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.