Among the Trees: A Celebration of May

Of all the months in New Jersey, May is by far the loveliest.  Trees have begun to leaf out and lawns are a lush, verdant green.  In my yard, some tulip flowers in the northern-facing flowerbeds are still standing tall, I have iris flowers, and the hosta leaves have begun to open.  Later in the month, there will be peonies and rhododendron flowers.   Daytime temperatures are often warm while the nighttime weather is perfect for sleeping.  In short, May is lovely. 

This year is no exception and we’ve had sunshine this week.  The blue skies and fluffy white clouds feel like they are here to feed my soul just when I most need two feel the light.

Zinnia!

My first zinnia of the Summer season is a deep purple.

I don’t recall having planted such a deep shade of purple before and I think it’s lovely.  This is the only bloom for now but enough for a bouquet are on their way.  That’s happy!

Crazy Plant Lady

For my birthday last November, my sister gave me a house plant subscription.  Each month, a new plant came to live in my green menagerie.  I was most delighted by my expanding collection.  By April, I had 6 new plants happily thriving in my house, all of them headed to the front porch for the Summer.  The last plant to arrive was a Croton plant with variegated red-edged leaves.  Like all the other plants it was welcome.  Soon after my sister reminded me that the plant surprises would be coming to an end, three more Croton plants appeared.  I began to transplant en masse.

And then two more.

Six in total.  I gave away three to good homes and kept the other three for myself.  They are thriving in the sunlight of my front porch and though there are some concerns about where all these plants will go come the cold weather season, I'm not worried.  Instead, like the crazy plant lady I am, I cheer on each new leaf that they grow.   

July Front Porch

If the theme in my flowerbeds is lush and over grown (and it is), there there is no reason such a theme cannot be carried over to the front porch.  And so it does.

T gave me a flip flop flag and wreath and July is the perfect month for a woman loathe to wear shoes.

The ease of Summer is something I long for in the cold weather and never take for granted when the warm days settle around us.  I start my day on this front porch every day of the Summer and I never tire of the plant-fortified view that greets me in the morning.

Given the time, I’m out here in the afternoon with my iced tea and my books.  It’s my favorite room of the house this time of year and I spend so much time here that I can spy a new leaf on my plants the moment it first begins to bud.  Pandemic worries aside, the Summer is determined to fly right past.  I am making the most of it while it’s here.

Mother Nature Marches On: Your Weekly Dogwood Report

The last of the dogwood flowers are in the very top branches of the tree.  They are rather hard to see because of the morning sunlight in this picture.  But I’ll never fuss about morning sunlight so this will do nicely.

By this time next week, the last of the flowers will have fallen.  That’s okay because they will be replaced by pretty green leaves.  And May has plenty more treats still up her sleeve for us to enjoy.

Your Weekly Amaryllis: Week One

 Every year, in preparation for my coming dotage, I require an amaryllis bulb for Christmas.  T aids this tradition and word on the packaging is confirmed by her: this year, we’ll have a pink amaryllis, as I requested.  I planted it last week.  Now it’s nestled in among the plants on the plant stand where there is plenty of Winter light to get the party started.

This Winter tradition keeps me mindful that the payoff for the cold comes in the form of the beauty of Spring.  For the next few weeks, I will enjoy watching the stem grow and prepare to bloom with a splendid flower.  Amaryllis reports will happen every Wednesday.  

That’s happy!

Witch Hazel

There was a snowstorm this week, a rather major event that brought us more than a foot of snow.  School was cancelled, which JT celebrated as if he’d never be expected to return to class.

I enjoyed sleeping in and our cozy days but it is March and I am ready for Spring.  While we shoveled ourselves out from the storm, I couldn’t help but think about the previous Sunday  That day was sunny and T and I set out for a walk to leave some nuts and peanut butter pine cones for the wildlife along the D & R Canal.  Here and there, when we looked closely, we saw tiny signs of a green Spring.  Most of the blooms will take several more weeks to arrive so the witch hazel in bloom was particularly lovely.

Clocks spring forward tonight; each day brings a little more sunlight.  I’m looking forward to Spring and as I wait for the snow to melt and reveal blooms, I will admire the witch hazel and the promise it brings.  

Enchanted April Blooms

In addition to the delicate flowers on the peach tree, there are other blooms to be found in my backyard.  Among the hostas, there are some elegant pink tulips.

The trellised clematis is on its way to something splendid.

The apple and pear trees have flowers in advance of produce.

Spring blooms seem to appear overnight and with each day there is more color to enjoy.  

That's happy!

Early Spring

April's blooms always make my heart sing.  Add in the twilight on an early Spring day and I am utterly charmed.  Around here, Spring blooms can get started and then pause when a cold snap comes our way.  That’s been the case in this past week, which was mostly cold and wet and found Spring on pause.  But the first Saturday in April was a bit warmer and in the early evening T and I went looking for some Spring peepers.  At Colonial Park, we found them singing their own celebration of this most lovely season.  

