Monday, January 18, 2010

Signs of Early Spring


There are ways to determine if the spring season is going to be early or if you are going to have a long cold winter.  If you are in tune with nature, you will be able to view the signs of spring in your backyard.  Today the sun was bright and the snow on the ground has begun to melt.  The temperature shot up to 32 degrees and for me, it was a warm day and I took advantage of the warm temperature by looking in my yard for signs of spring.  

Grass-like foliage of crocus
I did not need to walk far because under a patch of melted snow I could view the grass-like foliage of the crocus had pushed up out of the soil. I moved the ice and the leaves that had gathered around the crocus and found that the crocus had grown to the height of two inches.


Normally the snowdrops are the first to bloom and I hoped that I had not missed their blooms and then out of the corner of my eye I saw the lovely white bloom of the Snowdrop Galanthus. 
Snowdrop blooms in very early spring

The early spring bulbs are blooming in my yard and this is certainly a sign that winter is coming to an end and spring has begun.

You can inspect your yard for signs of early spring by gently pushing back the organic mulch or show from your flower garden.  Look for the spring bulbs; tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils. Another sign of spring can be found on your spring-flowering shrubs; forsythia or the lilacs.  Observe the branches, look for tiny bumps.  These bumps are leaf buds and a sign that your area will have an early spring.

Here are photographs of the signs of spring in my yard, the crocus is blooming and daffodils are growing.



Today I viewed leaf buds on the branches of my spring blooming hedges, this sign of spring makes me believe that my yard will be in full bloom by the end of February or maybe the first week in March.  

Nature knows when it is time for the flowers to grow, and they will come up through the ice and the snow