Well, the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers. “ Right?
That being so, my yard and everybody else’s for that matter, should be resembling the Amazon rainforest. Of course, the late-season plunge down to frost warnings may have put the kibosh on that scenario, at least temporarily. All of this “El Nino” weather fluctuation may have confused some of our greenery; flowering early, flowering late…flowering at all? I’ve got some pretty robust flowering going on; no rhyme or reason to it, no color scheme but the blossoms do perk up the place–make it look inhabited, rather than foreclosed upon & abandoned.
The OFA notes that “Poplars leaf out about now.” Mine are doing just that–the big one in the back and the little guys around in the various hospitable nooks & crannies around the place. I have already transplanted two of them, hoping to do my part for Arbor Day, which was on the 26th. Poplars are not the greatest hardwoods, as far as being noted for anything in particular–sweet sap, interesting/important nuts/fruits, building lumber, firewood, etc–but they do grow pretty fast and pretty tall…for a residential tree, anyway, not a Sequoia. All of us should be planting trees wherever we can, so that if we should be struck by any of the various weather disasters that come along, egged on by climate change, the community will not be left nekkid and treeless when the wind stops. Look around. Look at how old are a lot of the trees that give shade and character to our houses. They can’t last forever and they can’t grow as fast as they would have to to keep our neighborhoods and our residences from looking like a woodland war zone. No shade in the Summer, no windbreak effect in the Winter, no Fall color, no Spring leaflets (no maple syrup!), a real bummer for charting the seasons. The OFA once posed the question, “What is the best time to plant a tree?” and the answer, of course, was, “Twenty years ago.” The next best time is right now. (Hint, hint : Mother’s Day is coming; you could give Mom something green and growing)
Anyway, I have been planting stuff all over the place around here. I even remember some of the names of the plants–English daisies, Caladium, Astilbe, for instance. Where I have planted them may well remain a mystery until they actually show their little green faces,… or leaves. Somebody mentioned to me the other day that some of the trees out in front of the JAG campus were dying–Quelle horreur!–that would be terrible; they add so much character. But I went out to look and I think that they are just a little confused and need some reassurances that Spring really is here, is likely to stay and then move on. Those trees are a fine legacy of Chuck Klamer’s vision for the district.
And speaking of trees,… I am still looking for a new Franklin Tree. The original that I had met an untimely end and I would like to replace it. The story behind it is so interesting; ask me sometime ( Benjamin Franklin has a supporting role.).
The OFA, in addition to Mother’s Day notes the arrival of the Full Flower Moon on the 23rd, the launch of the Lewis & Clark expedition on the 14th, the first appearance of Mickey Mouse on the 15th, Pentecost on the 19th, Trinity Sunday on the 26th and observance of Memorial Day on the 27th. That last event comes with a mention in the usual off-kilter rhyme that accompanies the information about the passing of days at the side of the calendar, along with a peek at the predicted weather. It goes like this :
“Windswept lakes are flecked with foam, as thunder salutes those who ne’er came home.”
