving down the Loyalhanna Gorge - and looking at all the cars from the spring fishermen. And the rains have started right on time.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about April rains.
DeleteAnd the doves are back! SO cute, and flitterry dithery and they always come in pairs. I am so tempted to put out annuals, but it is way too early. I also heard that although mothers day is the usual time for annuals around here (Boston) that the climate change is altering the gardening zones, so it's okay to do it before that. SO scary.
ReplyDeleteI'll get a pot of pansies as soon as they show up at the Stop n Shop, and set them on the back steps.
DeleteIt is so fun to hear about the Spring excitement all around on here. It gives me hope. We were hit with another snow and ice storm in here in Maine over the weekend. While I took advantage and had a cozy weekend, I am feeling eager for greenery and gardening. The birds and squirrels wait patiently for me very morning to get their food out to them. And the deer show up most nights for their winter treats. I have my gardening planner to keep me hopeful for greener days ahead.
ReplyDeleteHope "springs"!
DeleteDespite the “ dang, darn pollen” here annually in CHS , SC all else is blooming right along, even thought there was a “freeze” in Dec. Thought I got away from that in Ipswich, Ma. Delightful to return there in summer. My exciting new Brazilian plume, tropical so I am hopeful. I love the small, bright umbrella like blooms. Let me know anyone had one. I’ll look for picture.
ReplyDeleteSounds gorgeous
DeleteThe most positive thing I can say is that I have pussy willows! And maybe the daffodils will be in bloom by next weekend. For now it is rain and mud, but alt least there is no snow. However, knowing how things can get in this neck of the woods my heavy snow boots and the snow shovels are still at the ready!
ReplyDeleteJust put my snow shovels in the basement but keeping my boots by the back door.
DeleteSpring has sprung here--although we are back in the rain cycle at the moment. Daffodils, hyacinths and tulips are everywhere. The daphnes are about done. Flickers, finches, bluejays and others that I don't recognize are around. Unfortunately the red tail hawks have moved up to Rocky Butte, and may or may not be nesting there. I've done some weeding and have a ton more to do, but am happy to be in Oregon in the spring. So lovely.
ReplyDeleteSounds lovely, indeed.
DeleteI’m from Oregon and now warmer/dryer Arizona. I’ve decided that I want it all. I want all the colorful flowers of my home town - which I miss very much - and the heat - within reason - of the desert. All at the same time. Hmmm, wonder where that might be. In my dreams?
DeleteOpps, the desert and flowers comment is mine. Paula B
DeleteHere in GA things are blooming away. So much pollen that the asphalt has turned that delightful sickly yellow-green that lets you know that Spring is officially here. Temps in the 70s and possible 80s later this week. Beats the bleakness of Winter any day. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteWe get that sticky yellow thingie but not for another 4-6 weeks. Makes a mess on the car.
DeleteHere in the San Francisco Bay Area we are having a good spring. We had a few days of warm weather now a few days of scattered rainfall and expecting warmer weather at the end of the week. Lots of plants coming up. It's about time for me to buy some Persian and Armenian cucumbers to plant. Since I don't have raised beds I don't plant my tomatoes until the ground warms up which is usually around the end of May. I do love spring!
ReplyDeleteYou must be in San Francisco. Here in the South Bay lots of eighty degree temperatures in February. We had our first 100 degree day last week. A couple of days of rain in March. Everything has bloomed, trees roses and all other flowering shrubs. White bloom trees were out in late January. .Last week and this week temperatures in the mid seventies to 80. Next weekend back up to 90.
DeleteWe plantedc out tomatoes two weeks ago.
Ottawa waa kind of thawing out into spring & the mapke syrup season had started jn March.
ReplyDeleteI'm in hot hot humid Singapore & reading online that most of south & eastern Ontario has been socked by a multi-day snow and ice storm this ftom Friday night-Sunday.
BBC states over 330,000 customers in smaller communities are without power.
So we had a FALSE SPRING.
Still waiting for the real spring to stick around in Ontario.
Over a million tulips will start blooming in mid-May for the annual Ottawa Tulip Festival.
I have lilac blossoms blooming and camellia blooms dropping next to each other. My neighbor's stone fruit tree is in full, bright pink blooms. And it was cold and rainy yesterday. Tomorrow is April.
