Very local phenology

[pameladean]

The snowdrops came up all of a piece, leaves and drooping white flowers, three or four days ago. The purple snow crocuses are blooming in the front flower bed. The peony on the south side of the house is showing red shoots, as is the evil but beguiling Japanese knotweed. The bleeding-heart in the front flower bed has put up red-and-green shoots, already frilled with proto-leaves, right out of its mulch. The blue-and-yellow thug irises are putting up leaves, as is the burgundy one that hasn't bloomed much in recent years. I should feed that one.

The dames' rocket and the motherwort have greened up. The daylilies are four to eight inches high, depending on where they are. The bare earth of the south side yard is filling up with tiny violet leaves, a bit of periwinkle, and the aforementioned Japanese knotweed. The grass is greening up. There are small leaves on both mock-orange bushes, and on the neighbors' peabush hedge. I really ought to rake the leaves off the remaining plants, but I have a deep conviction that we are going to pay for this weather with sub-zero temperatures and a raging blizzard, pretty much ANY TIME NOW. So I walk around in bemusement instead.

Ari and I saw a morning-cloak butterfly a few days ago, sunning itself on the back of a lawn chair. I've also seen various small flies and beetles, but no queen bumblebees yet, and no green darners.

Juncoes are still here, and there are so many I think they may be either passing through or preparing to leave. We have a pair of cardinals, which is always cheering. The chickadees and house sparrows and house finches are singing in their various ways, and crows are rattling.

In a rash frenzy, I ordered a bunch of plants from the Lake Country School just down the street. They used to send out six-year-olds with forms to go door to door, and you never knew exactly what you would get when you went to pick up your plants. But now everything is online. I confidently expect that the edited manuscript of my book, with a short deadline for return, will land on me on the weekend I am supposed to pick up the plants.

The mint hasn't come back yet, which concerns me. If it doesn't, I had better buy three plants of it and put them in different locations. This is a good recipe for disaster, but maybe the mint can fight back the Japanese knotweed.

Pamela

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I seem to have planted a single scilla on the parkland, as well as a clump in the far corner of my yard. I also planted handfuls near the garage, but only 2 show themselves so far. And I don't seem to know where my garden journal is from last fall where I mapped all the tulips and daffodils that I planted, but they are coming up anyway. I had carefully made little flags so I would know where my bulbs were, but these did not survive the winter.

Today, I took a lot of leaves off a lot of "pokings". On MARCH 23RD!!!! It seems foolish, but there they are, 3 or 6 inches tall.

K.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Mint vs. knotweed has the potential for a truly epic struggle, but I worry that they will enter into cahoots.

[apostle-of-eris.livejournal.com]

So . . . how many weeks ahead of usual is all this? If snow would not be at all out of season in Chicago, and my impression is that your winter extends two weeks further in both directions . . .
On March 21, "the first day of spring" it hit an official 85 degrees, the seventh day in a row to set a record high temperature.

[pameladean]

In 2009, I didn't do any reports of the yard, but on April 19th, I talked about the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, which was in its very early stages of ephemeral flowering, with a few leaves on very early shrubs.

In 2010, I report matters to be very much as they are in the current entry on March 30, and remark about the unseasonably warm weather.

In 2011, things werevery slightly further along than they are above, on April 12th.

We are setting some records nearby as well, including record minimum lows.

P.

[(Anonymous)]

If I am remembering correctly, various places in Michigan have had their record high overnight lows exceed the previous record highs.

Toronto has willow trees leafing out, and various suffers of tree-fever are unquestionably suffering, all while the robins are going mad with singing.

-- Graydon

[pameladean]

I had heard something like that about Michigan also. And our sufferers from tree-fever are certainly having a hard time of it much too early for their comfort.

Our willows are at the vivid yellow-green stage, but I would not be surprised to see leaves very soon.

(Also, hello, so glad to hear from you!)

P.

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

It's so strange reading these posts of yours right now - it's just a few days after the autumn equinox and my daffodils and hyacinths are already starting to come up, and I'm in a rush to re-plant all the bulbs I dug up when we turned the soil a couple of months ago...

[pameladean]

I know. Your farmer's market posts affect me in much the same way -- only with huge envy, since fresh local produce in Minnesota in the winter is limited to hydroponic tomatoes and some nice herbs. Well, kale and brussels sprouts early on.

P.

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

We're really very lucky in our climate here. But what I find really strange is that we get our bulbs only a couple of months after you do, not six, like we should... I've had daffodils blooming in late April here, and regularly in May, which seems wrong no matter what hemisphere you are in.

[csecooney.livejournal.com]

You know, Pam, just that you order plants "in a rash frenzy" makes me like you TO BITS!

[biblio-tech.livejournal.com]

My bloodroot opened up two days ago and the scilla are so thick the back garden looks like a lawn with blue stars. In a few days, it will look like a lake. My mint is about 1/2 in high... I'll share if you still haven't any by the time we meet again. The juncoes are on their way north; Mom says they left her (northern IL) last week.

[pameladean]

How useful that you have a spy in southern parts!

I should get some bloodroot, it's such a useful beginning-of-spring indicator, besides being beautfiul.

I love the way scilla makes pools when it gets going. Mine might do that in a couple more years.

P.