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Spring Succession Despite Snow Flurries
Here in the land between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, we measure spring in "weeks" that flowering trees are at their peak. Last week was Bradford Pear week. St. Louis is one of the most Bradford-infested places I have ever seen. They line avenues, get into power lines, march across cemetery grounds, on and on. This one was blooming outside the place I go for physical therapy on my neck. It looks just like a bride's bouquet. That was last week--the petals are fallen and the leaves are emerging now. This week is Redbud and Crab Apple week. I hope to get some decent photos of them soon.
Every gardener in these parts likes to see if she can beat the last frost date (which in Central Mo is around April 20, give or take a week.) About a month ago in a warm spell we planted two porch planter boxes with mesclun (mixed greens) and lettuce. They are coming along nicely and maybe in a couple more weeks will actually be big enough to adorn our salads! We are thinking about joining the Wayside Neighborhood Garden project which is about a half mile from our house. Plots are only $20 for a 5x10 foot space that has great sun and available water. We could put our tomato plants and maybe some peppers there, since neither do well in our shady yard. At least we are thinking about it.
Meanwhile, in the front beds, the tulips are showing color. These are from bulbs planted about 4 years ago called Color Magic. This year they all appear to be yellow but we will see.
When we planted the tulips we also planted grape hyacinths. Norm just loves them. There are several shades from dark blue to white. I thought this foliage was stray grass until the buds appeared. Good thing I left the weeder inside!
Our latest- blooming jonquil is one we also planted at the same time as the flowers above. They multiply and are starting to be showy from the street. Each bulb sends up several stems that have three flowers each, so they are like little bouquets in themselves. We took three vases of jonquils to our church on Palm Sunday and since it was cold and threatening flurries, they were like little rays of light on the sanctuary windowsills.
Last but not least, nestled at the far back of the back yard is this cluster of "butter and egg" jonquils that we moved from the Ferguson house to here 8 years ago. The ones in Ferguson were transplanted from my parents' back yard in Tulsa maybe 20 years ago. I am always in awe of the persistence and longevity of some plants, and how they can travel with us to a new place bringing along good memories and good "medicine" from other places we have been.
Here in the land between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, we measure spring in "weeks" that flowering trees are at their peak. Last week was Bradford Pear week. St. Louis is one of the most Bradford-infested places I have ever seen. They line avenues, get into power lines, march across cemetery grounds, on and on. This one was blooming outside the place I go for physical therapy on my neck. It looks just like a bride's bouquet. That was last week--the petals are fallen and the leaves are emerging now. This week is Redbud and Crab Apple week. I hope to get some decent photos of them soon.
Every gardener in these parts likes to see if she can beat the last frost date (which in Central Mo is around April 20, give or take a week.) About a month ago in a warm spell we planted two porch planter boxes with mesclun (mixed greens) and lettuce. They are coming along nicely and maybe in a couple more weeks will actually be big enough to adorn our salads! We are thinking about joining the Wayside Neighborhood Garden project which is about a half mile from our house. Plots are only $20 for a 5x10 foot space that has great sun and available water. We could put our tomato plants and maybe some peppers there, since neither do well in our shady yard. At least we are thinking about it.
Meanwhile, in the front beds, the tulips are showing color. These are from bulbs planted about 4 years ago called Color Magic. This year they all appear to be yellow but we will see.
When we planted the tulips we also planted grape hyacinths. Norm just loves them. There are several shades from dark blue to white. I thought this foliage was stray grass until the buds appeared. Good thing I left the weeder inside!
Our latest- blooming jonquil is one we also planted at the same time as the flowers above. They multiply and are starting to be showy from the street. Each bulb sends up several stems that have three flowers each, so they are like little bouquets in themselves. We took three vases of jonquils to our church on Palm Sunday and since it was cold and threatening flurries, they were like little rays of light on the sanctuary windowsills.
Last but not least, nestled at the far back of the back yard is this cluster of "butter and egg" jonquils that we moved from the Ferguson house to here 8 years ago. The ones in Ferguson were transplanted from my parents' back yard in Tulsa maybe 20 years ago. I am always in awe of the persistence and longevity of some plants, and how they can travel with us to a new place bringing along good memories and good "medicine" from other places we have been.
1 comment:
Love the flowers! A lot of our blooming trees didn't survive the blizzard - well, the blossoms didn't, the trees are fine. We should have a few more blooming soon. I have a few daffodils and will soon have tulips. Ours are on the north side of the house, so they're a little slower. (Some days I feel like I'm on the north side!) Have a wonderful day.
kl
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