By photoop23 @ webshots
A Forsythia bush located in a neighbor’s yard was in full bloom the first week of FEB. It gets full sun most of the day. This is a sure sign of spring. Forget the groundhog; he only re-acts according to his shadow. Plants are a whole different story. The Jonquils and Daffodils have been waking up the past 2 weeks and the pollen from some of the trees is really in overdrive this week (sniff, sniff). We could not buy 2 warm days together until April of last year. I liked it because I love cool (even cold) weather! We have a few visitors (1000s) in the big city in April and the plants were not in full bloom-the first time I can remember in over 20 years. In fact, when it gets too hot before the visitors arrive, some of the plants are iced down to keep the blooms from popping open-yeah, that’s a lot of ice. It’s a very big thing for everyone around.
So, spring is almost here-more anticipation for this month. It can still get cold (even snow-rare occurrence in March), but once the Pecan trees start to green up there is little likelihood of freezing temps. When I was young, I was told not to go barefoot before then. We are not there yet, but we have had so much warmth this month that the fruit trees’ buds are getting close to opening-not good if we have freezing temps. There is still quite a bit of agriculture around.
It’s been a bad winter for most of the country-I loved it here though we could have gotten more snow in my opinion. I hope that everyone has a great spring and is ready to get out and tend to those gardens even if it is a one-pot garden. Isn’t it exciting? I hate to say goodbye to the cold temperatures (I hate heat!) but I love to see the bounty that awaits from blooms to fruits. Happy Gardening in all that you do!
BTW, I think the ice people will be in full mode next month, so don’t be surprised if it the city is not as beautiful as usual again this year-this time because the plants are beyond their peak. That’s ok because nature sets its own timetable.
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Garden2day 
Oh, I love to see the forsythias bloom. We used to have a country home where the forsythias went down the entire side of our property. And a big vegetable garden, fruit trees – all the good stuff. Although I’m in a small house with a small yard now, I still have some pretty flowers and trees to look forward to and an herb garden. Looking forward to spring and really enjoyed your post.
Lillian
Thanks, Lillian. Forsythia is the telltale sign of spring along with Tulip trees which are also in full bloom right now. Growing up, we used to have one of the biggest gardens around living in the country. I miss it, but it was a lot of work come summer. I bet you grow some great things in your garden and are ready to get to it. Take care.
I am jealous….. Not only do we not have any forsythia bushes to pick and force indoors, there aren’t really any nearby I can pinch! Everyone prunes them so they are a Shape and then they look funny and don’t bloom well. My father planted several hedges of them and we always had big bouquets in the house. Definitely the harbinger of Spring…. Did you say you live near Atlanta? So you are waaaay ahead of us!
Deb, you are so funny! I’m glad the shaping hasn’t caught on around here. The best blooms come naturally-just a little trimming before the buds form. We are way ahead due to all of the 70 to 80 degree days of late-10 to 20 degrees or more above our norm. Let’s put it this way, the Azaleas won’t look as beautiful as they usually do when the golfers arrive…Take care!