Sunday, March 1, 2009

Prelude to spring

Winter has returned to Boston.  A few inches of snow will coat the ground today and a storm coming through starting around midnight will dump even more.  So much for the sign of spring that I spotted in my backyard as I was taking out the compost on Friday.

Despite a strong indecisive wind, the temperature reached a high of 58 degrees Fahrenheit, so finding snowdrops in bloom did not come as a complete surprise.  Besides, this perennial, which is native to Europe, can bloom as early as January.  The bulbs were given to us about ten years ago by Mitchell, a friend of ours who lives down the street from the MSG, and they have multiplied slowly, benefitting from a sunny south-facing slope.  Their drop-shaped blooms are hardy enough to poke out from underneath snow, perhaps even the several more inches that will cover them by tomorrow.
Snow cover as of this posting

2 comments:

Dan said...

This must have been an exciting find. We have yet to have any blooms pop up but I am expecting them soon. Spring is only a few weeks away!

Your snowdrops have a nice green tip on the flower.

Bryan Bunch said...

I love the snowdrops. All we have is a few green shoots poking up from the daffodils. Even the witch hazel, which sometimes blooms in mid-February, is only got fattening buds. It has been a dreadful winter!