Almanac: April 5.

Spotted yesterday and today on our morning walks with the puppy:

  • The Bradford pears have exploded—there’s no other way to describe the sudden riot of white blooms. And the stink. They smell like feet.
  • The purple magnolias have really opened up; the blossoms managed to hold off through last week’s cold snap and not get frostbitten and brown.
  • Dandelions and violets. In other people’s yards.
  • Low to the ground: Squill and periwinkle. My grape hyacinths are showing a bit of bud amid the pretty, slender foliage.
  • In the garden, the arugula sprouted almost immediately after I planted it two weeks ago. My ‘Junkyard Greenhouse’ in the driveway is full of harvestable lettuce from seed I planted in November.
  • The understory trees and shrubs are showing real leaves, not just that peachfuzzy haze of green that you have to squinch your eyes to really see.
  • Monday morning = 70 degrees. This morning, after a wicked storm system yesterday late afternoon = 40 degrees. Tomorrow = mid-60s.

Ahh, spring.

3 thoughts on “Almanac: April 5.

  1. laughed out loud at the feet-pears–there is something poetic about how you observe and report, Bryn. I like it. I wanna see photos of the Junkyard Garden! (please)

  2. what’s the variety of the lettuce on at the top of your blog?
    Thanks,
    Michelle

    • Hi, Michelle — that lettuce is a variety called Yugoslavian Red. I’ve had quite a bit of success with that in my garden. You can find seeds at The Cook’s Garden.