A Late March Surprise

Yesterday, this area was
covered with snow.  Today
it bloomed with crocuses.

It hasn't snowed in ten days here in Medfield and the temperatures finally crept up above 50 yesterday and today. As a result, we're getting serious melting and we're seeing bare ground in many places. This afternoon. though, we got a surprise: the snow melted back from an area where we planted a large patch of crocuses two years ago. Less than a day after being snow-covered, the crocuses were in bloom.

Bees! At the end of March!

But the biggest surprise was still ahead. I went to photograph them and discovered the crocuses were covered with bees. This winter and last, Betty and I took steps to create habitats for native bees to overwinter.  It wasn’t all that hard:  instead of cutting our long perennial border to the ground, we left up a foot of stalk to provide a winter home for native bees.  Instead of taking every fallen branch to our town’s transfer station, we created protected nest areas with layers of branches. The only thing we did that was an out-of-pocket expense was to buy a bundle of bamboo tubes, which creates a kind of ‘bee hotel’.  Why do all that?  Because native bees don't live in hives; they're solitary critters.

A 'hotel' for native bees

This was likely the first nectar these bees have likely seen this year (witch hazel blooms in January and February, but is not usually planted by homeowners).  The ‘big’ flowers – azalea and rhododendron – are still months away.  Our choice of trees and shrubs is designed to ensure there’s always something in bloom.

When the amalanchier blooms
there will be lots of pollen to go
around for everyone

We also have good news for the bees that were around today: as soon as the snow recedes another foot, there's an even larger patch of purple crocuses waiting to burst into bloom.  And, with nearly 4000 bulbs on the property, there’s lots more pollen to come.  The next big slug will be when our amelanchier (shadbush) blooms in a week or so.  Its flowers last approximately two weeks and the shrub will be covered with

Take a look at the second photo, which is as great a magnification as I could get with a 6 megapixel point and shoot camera. The inset shows ones of the bees at work.

Coming on Strong

Two events coincided this week: the last of the snow disappeared from the lawn and the first of the marsh peepers were heard. Welcome to April in eastern Massachusetts, where spring arrives in a hurry.

The last of the snow on
April 11.  It vanished
overnight.

As noted last month, Betty and I made our annual bet back in late February as to when the last of the snow bank would melt. I picked April 10, she chose April 15. Technically, my date was closer, but then April 10 came and went with a ten-square-foot pile of stubborn ice still in place. It finally succumbed to a 65 degree day and was gone this morning.

The marsh peepers are a welcome arrival. Peepers (more accurately, Pseudacris crucifer) are small chorus frogs and, to be more accurate still, they were already here. They’re creatures of the wetlands and the bog around the pond below our home is a perfect ecosystem for them. And, because it is conservation land, the peepers are likely to remain happily ensconced.

A marsh peeper

It is their sound that is new. The mating call of the peepers begins at twilight and, by 9 p.m. ,it is a raucous cacophony that sounds terrific – as long as retiring indoors is an option. April is the loudest month, May will be somewhat quieter.

The hellebores which provided the sole sign of spring just two weeks ago have been joined by crocus and daffodils. We have planted crocus almost as an afterthought over the past decade, sticking clutches of 25 or so tiny bulbs in shallow areas, often on top of more desirable bulbs such as allium. The crocus are clearly spreading – we have thousands now – and they’ve even insinuated themselves into the lawn.

Crocuses in the
Manhattan bed

The daffodils come in waves. One group bloomed this past week, another is a week away from showing color and yet another is still green shoots with nary a bulge to be shown. Hyacinths have come out of nowhere in the Manhattan bed. By week’s end there will be more than a hundred of them, all purple, in that site alone.

Spring is coming on strong. It is a terrific prize to be treasured after a winter like the one we’re just gone through.