Making up for lost time

[muckefuck]

Is it just me, or have some of the flowering plants been accelerated while others have been retarded? Today I saw violets and periwinkle (a.k.a. vinca, myrtle)--two flowers I associate with May or June more than April--blooming on my street. At the same time, the old Judas tree (a.k.a. redbud) near work is still only budding. Whereas some places are flooded with dandelions, I haven't seen a single Japanese or Dutch iris yet. Magnolias are blooming, but there's still nothing more than buds on the hawthorns and crabapples.

I was beginning to worry about the young trees along Argyle, but I noticed green buds on everyting but the catalpas this morning. There's still no shade to be had almost anywhere, whether in the parks or along the boulevards. The tulips are looking gorgeous, though; I'm glad they didn't suffer too much from the return of winter which took out the crocuses and seems to have decimated the daffodils as well.

Comments

[jhvilas.livejournal.com]

Locally (Durham, NC) we had some just-below-freezing temperatures right after most of the Flowering Dogwoods had bloomed. It wasn't quite cold enough to damage them; in fact, it seems like the blooms have lasted longer than normal. I wonder if it's possible for a bloom to have its life lengthened by cold temperatures, as if one cut it and put it in a refrigerator?

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

That's exactly how it works. Back in St. Louis, it sounds like they burned through most of their blooms in that one abnormally hot week we had back at the beginning of the month.