Cool, Cloudy and Rainy

Clematis Samaritan Jo

 For the last three weeks we have had mostly clouds, rain and cool weather. There were a few days of sun and 70 and 80 degree temperatures, but we have been mostly stuck in the 50 to 60 degree range and have had one or two nights in the 40's.  My clematis vine brightens up a semi shade corner of the house.

Cotoneaster

Despite the cool weather, most of the May flowering plants bloomed on time like the cotoneaster bushes in the front yard.

Peony

There are several peony bushes (which the deer won't touch) in the yard in different colors, red, pink, and this yellow one that's my favorite.

Catmint

The catmint that lines the front walk bloomed right on time.  The azaleas in the neighborhood are done flowering, and the iris in the yard have come and gone before I got a good photo of them.

Spirea

 The spirea bushes in the yard just started blooming.

Blueberry

The berries on the two old blueberry bushes in the yard are finally turning blue.  We've noticed a real drop in the squirrel population in our yard since this winter.  We used to have lots of squirrels chasing each other all over the yard, climbing the trees, and walking on the deck railing.  This year we have only seen one squirrel in the yard. 

An Early Spring

3/5/17

     Although we have had some cold spells in January and February, for the most part those months have had above normal temperatures.  In fact, weather reports say we have had the warmest February on record in our area.  And although we have had an inch or two of snow a couple of times, we have escaped any big snow storms like we had in 2014 and 2015.  The antumnalis cherry tree in our front yard, pictured above, has bloomed in November as it usually does, but also had some blooms around January 5, and is now in full spring bloom as this photo of February 24 shows.  This is a month earlier than it usually blooms.

     I started noticing the trees budding the first week of February.  I thought I was seeing things that weren't really there.  But each day, as I walked the dog, I looked again, and the trees were definitely budding.  Also in February while walking the dog, I noticed many other plants blooming:  daffodils, blue periwinkle, violets, forsythia.  The following photos show what's happening in my yard this early spring.

I saw the first hellebore blooms around February 2 at the side of the house by the wooded floodplain.

The full spread of hellebore plants in that area were in full bloom three weeks later on February 24.

The jonquils in the side garden were emerging on February 2.

Three weeks later on February 24 they were blooming.

I was surprised to see that the clematis vine showed showed some budding on February 2 also.

This is a photo of the clematis buds three weeks later on February 24.

The hyacinths in the front of the house garden were emerging February 2.

Here's what they looked like three weeks later on February 24.

   

In the back yard garden, the daffodils were just starting to show buds on February 24.

One week later I noticed the first daffodil blooms on March 3.

Other bits of green I saw emerging in the back yard garden were several brunnera plants on February 24.

     All the plants seem to be emerging and blooming at least a month earlier than normal. which I don't mind.  I live for spring and summer each year, but this does portend significant changes that affect the whole ecosystem.