Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The First Day of Spring

Yes I know officially spring came a week and a half ago, but really the first day of spring is when the crocuses bloom. Only the yellow ones are out right now, but some purple ones are in bud.

The witch hazel is blooming too, but I always find their flowers hard to see. That could also be because of its location which in the far corner of the yard. Behind my townhouse mates' car and the giant but shrinking snowbank made by the plows this winter.

Sadly not all was happy with the witch hazel. Since it was partly buried by that giant snow pile, many of its branches are broken. I also found my blueberry bushes in that corner almost non existent. Most of the branches were broken off. They are still alive, but barely. So I did some pruning today. I also pruned the apple tree in the backyard which had some branches pulled down by the snow. Those low branches are now gone. My currents had a lot of broken bits as they are by the driveway and get a lot of snow shoveled onto them. So the winter wasn't kind.

But its spring, right? So it will all grow back. Well not those lower apple tree branches, but I always thought they were too low to the ground anyway. I should have taken them off years ago.

8 comments:

  1. That's too bad about all of the enforced pruning, although sometimes, as with the apple trees, it actually forces you to do cuts that you have been putting off (which is usually my main problem).

    I've really got to get some early bulbs planted, like crocuses. You are so right in that the early burst of colour really does let you know that winter is coming to an end. With the weather still on the cold side, it's hard to tell otherwise!

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  2. Sorry to hear about the damage done by old man winter. Here I got to plant in the garden today: snow peas, spinach, lettuces, and bok choy. It felt good.

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  3. Too bad about your fruit trees. Hopefully this was a one-off winter and not the new norm. At least you have some color in the yard. My daffodils are still under an enormous plow bank.

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  4. It is so nice to see the happy yellow crocus photos in my feed. I still have a lot of snow on the ground but hope it melts with the warmer weather we are predicted to have this weekend. I am very eager to have it gone so I can evaluate everything.

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  5. Congrats!! Glad it finally found you :D Beautiful croci. Can't wait to see what else starts popping up after the thaw.

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  6. Will the broken branches nibd and heal - I've had success with this method in the past,

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  7. The crocuses are so cheerful! Definitely a sign that spring has arrived. So sad about all the winter casualties though.

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  8. Sorry to hear of the damage to your plants. Look on the bright side though - you will be able to enjoy choosing some replacements! My Crocuses are almost all finished now, but they were great while they lasted. I love them because they come on so early in the year and provide a very welcome splash of colour after the drabness of Winter.

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