Spring Blooms

For the most part, we’ve enjoyed an unseasonably warm March.  The trees and plants have responded to the rain and warmth and everywhere I look in my backyard, there are blooms.  Some are easy to see, like these daffodils.

Some require the eager-for-Spring gardener to come close and look for the new green life.  It’s here on the clematis.

The peach tree is getting ready for another year of sweet fruit.

My dogwood is taking things a bit slower, with an abundance of tight little buds that will soon bring me a profusion of white flowers.

There is snow predicted for the weekend.  Some forecasts suggest it will accumulate on Sunday evening.  The ground isn’t frozen; in fact, my backyard lawn is looking a bit ragged after all the rains.  But early Spring snow is a poor man’s fertilizer, so I’ll take it.  

After all, Spring is here and that is always happy!

New Bloom Thursday: Week 11

There are signs of blooms everywhere I look outside, cheering on my rather late-blooming amaryllis with a hearty “you can do it!”

Each year that I grow an amaryllis, I do so as a reminder to be patient for the unpredictable and unexpected, which just might be glorious.  This year’s amaryllis is looking to produce two flowers, just the sort of lovely surprise that I enjoy.

New Bloom Thursday: Week 11

My amaryllis is looking tantalizingly close to a bloom.  It had better get a move on or it will be beat to the punch by the abundant crocuses and daffodils outdoors, both of which are looking close to flowering thanks to the unseasonable warmth we’ve had this week.  Temps around here today will approach 80 again;  a perfect way to transition into the Spring Break that begins at 3:05 tomorrow afternoon.  I’m looking forward to the time off, a relaxed couple of weeks that will set me up for the marathon that is the last two months of the school year.  

I’m always impressed by the stem and flower generated by a modest amaryllis bulb.  It makes me smile every morning.  

New Bloom Thursday: Week Ten

We’ve reached the point in the late Winter when there is a hint of light at the eastern horizon when I come downstairs at 5:30 each morning.  The amaryllis greets me on these early mornings and the flower seems tantalizingly close at hand.

That’s fitting for the time of year when daylight is lengthening by a few minutes each day and the promise of Spring is at hand.   Once it takes off, the amaryllis is impressive.  I’m looking forward to the flower, which is right on target for a Spring Break bloom.

New Bloom Thursday: Week 9

Once the amaryllis stem starts growing, it’s rather unstoppable, getting taller each day.  There’s a flower hidden in there and I’m excited to see it.

This year, the growing amaryllis is accompanied by green stems peaking out of the flowerbed soil.  The late amaryllis is just part of the strange weather we’ve had in the last few years.  It’s been a mild Winter, but we had a huge snow storm; the biggest I've ever experienced.  Last night, a late Winter night, 60 degree weather blew in with  a ferocious wind and rain storm, the sounds of which reminded me of a hurricane.  I’ve yet to see the damage in the light of morning, but I expect debris and branches everywhere.  My basement pump is furiously busy, moving water out every 5 minutes or so.  It’s not yet March, but the lion weather has arrived.

Meanwhile, the amaryllis is in the window, turning toward the sun and light.  There’s a bold flower in my future.  That’s happy!

New Bloom Thursday: Week 8

As I slog out the last few weeks of Winter, the late-blooming amaryllis is a cheerful blessing, guiding me forward to the growth and resurgence of the coming Spring.  

That’s happy!

New Bloom Thursday: Week 7

After all my fretting last week, this past weekend the amaryllis finally committed to making me a lovely flower.  Behold, the stem is on its way!

Once things get started, it grows each day, nearly two inches by the end of the week.  I see the stem each morning when I come downstairs and I know it bathes in the morning sunlight.  We’re in the stretch of February when the daylight is growing by leaps and bounds.  By the end of the month, we’ll have more than 11 hours of sunlight a day, perfect for a flower looking to show off.

New Bloom Thursday: Week 5

Historically, this is the point in the amaryllis growing season when I begin to fear that my bulb is a dud.  It’s in a sunny window; I’m following all the directions, but things seem to be a bit slow to come along.

But a look at photos and reports of my previous amaryllis bulbs reminds me that patience is the order of the day, a lesson for amaryllis growing that is applicable to the rest of life as well.  Last weekend’s snow is still piled everywhere.  The melting is coming along nicely, thanks to sunlight and temps above freezing.  The relative warmth has me thinking of the coming Spring.  I’m giving the amaryllis a daily pep talk so that it remembers to join me in these daydreams of blooms and new life.  In its quiet vibrances it’s telling me, “soon, dear, soon.”

New Bloom Thursday: Week 4

The mushrooms got eaten this weekend, so that project is complete and now all my attention is turned to the amaryllis, which is still in that coming-along-slowly stage.

Not to fret, I’m a patient woman.  And with a big snow forecast for my weekend, I’ll have plenty of time to talk to the amaryllis and remind it to keep at the blooming.