Sunday, April 8, 2007

Dogwood Winter


For a week now, I've known that Dogwood Winter was coming.

After being in the 80's for the past week, the temps are going to be in the 50's for a high and 20's at night. This means frost again. All this is normal here in Tennessee. It happens several times during the Spring. This one is called Dogwood Winter because the dogwoods are blooming now.

We have Dogwood Winter, Redbud Winter, Locust Winter and Blackberry Winter (that's the bad one because if we get frost then, there goes a lot of the local fruits. ). I know there's a few more, I just can't remember them right now.
I was looking through my photos the other day and saw one that I took last April. It was hail , the size of marbles on the back deck.

I am smart enough not to plant my summer vegees in the garden just because we've had a spell of unseasonably warm weather. That still doesn't keep me from worrying. After a long winter without much green, Spring always looks so fresh and inviting. I know that after Dogwood Winter hits, Spring won't look as pretty.

We broke a record last night. The temperature got down to 17 degrees. OUCH!
Spring vegees are fine. Most spring perennials are fine. New growth on trees and shrubs are trashed, but will come back fine. My favorite Spring flower- my white bleeding heart- is not fine. It was beautiful for two weeks and will be beautiful next year, but right now it's melted. (you've got to say that part like the Wicked Witch). Janis Joplin's song has been running through my mind since I saw them.....take another little piece of my heart.....

Dogwood Winter did bring one good thing though: it should have killed a lot of insect for our 2007 season! The silver lining.....Until next time.....