Springtime on steroids

I tried a little experiment documenting the effects of record high temperatures on emerging bulbs and perennials.

Hellebores

Snowdrops

I captured several plants before work this morning at about 8 a.m., and the same plants at about 5:30 p.m. Some of the differences are subtle, and occurred because of daylight shifts as well as mild weather, but it’s fun to see changes in Hellebores, Hyacinths, and Crocuses.

morning

afternoon

morning

afternoon

morning

afternoon

The mild weather is bringing the blooms out early. Last year, the Crocuses didn’t bloom until April 9. This year, March 14 was the magic date.

I thought for sure the Daffodils would be blooming when I got home from work. It won’t take long now—they’re about ready to burst. And the forecast is showing mild weather for the next two weeks.

morning

evening

Other plants, including Pachysandras and Lilacs, are pregnant with buds.

The changes will come fast now. I’d be thrilled, except this weather is so unusual I’m worried about what it will mean for our summer ahead. For now, I’m happy to shed the coats and scarves and turn off the furnace.

I’m submitting this post to Carol’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Head on over and see what’s blooming in gardens around the world.

And it’s not too late to participate in the Lessons Learned and Seasonal Celebrations memes. We’ll be posting the wrap-ups on March 20!

First blooms out of the earthy dusk

Galanthus 'S. Arnott'

Evening and the flat land,
Rich and sombre and always silent;
The miles of fresh-plowed soil,
Heavy and black, full of strength and harshness;
The growing wheat, the growing weeds,
The toiling horses, the tired men;
The long empty roads,
Sullen fires of sunset, fading,
The eternal, unresponsive sky.
Against all this, Youth,

Helleborus Orientalis

Flaming like the wild Roses,
Singing like the larks over the plowed fields,
Flashing like a star out of the twilight;
Youth with its insupportable sweetness,
Its fierce necessity,
Its sharp desire,
Singing and singing,
Out of the lips of silence,
Out of the earthy dusk.

~ "Prairie Spring," by Willa Cather

Seasonal celebrations: oh my!

In every family, there are holidays celebrated with the larger society, and holidays and traditions unique to our smaller family units. March and April are chock full of shared holidays—St. Patrick’s Day, Palm Sunday, Easter.

But these two months also contain nine out of the 23 birthdays in our family (my husband’s and my parents, our siblings, and their families). That’s 39% of the birthdays in just two months! By the time May rolls around—a month when we have no birthdays—we’re ready for a break!

The celebrations of the next few weeks include the Shamrocks, Easter baskets, bunnies, and eggs common to the season. But our group also consumes a ton of cake, ice cream, wrapping paper, and birthday candles!

In among all these celebrations, we have to have some flowers!

Whether they’re part of an Easter centerpiece or a birthday bouquet, flowers are an integral part of this season. It’s a great opportunity for me to get creative with colors, textures, and whimsical elements.

And if I have flowers left over, there’s always another holiday or birthday to celebrate the next week!

(I’m joining in Donna’s new Seasonal Celebrations meme with this post. Please visit her blog, Gardens Eye View, for more information about her great new meme. And scroll down to link in to Garden Lessons Learned.)

Garden lessons learned: winter 2011-12

'First a howling blizzard woke us,

Then the rain came down to soak us,

And now before the eye can focus—

Crocus.'

~Lija Rogers

I'm thrilled to be putting February 2012 in the rearview mirror. I've heard other cold-climate gardeners say similar things about Februarys, in general. Time to move on. Yes, early spring can be unpredictable as the poem extols, but it also brings us the Crocus, the Hellebore, and the Snowdrop, among other spring beauties.

Spring also brings a new opportunity: Donna at Gardens Eye View and I decided a few weeks ago to collaborate on two complementary memes: PlantPostings' Garden Lessons Learned and Gardens Eye View's Seasonal Celebrations. As we discussed the logistics of our collaboration, we realized an interesting connection. "Lessons Learned" looks backward to the recent past, while "Seasonal Celebrations" looks ahead to cherished holidays and traditions of the season ahead.

We also commented about how both of us tend to be people who live in the moment, or at least that's our goal.

In any case, never does the intertwining of the past and future seem so evident as when the season is changing. Donna and I invite you to participate in these two memes—either through a post that covers both, or two separate posts, or just one meme.

To start things off with Lessons Learned from the winter rapidly leaving us, here are winter "garden" lessons I've learned:

1. Gardening can take over your life year-round, if you want it to. Before I started blogging, winter was more a time away from gardening. Oh, I'd do a little planning, and I'd glance through an occasional garden book or catalog. But now with blogging, visiting blogs, and "pinning" on Pinterest, gardening is at the forefront of my free time even during the winter. And I'm just fine with that!

2. It is possible, and actually quite easy, to keep cats away from houseplants. Cages, cloches, and terrariums allow you to safely display indoor plants and keep naughty felines's paws out of them. A side benefit of a terrarium or cloche is that very little care is required once the plants are establish under glass.

3. Don't worry about plants that bud early. Nature has a way of taking care of itself. My Hydrangea started to break bud in November. I worried that it would be damaged by the cold winter ahead of it, but the buds have simply stayed in a state of suspended animation—waiting for true spring to arrive. And it now appears the Hydrangea will be just fine.

4. Find gardener friends who live in the opposite hemisphere or warmer climates. Their blogs will help you keep the faith when you face unchanging gray landscapes and late winter snowstorms. What a joy it has been to travel through cyberspace to visit lush gardens in South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, and the southern U.S.!

As we move into spring here in Wisconsin, we've seen the howling blizzards and the rains mentioned at the beginning of this post. And now we look forward to the more colorful season ahead.

Last year's Crocus

Please share your "Lessons Learned" by adding your link to this "Mr. Linky" widget:

Please Join Us:

I hope you'll join us for these special memes. Your posts can be anything you want them to be. And it seems so appropriate to collaborate with Donna and her Seasonal Celebrations meme. What lessons have you learned this past season? Then tell us about your wishes, desires, and dreams for the new season.

The rules are simple. Just create a post that talks about lessons learned and/or seasonal celebrations. If you're joining in for both memes, please leave a comment on both our blog posts. Or if you are choosing to join only one meme, leave a comment on that blog post. Make sure to include a link with your comment.

Donna and I will do a summary post of our respective memes on the solstice or the equinox. And we'll keep those posts linked on a page on our blogs. Your post should be linked in the weekend before the equinox to give us enough time to include your post in our summary. And if you link in a bit late, never fear—we will include your link on the special blog page.

Happy spring (or fall, for gardeners in the southern hemisphere)!

Note: Here's the code to add the Lessons Learned widget to your blog:
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