First Blisters of the Season
A quick look around tells you spring is finally here. We've jumped from nights below freezing (last week) to 84 degrees in the shade (yesterday afternoon) more rapidly than I'd like, but I can't complain about the Spring beauties that have opened up in all this sunshine and warmth.
Spring ephemerals are some of my favorites plants. Clearly it's a case of playing hard to get; they don't last long, so I treasure them all the more. When I rake away the oak leaves and find Hepatica in bloom...it thrills me every time. Ditto for the sessile Trillium, a pass-along plant from Mark Rose in NC. I wasn't sure it would thrive this far north, but every spring it's one of the first flowers to bloom. The mottled foliage is so beautiful I'd grow it for the leaves alone.
Most exciting of all are the lengthening, fattening buds of the Amelanchier. Last summer I splurged and bought a good sized tree. I extoll its virtues to anyone who'll listen: an explosion of white flowers in early Spring, delicious berries, excellent fall color, and smooth, striped, gray bark. I confess, I bought it for the fruit.
Today, as I wait for the Amelanchier buds to pop, I raked out the North bed, and I've got the blisters to prove it. It's my first chore every spring, and when it's done, my reward is to assemble the bottle tree. Sunlight catches on the colored glass and dangling mirrors, and the breeze makes the wind chimes sing.
Music, color, movement, light, and the first flowers of Spring. It's a very nice day.
3 Comments:
I love that stuff with the variegated leaves - maybe you can dig up a hunk and pass it along to me. And thank you for NOT posting a photo of your blisters!
I was out taking pictures of the Amelanchier you gave me this morning! And weeding out the hops you gave me that would like to take over much more than its alloted fence...LOL.
Sarah, I'll see what I can do about splitting the Trillium or finding you a piece somewhere. It really is cool.
Leda, that's why I love sharing plants w/friends and family. You think of me when you look at your Amelanchier, I think of you when I see my jchokes!
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