Sunrise
Gardens at Waters East
Gardens at Waters East keeps detailed records both in a double entry form on hard copy, and in a computer data base of all its more than 10,000 plants with their blooming charts. In reviewing the past ten years, there has been a steady movement in the “year after year” earlier appearance of blooms. Many people can attest to this fact in their own gardens. This year there has been a giant leap in the earlier dates of flowers bursting forth.
Here at the shores of Lake Michigan, Spring is always long and slow in coming. While folks west of the lake, say 20 miles, have seen temperatures this Spring in the 80s for many days this March, at the lake the temperatures as is always the case close to the lake, are far lower. This year when the folks to the west were enjoying the high temperature, at the lake it was only 47F – 55F degrees on those same days. The lake is a natural air conditioner, much appreciate in the Summer months, but at Springtime one gets a little jealous of the warmth found only a few miles west.
With all those factors taken into account, this year has been extraordinary in the timing of the early Spring flowers. Below are photos of the very plants with their first Spring blooms this year. Following each photo is the date taken this year when it first bloomed, and under that are the dates for 2011 and 2010 of the first bloom for the same plant. (The photos posted are of the actual first bloom this year. They may not be the “prettiest” pictures but they are the photos of record for this season.).
Amazing!
Winter Aconite
March 17, 2012
April 12, 2011
March 23, 2010
Crocus – purple
March 18, 2012
April 11, 2011
April 1, 2010
Red-winged Blackbird – first day in the garden
March 18, 2012
March 14, 2011
Crocus – white
March 20, 2012
April 13, 2011
March 31, 2010
Siberian Squill (scilla)
March 20, 2012
April 7, 2011
March 23, 2010
Forsythia
March 22, 2012
May 3, 2011
April 10, 2010
Robin – first day in the garden
March 24, 2012
March 21,2011
Bergenia – Fiddle Leaf
March 25, 2012
2011 not recorded
April 10, 2010
Anyone have an idea what this is ?
Maybe a Scilla ?
March 3, 2012
2011 not recorded
Puschkinia
March 27, 2012
April 24, 2011
April 5, 2010
Daffodil - Ice Follies
March 28, 2012
May 5, 2011
April 11. 2010
NOTE: All photos use in this posting were taken on the property of Gardens at Waters East.
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We too have experienced early blooming this spring, here in the UK. But today we had the heaviest April snowfall for thirty years. Weird weather.
ReplyDeleteIt seems our weather and blooming are more in sync...we are SE of Lake Ontario and get the wind and weather that blows across that lake and ours...we had many earlier blooms than in the past 2 yrs and the birds were sighted very early this year...now all the warmth has turned to cold nights...
ReplyDeleteThank you for your visit to my blog.. I am glad to have found yours. I have an amateur interest in gardening.. so will live vicariously through your gardening posts:) I am sitting looking out onto a blizzard which is a far cry from your early spring.. our weather has been mild all winter.. so now we get this instead, it seems? xo Smidge
ReplyDeleteSpring is indeed early, but your chronicling gives something to think about a little more personally.
ReplyDeleteI like Forsythia, but in my Northern garden only some yellow flowers bloom and then leaves grow. I don't know why. Your crocuses are so nice!
ReplyDeleteI love early spring flowers, what beautiful photos you show here.
ReplyDeleteHere in northern Sweden the snow is still 'hanging around' for some weeks.
Have a nice day.
Hallo,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog. Sorry, but my english is not good. Your picture are so beautyful. I like it.
liebe Grüße
christa
nice to see the birdys bright colours
ReplyDelete