Spring is a glorious time of the year, but some springs are a little more spectacular than others. For summer-loving folks, a dry, sunny and warm spring with early heat would be ideal, but from a visual standpoint and for lowering trees, shrubs and perennials, cooler weather is best.
This spring has been particularly wonderful for flowers. It doesn’t matter whether the flowers are on trees or shrubs or simply bulbs that were planted last fall, the floriferous nature of the season is stunning right now. On the heels of a mild winter without much damage to plants, the blooms are really gorgeous.
“The weather this May has been ideal for spring flowers, especially spring ephemerals and other early-emerging flowers,” said Uli Lorimer, the director of horticulture for Native Plant Trust in Framingham. “When temperatures are constantly cool, the petals tend to last longer. When we experience a brief burst of heat — a day or more of 80 degree weather — these plants tend to lose their petals.
“The lack of late spring frosts also helps. All told, this has been an ideal spring warm-up — cool and gradual.”
There’s a reason why floral arrangements are kept in a cooler. The cool temperatures with some humidity inside keep the flowers at their peak much longer. Obviously, we can’t control the weather like that, but we’ve had that kind of a spring.
Temperatures for May are averaging a couple of degrees below average and we’ve also had adequate precipitation. there’s been a couple of days where it’s been well into the 70s, but overall there’s been a lack of early heat. Whether it’s rhododendrons or dogwood or azaleas or red buds or any other part of the landscape showing color, it’s lasting longer.
Dan Wilder, director of applied ecology at Norcross Wildlife Foundation in Wales, Mass., said he’s also noticed a difference this season.
“The wild columbine is often a good gauge of the progression of spring in many areas,” Wilder said. “The peak bloom for the species last season was about now, while plants in those same areas are just opening this year.” These extended periods of ”cool wet weather,” he added, are also “affecting other species as well.”
Microclimate differences can change the bloom time in either direction, Wilder noted.
The azaleas at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard were looking particularly gorgeous on Wednesday.
The area where the lilacs are still looks amazing even though Lilac Sunday was last weekend. If you haven’t had a chance to get over there, there’s still time. The flowers should still be going strong and some will just be opening up and nearing peak.
Another place to enjoy May color is at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, where the dogwoods are still near their peak color and just like the other bloomers, without any early heat the flowers last a lot longer. The cool weather also slows down the leaves from turning that dark green color quite as quickly, so the landscape itself still has a mid-spring look to it.
The heat of summer and the darker green hues are coming, so take in this glorious spring while it lasts.