ReplyDeleteSpring came last week…lovely dry winds from the NE and NW, low to mid 70s…and with much rain, thunder, and lightning yesterday, it left. At 11 this morning, dew point 73, air temp 79, feels like 82 here at the beach in southeast FL. Missing the crocus, forsythia, and daffodils of northwestern CT. Cheers, Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI woke up to the sound of rain this morning in San Diego. Apparently it was in the forecast (and totally explains the headaches both my husband and I were complaining about last night), I wasn’t expecting it! It’s been a little cooler than usual for the past week, but I am enjoying it. All our hillside plants, rosemary, escalonia and one whose name I have forgotten, are blooming so the birds and bees are flitting around. — Pat S
ReplyDeleteHere in southern CT the daffodils decided to spring into bloom on Saturday! The Hellebores lifted their heads into bloom about a week ago. And there are buds on nearly all the trees! We’re supposed to have rain for the rest of the week, and I’m hoping it will bring forth April flowers!
ReplyDeleteDebRo
I am in the middle between Hank and Hallie in MA. Some tulip leaves have sprouted, but no flowers or bird. sounds yet. Since April begins tomorrow and the forecast is supposed to be cloudy and rainy this week, hopefully, April showers…Daffodils should show up in the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteAt least the additional light gives a promise of the spring to come.
I remember being in Charleston SC in early March and seeing the beautiful spring flowering trees and bushes-they were way ahead of icy MA that year.
We earn our spring in New England.
Checking in from San Diego as well. Lots of birds chirping all around - not sure what they are but they are delightful to listen to. We've also had lots of large crows which are fun to watch. As far plants, I'm waiting for acacia trees on the main boulevard to spring into flowers not sure why they have bare branches. We've had a lot a fog, rain, and cool weather lately.
ReplyDeleteSo many micro climates in California! The Acacia trees here in my part of the Bay Area bloomed a month ago,
DeleteOh, we are springing here in the Shenandoah Valley! Daffodils everywhere. And crocus. Trees are blooming white clouds everywhere. My redbud is about to bloom, as are the baby plum trees. My transplanted peony didn't croak after all! It is coming up! A magnificent saucer magnolia has been blooming down the street. The sidewalk is covered in pink petals. Still too early for the dogwoods.
ReplyDeleteA dear friend died two years ago and I now have her potted hibiscus. As of a few days ago, the buds were beginning to open. Sadly, too soon, since I'm in the SF Bay Area and we're expecting heavy rains. However, this little plant is as tenacious as my friend, so I expect she'll be in full and glorious bloom mid-April.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos of Spring with the birds and flowers, Hallie. Today it is raining in northern California. We definitely need rain! Look forward to seeing the sun come out because the trees are going to be bright green as a result of the rain.
ReplyDeleteActually we have more than normal rainfall. Sunny here in my part of the Bay. Reservoirs are releasing water to the streams which flow back to the ocean. We actually do not need more rain.
DeleteYou should have seen the crowds at the big box garden centers here in n. TX yesterday! And I completely filled up my car. Now, however, I see that a dip into the upper thirties has popped into next week's forecast. Maybe I can't put out those tomatoes quite yet...
ReplyDeleteI'm about two hundred miles south of Deb, so the roses are in full bloom and the bluebonnets are everywhere. The goldfinches will head north soon, and I'll be sad to see them go. - Karen R.
ReplyDeleteGarden centers: I read a tip that Home Depot is putting it's plants on the discount rack as soon as they blossom. One woman reported picking up a whole box of grape hyacinth to enjoy now, plant later.
ReplyDeleteArgh! 'its' not 'it's'. You think with just finishing up my copy edits I'd have that down...
DeleteYou do have its it’s down…it ‘s spell check’s bete noire! Elisabeth
DeleteHere, along the Columbia River, my Oso Berry bush was the first to leaf out telling me spring was on its way. The next to show were buds on the hazel nut shrubs, and leaf sprouts on the dogwood, black cottonwood, and large leaf maple. The best part is the carpet of fringecup and wild strawberry, spreading across the ground.
ReplyDeleteHere in New York, spring is limping along. One day it is "no jackets" warm and the (literally) next, so cold that heavy sweaters are needed under the winter puffer jacket. It is very, very confusing. BUT- we have seen some blossoms on trees and daffodils blooming here and there, so there is hope. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which rejoices in a magnificent cherry blossom display, has started the Cherry Blossom Watch, which means spring is tiptoing in.
