Six on Saturday: Sudden Spring

Flowers everywhere; even the Magnolias are breaking bud today.

I can’t quite remember the last time we enjoyed a February day in the mid-80s.  Except this past Thursday.  Yesterday and today were supposed to be cooler, but by yesterday afternoon it was warm and sunny again, then mid-30s by this morning with rain still on the way.  Our local weather folks showed a calendar documenting that our area has enjoyed above normal temperatures for at least 17 days in February thus far.  Of course the normal, and below normal days were early in the month. 

But the summery warmth and sunshine on Thursday set a record.  We enjoyed watching bumblebees and butterflies cavorting in the sunshine, visiting the flowers, and generally enjoying life.  Spring is on ‘fast-forward’ here.  Which means I’ve needed to re-set myself to ‘fast-forward,’ too, to keep up. 

We usually leave the clean-up to late winter so the birds have the benefit of cover and lingering seeds as long as possible.  And I usually tackle a little at a time in batches.  This week has seen me diligently at work cutting the last remaining stems of fall’s perennials so they don’t hide the emerging daffodils, and pruning away at the rose of Sharon shrubs and remaining beauty berries.  This is the best time to prune anything that isn’t going to bloom between now and May, and absolutely the best time to train and shape the crape myrtles and any saplings.

So many daffies opening all at once this week! I’m still working on late winter clean-up.

It is also the last chance to plant potted trees before the weather warms too much for them to survive. The potted maples on the deck were already in leaf yesterday.  There are still two Camellias, a chestnut, and two iron wood trees that need to be planted out in the coming days.  The tricky part is finding an appropriate spot where one can dig a large enough hole to plant them among the many roots already filling the spaces. 

I used the spot where a little Alberta spruce had expired to plant a potted Ginko tree last week.  It was too hot and dry last summer for the spruce, but we have high hopes that the Ginko will spread its roots out and thrive. Part of the challenge in recent years is to choose plants that can withstand summer’s heat as well as our winter cold. The USDA zones tell only half the story.

Daffodil lovers know to expect early, mid-season and late season blooms.  Daffodils can bloom over three or four months in a ‘normal’ season.  (What is normal, anymore?)  Our season began normally enough, with the old fashioned yellow trumpets planted by the original gardeners here.  But each day this week has brought new varieties into bloom.  The bulbs are all mixed up, too, it seems.  We have mid-season daffodils, a few spare Crocus, and only a single little Muscari blooming thus far. 

Snowdrops or summer snowflakes? I can’t remember whether I planted Leucojum or Galanthus here. What do you think?

A stand of white flowered bulbs has me trying to remember whether I planted a patch of Galanthus there or a patch of Leucojum.  These are tall like summer snowflakes, but those normally don’t bloom here until mid to late spring, April, at least.  I was thrilled to see newly planted Galanthus in a different bed last week.  Whichever they are, they are naturalizing nicely, and we are enjoying them.

We have four different Camellia japonicas blooming now.  Lots of trees are in various stages of budding out.  We have color now on the pear tree.  Some of the redbuds have broken wood with tiny pink buds, still tightly closed.  The Japanese quince opened their buds by Thursday afternoon.

The acorns planted last fall are breaking ground in their planting boxes and I’ve started potting them up into gallon pots as they leaf out.  For several years now, I’ve been growing out indigenous seeds and looking for friends willing to plant the trees.  There are usually a few trees ready to donate to the spring plant sales. 

Naturalized Oregon grape holly has already set fruit

It is important for us to value the indigenous strains of native trees and keep them going in our area. Homeowners wanting a new tree so often go to the local stores and find trees shipped in from nurseries states away, and most of those aren’t even species native in our area.  It doesn’t take long for that to have a profound effect on what grows in our region.  So, I hope to change that, a few trees at a time. 

Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis

This morning I shelled out the seeds from the last redbud pods clinging to a tree in our back garden.  A neighbor described how redbud trees once lined some of the streets in our neighborhood, which was founded nearly 60 years ago on woodland acreage.  The original residents remember how beautiful it was in those days with redbuds and dogwoods blooming each spring.  I plan to offer free redbud trees to whomever is willing to plant them in our community.  Maybe, working together, we can restore some of that original beauty.

The odd weather patterns show us, unmistakably, that change is upsetting our garden routines.  Quite honestly, all of our routines.  Like other life forms on our planet, we can choose to adapt and thrive or to stubbornly refuse to adapt and go the way of the dinosaurs.  I vote for adapting, personally, and finding small things that we can each do to somehow make things better for all.

With appreciation to Jim Stephens of Garden Ruminations, who hosts Six on Saturday each week.

You might enjoy my new series of posts, Plants I Love That Deer Ignore.

Visit Illuminations Each Day for a daily garden photo and a quotation

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