Dandelions have responded to a few warm days by blossoming heavily but many other plants don’t seem to be in any hurry and some are even blossoming later this year.
I’m always happy to see dandelions at any time of year. They are often one of our first flowers to bloom and sometimes one of the last as well.
Sometimes their flowers get frostbitten again and again but once the red maples (Acer rubrum) get started opening their buds keep blossoming no matter what the weather. This photo shows the male blossoms I found just opening on one tree. Each tiny red anther will become greenish yellow with pollen, which the wind will then carry to the female blossoms. They’re packed very tightly into each bud and there are thousands of flowers on a single branch.
This photo shows just how fast the blossoms can explode from the buds. I found the buds on the same tree as the ones in the previous photo fully open just a day later.
These are the female (pistillate) flowers of the red maple, just emerging. They are tiny little things; each bud is hardly bigger than a pea and each crimson stigma not much bigger in diameter than an uncooked piece of spaghetti. Once the female flowers have been dusted by wind carried pollen from the male flowers they will begin the process of becoming the beautiful red seeds (samaras) that this tree is so well known for. Many parts of the red maple are red, including the twigs, buds, flowers and seed pods.
I was surprised to find tiny little female American hazelnut flowers (Corylus americana) on a single bush recently. I think this is the earliest I’ve ever seen them. Reading back through spring blog posts shows that I usually find them in mid April, so why they’re blooming so early when many other spring plants are late, I don’t know. Native Americans used hazelnuts to flavor soups and also ground them into flour. In Scotland in 1995 a large shallow pit full of burned hazelnut shells was discovered. It was estimated to be 9,000 years old, so we’ve been eating these nuts for a very long time.
What is really baffling is why the female hazelnut blossoms have opened when the male catkins, shown in this photo, aren’t open. Without pollen from these male catkins the female blossoms are wasting their time. You can just see three tiny buds with female flowers above and to the left of these catkins. I think this is the first time I’ve been able to get both in a single photo. It gives you an idea of the huge difference in size.
Five days later the male catkins had opened but weren’t releasing pollen yet.
And five days later the female hazel blossoms were fully opened and looked as if the were reaching for that pollen. By the time the wind brings it to them they’ll be very sticky and receptive. If everything goes well I’ll be able to show you hazelnuts this fall.
Sugar maple buds are indeed swelling quickly and will probably be blossoming in a week or two. That will mean the end of the maple sugaring season this year. I saw a maple stump that had been left by a beaver the other day and it was bleeding sap heavily, so it’s running well right now.
Cornelian cherry buds (Cornus mas) are still opening, but very slowly. The yellow is the actual flower. They’re usually always in bloom by mid April and it’s looking like they will be this year as well.
I thought I had wasted my time when I didn’t see any flowers on the willows, but I heard red winged blackbirds in the alders and that was even better. Ice is melting quickly off the smaller ponds and vernal pools and soon we’ll hear the spring peepers.
It was a rainy day when I was taking photos for this post and all the crocuses were closed so I thought I’d show you this shot from last week, but then the sun came out and they all opened again.
I saw some new white ones that were pretty.
I thought that some of the white ones were even prettier when they were closed.
This blossom had just a naked stem and no leaves, so I’m not sure exactly what it is but I’m guessing it was a crocus but I can’t remember ever seeing pleats in the petals of a crocus.
The reticulated irises (Iris reticulata) have finally blossomed. They’re often the first spring bulb to flower here and I’m not sure what held them back this year. I’ve seen them bloom in the snow.
I thought this one was very beautiful. I’ve never grown them but from what I’ve seen these bulbs seem to slowly peter out and disappear. Groups of 10-15 flowers a few years ago now have only 1 or 2.
I wish you could smell these flowers. There is a spot I know of with about 8 large vernal witch hazel shrubs all in bloom at once and their fragrance is amazing. I can smell them long before I can see them. I can’t think of another flower that smells quite like their clean, slightly spicy scent.
There is a lot of promise for the future. Many of these hyacinth buds were showing color.
I didn’t see any color on the daffodil buds but they’ll be along. I expect by mid April spring will be in full swing with new flowers appearing every day. I hope everyone will be able to get out and enjoy it.
So many hues in nature and yet nothing remained the same, every day, every season a work of genius, a free gift from the Artist of artists. ~E.A. Bucchianeri
Thanks for stopping in.
The Dandelions here are just now putting out fresh leaves, it will be at least a month before they bloom.
Odd that many of your plants are ahead of ours but some are behind.
You are way, way ahead of us.
I hope you’ll warm up and catch up soon!
Snowing today in Maine. Six inches are predicted for our area. 😉
I’m sorry to hear that. I hope spring comes to Maine soon!
Oh so slow this year!
Isn’t it wonderful to see the world responding to spring! Our plant development here is still far behind yours, but I’m savoring it as it unfolds.
Yes! Spring is a fun season. I love to watch all the plants waking up.
Spring has sprung in your neck of the woods I see! Some blooms and leaves are late, some are early and some just on time. Our winter was mild and dry but spring has had typical weather so far so everything has slowed down and evened out now.
I love those white crocus and the ones with the purple on the outside of the petals. The yellow crocus is strange; I don’t think I’ve seen pleated petals either.
