Signs of spring

It's March.It's time here in the Southeastern U.S.The blueberry buds are swelling. Carolina jessamine flowers on the front porch railing are about to open (normally they'd have opened already).  Red maple flowers have come and gone (I think). Some of the earliest spring natives have emerged, although...

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Brown thrashers and cardinals

Even if the weather doesn't seem like spring, and is unusual for late February, plants and animals mark and take notice of lengthening days.The male cardinals are singing now, the robins are flocking, and a brown thrasher is pronouncing loudly (very early in the morning) that his territory consists of the hollies outside the kitchen door.  (We've had thrashers nesting there for years).We've had...

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Signs of spring

Even though it's just at the end of January, there are signs of spring to come. Buds swelling, bluebirds and robins flocking, songs beginning.I saw a group of 8 Great Blue Herons last week on my morning walk along the dikes above Lake Hartwell.  Most unusual, as normally I'd just see one, or two. On...

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Greening begins

Coming down the Blue Ridge Escarpment this evening, the trees looked different. Leaves are emerging. Greening has begun.It still looked like winter, when I drove "up the hill" to the mountains on Thursday, but not anymore.  The soft greens, pinkish-greens, and pale greens of new foliage were evident...

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A beautiful spring day

Finally, a day worthy of real spring.  Clear blue sky. Temps in the mid-70°s. Redbuds in flower and dogwoods well along.I planted sprouted fingerling potatoes this afternoon -- the woodchuck shouldn't like the above-ground parts, I hope, even though s/he seems to have snagged my collards already.I...

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Spring is here

In spite of a nasty cold northerly wind today, bringing yet more freezing temperatures, spring is definitely here in the Carolinas.  It's welcome, for sure.  It's been a long cold winter for us; we're not familiar with the deep freeze (and snowy weather) that we've experienced this year.But spring is still evident everywhere -- flowering redbuds and oaks, fruiting maples, flowering blueberries,...

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Spring is popping out

From daffodils to Oconee bells, flowering has commenced.  Hooray!The Asian cherries in the median of our small city's entrance are in flower (after being coaxed into early flowering last fall); daffodils are up everywhere in our "yard" --not planted by us, but echoing past gardeners, as do the crocuses.In the Garden, the first Oconee bells are in flower, too.  At the end of February, it's...

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Finally, signs of spring!

A mild winter day was welcome after the deep freeze of January (and the natural gas bill that accompanied it -- yikes, it was at least a third to a half more than we'd ever paid before!)More importantly, signs of spring are popping --dandelions are in flower and the early yellow jasmine (the Asian shrub,...

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Signs of spring

The first Carolina Jessamine flowers have opened, both outside my study window and along the front step railing.  Well-expanded flower buds of a single bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) plant near the front path are just waiting for a bright sunny day to open, too.I imagine that the small patch of Hepatica acutiloba at the Garden might be in flower, too.  What with the continuing rainy...

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Signs of spring

I've been so distracted by other concerns that I've neglected my garden lately. We've enjoyed summer green beans (from the chest freezer), roasted tomatoes, too, and even roasted peaches (turned into freezer jam).A lovely excursion with middle-school students into the Garden (where I work) found us listening to early bird calls and noticing all the early-flowering Asian plants.Hmm, it looks like...

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