Cherry Blossoms

The cherry trees at work have opened within the last week. All the trees are completely covered in clusters of white, bell-shaped blooms. Too soon the show will be over and the ground will be littered with white petals.

Trillium

On one of my walks this weekend, I discovered the first Trillium blooming.

Most of the plants are still in this stage. They should all be in bloom by next weekend if the weather continues to be so mild.

A large clump of 7 or 8 plants.

I also discovered that my large patch of Shooting Stars have been growing like mad the past few weeks. I even found an immature bud buried deep in one clump of leaves.

Early March..In like a Lamb.

Well, the calendar has changed pages and it's now officially March. The weather has continued its rhythm of mild, mostly dry days. Yesterday was amazing. Solid blue skies all day and it was already 50 degrees by 11 AM. It topped out somewhere in the low 60s. It was one of those days where it was close to impossible to stay indoors "and get stuff done". Plants continue to burst from the ground, leaf out, and bloom at a much earlier than normal schedule. When I was filling the bird feeder, down in the big garden yesterday, I noticed the first batch of violets were blooming. I think these violets are ancestors of violets planted many, many years ago by the gardens first keepers. Dorothy's first violets were obviously happy and have multiplied all over. Interestingly, these are three different colors that bloom at three distinct times. The whites are always first. Right as they finish up the magenta violets open. And the show is always finished by the true dark violet colored ones.

I also discovered yesterday during my walk that the wild Lamb's Tongues have not only come up but are getting close to sending up their bloom stocks. It's important to look closely where you are walking this time of year. The main path is littered with small plants, hidden among the leaf litter and moss.