Thank you Clare. Yes, I think it’s safe to say that spring is finally here, even though we can still have cold and snow through April.
I’m glad your spring isn’t up and down like ours has been. It’s hard to even know what to wear when that happens.
The pleats in those petals have disappeared but it still doesn’t look like a crocus to me.
I’m beginning to think it might possibly be a species tulip like a greigii or kaufmanniana. When they open in the sun they look a little like your flower.
I wondered that myself. I wish it had some leaves, that would make it easier! It’s quite small; even smaller than your average crocus.
Hmmm…
Perhaps the Hazelnut female flowers opened early this year so the tree gets a break from making nuts. And uses the extra energy for its own healthy benefit, not reproduction.
It’s so hard to say what is random in nature and what is a carefully worked out plan. We humans know so little really. I so admire your type of “research”. Careful observation and documentation, (out of love) – as opposed to set up experiments where we often kill or torture the subjects to “know” things quickly. And seldom get the full picture.
Much of this knowledge about nature was/is already known, but we “first world-ers” only trust “scientific results”. Sometimes spending years and millions to (re)discover, then “prove” – what indigenous people have been saying all along. Knowledge known from thousands of years of just noticing. The hubris. 😞 Sorry for the rant.
On a positive note I do love your blog and also have two new authors to look for! Thanks!
Thank you Cindy. The drive to go on living is very strong in all of life so I think it’s safe to assume that hazels, like all things, are all about reproduction so they might live on. On the other hand we all need a break now and then and plants do indeed rest.
It is hard to say what is random and what is planned but life is a circle and if you pay close attention you can see that the same things happen at nearly the same times each year in nature. If you take notes or have a good memory (or a blog) you can learn a lot from simple observation from year to year.
As far as science is concerned, scientists are making astounding discoveries every day, but I think one of mankind’s biggest blunders was ignoring the knowledge of the native peoples. When I think of all the knowledge of natural history that was lost from the Aztecs, Incas, Innuit, and other Native Americans I almost get sick. It’s just such a shame and I doubt we’ll ever fully recover that knowledge.
The dandelions are a pretty burst of sunshine!
The unopened white crocus looks like art.
And iris are such a wonderful color.
All great signs of Spring!
Thanks Chris. There’s only one thing missing: a hepatica, and that’s because they all want to grow in Michigan!
Actually we do have them but they’re rare.
Yes they are here in Michigan, along with hundreds of trillium! Have you ever been to Michigan? We can give you a tour, if you ever decide to come.
Hepatica grows everywhere in the woods where I grew up, just three miles from where I live now. In our woods here there were no hepatica to be found, same sort of woods as down the road.
I did transplant hepatica from where I grew up, and they have done very well!
Do you have a place that you know of where they grow? Sunny south facing hills are where we find them blooming the earliest.
I haven’t been to Michigan but I’ll take you up on your offer if I ever make it. I’d love to see all those trilliums and hepaticas!
I know of one place hepaticas grow and that’s on someone’s property north of here. When I saw them there were two very small plants, one with white blossoms and one with blue. I sure wish I’d see more of them!
Does the type of soil determine where hepatica grow? I’m always curious about the different colors too? Why are some white and some deep purple and some pink?
Then I just look at them and enjoy them. Mine at home have buds only. And my Harbinger of Spring just started blooming today!
So yes Michigan is a great place to visit!
Yes, they like a lot of lime in the soil and that’s why they don’t like it here. Except for in a few places we have very acid soil.
Colors I don’t know about; natural selection I’d guess.
I’ve never seen harbinger of spring either!
Excellent quote, loved all those signs of Spring which you photograph so clearly.
Thank you Susan, I’m glad you liked them!
Love the delicate beauty of female flowers of the red maple
Yes, me too. And there is so much more to come!
Another of your well chosen quotations.
Thank you Ben. I often think “I wish I’d said that.”
So interesting to see the differences in spring’s advances between Maryland and New Hampshire. Have you ever read Hal Borland’s delightful book, North With The Spring? An oldie, but a great read! It’s also fun to see the differences at various altitudes in the same place. I had the pleasure of experiencing that while hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains in early spring. Beautiful pics of the maple’s flowering parts. Maple pollen already abounds here (she says while sneezing). Your mutant crocus is a strange find, I’m glad you shared it. Our snow crocuses have pretty much finished and the large/later ones are in full bloom. Thanks, as always, for a fine read!
Thank you Ginny, I’m your sure spring is far ahead of ours in Maryland but it won’t be long before flowers are everywhere here.
I have Hal Borland’s “Book of Days” and enjoyed it very much but I don’t have North With The Spring. His books are getting harder to find but if I see it in my favorite used bookstore I’ll grab it.
Yes, I’ve done some climbing and have seen the differences in elevation. It doesn’t take much change in height before you start seeing different plants!
After red maples come sugar maples and then Norway maples, so we’ll have maple pollen on the breeze for a while yet. It makes me sneeze too now, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Oops, my bad! The author is Edwin Way Teale, not Hal Borland. My grey hair is showing 😊.
I have gray hair too, so I know exactly what you mean.
I haven’t read much by Teal but I do have a quote or two of his that I like. I’ll have to look him up. Thanks for the tip!