Signs of spring

It's March.

It's time here in the Southeastern U.S.

The blueberry buds are swelling. Carolina jessamine flowers on the front porch railing are about to open (normally they'd have opened already).  Red maple flowers have come and gone (I think). Some of the earliest spring natives have emerged, although with sporadic blooms.

But the cold February has delayed much of "normal" early spring, from Asian and Mediterranean species to natives alike. My posts from previous years documented that flowering (of most) had already happened in February and early March.

We normally depend on camellias, quince, Japanese apricots, Japanese cherries, and Asian magnolias and their like for early flowers in our part of the world.  This year, they've been blasted again.

I was reminded sorting (and tossing) old slides last week, of my long-ago lab group excursion to see Hepatica nobilis (blooming in the snow), around April - a first sign of spring in Osnabruck, Germany.  


A search on Hepatica (on previous blog posts) brought all sorts remembrances, too. We have our own native species, often the first flowers in spring to be seen.

Usually in February.

Hepatica acutiloba