ReplyDeleteI’m in the NE corner of Calif., and we got about 4” of snow last night, with more predicted into tomorrow. Back to long sleeves and undershirts! Could happily have done without it. Snow shovels are still on the porch, so that’s ok. We had a shopping trip to our closest city (2 hours north of us) planned, I think we will reschedule. Cathy H-S
ReplyDeleteLove these glimpses of what is to come! We had snow, sleet, freezing rain, and now rain last night into today and more of it is expected on Thursday. My bulbs are still buried under snow drifts, but the melt has begun and it never takes too long. I've noticed buds on the poplars and choke cherries, yesterday we were treated to the woody woodpecker calls of the pileated woodpeckers, house and purple finches have made it to my feeder as have juncos, redpolls, evening grosbeaks, redwinged blackbirds, grackles, and gold finch. Yep, won't be too long before the daffy dills are springing.
ReplyDeleteSpring is springing here in Cincinnati! This being the fifth spring since we moved here, so many things are finally maturing enough to be showy. I picked an armload of daffodils yesterday (my father-in-law planted most of them, decades ago), and the redbuds have popped buds just in the last couple days. Some hyacinths, a handful of early tulips my daughter brought me from Amsterdam are all in profuse bloom. The bleeding hearts were not even above ground ten days ago, but they burst into bloom today! Serviceberry, blueberry, and haskap berry bushes are promising lots of fruit, if the number of blossoms are any indication. The giant Gladiator and Globemaster alliums have lots of foliage, and it looks like they have multiplied well. Time to divide them.
ReplyDeleteI planted my raised vegetable beds a few days ago, in time to get watered by our spring rains. Just waiting for the ground to dry out a bit so I can plant some more peonies, iris, and other perennial bulbs/tubers.
Happy spring!
The Pittsburgh photographer I follow on Facebook has been posting pics of all the redbuds in bloom in various parts of the city. So pretty!
DeleteThey are! And tasty. I'm thinking of inviting my girlfriends for lunch next week, just so i can use those gorgeous blossoms in a salad. I know mine have no chemicals on them.
DeleteFreezing rain, rain, and temperature at the freezing mark. We were off to the hospital this morning, and I didn’t get time to start the fires, so now sitting with a vest over sweatshirt, and thinking gloves would be nice. Probably psychological, but still… Made hot soup for lunch, and even though I wanted salad for supper yesterday, and made it, I think it will go back in the fridge in favour of eggs and bacon, and probably beans – something definitely hot. The weather person is promising rain from now until forever. All I can say, is better than snow – marginally.
ReplyDeleteFor all of you enjoying daffodils right now, in Cape Breton they may bloom late April, and then late May will be the tulips. The good news for all of that is that it stays cool in the nights, which means that daffodils will be around for about a month, and tulips will still be a hit as July comes in and with July the peonies.
Last week we had some beautiful warm, sunshiny days here in Kentucky, so although our reason for driving to Lexington wasn't a pleasant one, the scenery there and back was full of the signs of spring. Most notably were the abundance of daffodils and white dogwoods covering the land along the roadways. Now, here's something that may be a Kentucky thing, but growing up many, including my husband, called the daffodils at his grandparents' farm jonquils. I got into that after we married and visited his grandparents a lot on Sundays. His grandmother and others had the saying that it always snows on the jonquils, and that's often true. But, back to the jonquils and daffodils question many have about which is it. More than likely all those yellow flowers you see along the roadside and on the farms are daffodils. I like that they are called heritage plants because they can stay around years after the people are gone. Oh, and I learned that jonquils are always daffodils, but daffodils aren't always jonquils. Here is a lovey short piece I found from a Kentucky gardener about daffodils when I was looking up "daffodil or jonquil."
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Kathy!
DeleteJonquils is definitely a Southern term. Two different friends who grew up in Alabama and Arkansas called them jonquils.
Here is the link to the article https://www.annhgabhart.com/2023/02/26/daffodils-or-jonquils/
ReplyDeleteThe rain stopped and the sun is shining outside. The flowers are blossoming and it looks like spring has arrived, Hallie.
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm so late reporting in today! Spring has come to Bern, and the large daffodils on my balcony are blooming, as well as the bluebells and/or crocuses (croci?) in my neighbors' patches of garden. The little lilac tree in a pot on my balcony is full of small buds, too. I love spring! But the nights are still under 40 degrees.
ReplyDeleteMy grape vine (put in last year) has baby grapes!!! Just noticed today!!!
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