Things are waking up this spring
Look around. You can see renewed life in vibrant green leaves everywhere. The hummingbirds and honey bees are buzzing by day and the whippoorwill has started to sing its comforting song at night. Mounds of clover, azaleas, fruit trees and flowers are blooming. Baby goats are relaxing under the watchful eyes of their mamas, beekeepers are checking their hives, butterflies and lizards are emerging, and you might find a secret chicken nest (that’s obviously been secret for a while). These are precious spring days when the temperature is perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Enjoy it, and be thankful.
Did we even have winter?
When daytime temperatures regularly get up into the 70’s (F) every two weeks, can you really call that winter? The blueberries decided winter wasn’t happening and the early varieties began blooming in February. Unfortunately there were two significantly frosty periods, here in the Southeastern US. While they were short spans of time, they totally zapped those early blueberry blossoms. We had a 23 degree night in mid-February that did most of the damage. Tender blossoms can’t withstand really low temperatures especially if it’s also windy. The blossoms turn brown, fall off, and that’s it. Those blossoms will not produce any fruit. (sample pics below) So from our viewpoint, winter came only briefly and at night. If you blinked, you missed it, but the damage that remains is unmistakable.
Luckily, we planted several varieties of blueberries that bloom and bear fruit at different times. We did this mainly to expand the time when the berries are available. This year, it turned out to be a matter of having ANY blueberries. All the early season varieties gambled and lost. But all the late season varieties are fine. And… in case you are wondering, the blackberries were unaffected since they were still asleep. Here are photo examples of the blueberries. The first is what blueberry blossoms look like normally. (Like old-time lady bloomers… lol). The second photo is what frost damage looks like. It basically freeze-dries the tender blossoms. The overall plants that were affected will totally recover, and they will bloom again next year, hopefully not too early.
These are normal blueberry blossoms. Photo is current 2022 late variety.
This is what frost does to blueberry blossoms. Photo of 2022 frost damage to early variety.
Spring surprise from last year
I planted “annual” snapdragons last year to which I was thoroughly disappointed. So much so, that I never planned on planting them ever again. The quantity was not “a few”, or even “a bunch”, but I planted “a massive amount” of snapdragons. This took a lot of futile effort trying to fulfill my grand dream that it would look stunning for a baby shower I was hosting in the fall. Well, neither the party nor the snapdragons panned out. COVID made us cancel the party. The snapdragon plants never got tall or bushy like the picture on the seed packet even though I watered and fertilized them until I finally gave up at the end of July. From then on, I ignored that they ever existed until I noticed them a week ago.
Six large pots I had planted with them as well as a cut-flower row are now overflowing with plants that are each over 2 feet tall, have multiple stems, and are in full bloom… in April! There are some pink and white ones but mostly magenta colored ones. See small photo. I didn’t know snapdragons could over-winter, and I sure didn’t think I would have to wait 14 months to see an “annual” bloom. I’ll have to get help moving all these large pots over to the house for Easter. The kids are going to love seeing them, and I’m determined to enjoy them to their fullest!
Gardening time is upon us
Many of the older folks plant their gardens on Good Friday, which is in a few days. I don’t really understand the logic, since Easter can move anywhere from March thru April on the calendar. There is another old-timer practice of planting – not by the moon’s phase, but rather “by the light of the moon”. Not me. This year, the “garden on good Friday” timing seems right especially with this mild weather. Although life often gets in the way, and rain happens, I still plan on working in the garden this weekend… only during the daylight hours though.
We will keep you posted on the berries’ progress. Enjoy your spring!
