Snow?!? Falling on Flowers

We are in one of the best times of the year. Early to mid spring when all the bulbs start coming out and the flowering trees put on a show. All of our red buds are close to peak with tiny purple flowers covering every branch. The dogwoods are just a bit behind so you can see splashes of white starting to form. Crab apples are out in their colors as well. I like to think the explosion of color is nature’s reward for making it through winter where the world is painted in black, white and grey.

And then we have to figure out the best time to plant annuals. The greenhouses open up and you just see trays and trays of flowers all wanting to be planted. It is always a tradeoff. Plant too soon and you run the risk of winter coming back for one last nasty visit. Plant too late and the flowers may not do as well just because they’ve been in their little containers for so long.

I knew this was early but the call was too strong for my wife so we visited one of the pop up greenhouses on Saturday and bought the first batch of flowers. I made the decision not to put anything directly into the ground so we were just filling up the pots that sit on our deck railing. Kind of figured we’d given them maybe a week or so to get some extra sun until the trees fully leaf out and the deck gets a little shady.

And, of course, two days after we plant, the weather turns and now they are talking about freezing temperatures and even some snow tonight and another night of potentially freezing temps. Should not be shocked. Spring is well known for rapidly changing weather. We were in the 70’s during the first week of April and now we may have snow.

What to do, what to do? We could have risked it because the deck is near the house and I think it tends to stay just a little warmer there then in a place with full exposure. Covering is an option but covering the little pots and trying to make sure they don’t blow away with the expected winds is an issue. Clearly, we have to do something. Can’t leave the poor flowers on their own.

So we now have several pots of flowers sitting on a tarp inside the house. Good thing we have lots of space and no curious pets. Looks a little funny but it is only for a couple of days. The only good thing about late spring cold snaps is that they are very short in duration.

We had also planned a trip to a local attraction where they have a large outdoor area that is filled with flowering bulbs. The daffodils are past peak as our some of the early tulips but there is supposed to be color until mid to end of May. Unless there is a hard freeze which kills everything. Nothing sadder than seeing tulips lying on the ground because the stem froze.

Winter just sometimes doesn’t know when to go away.