I tried to warn them. I really did. You heard me just a week or so back, right here on this blog. "Hush little darlings" I said, "Go back to slumber, it's too early." Well, see them now, regretting their decision to open up quite so early. Mother Nature strikes once more. Now that I think about it, I believe I have taken a picture of daffodils covered by a little snow every year I have lived here. The impatient little devils!
I was hopelessly praying that my Magnolia stellata would hold off, but alas, this latest cold spell and bit of snow hit just when its display was at its peak. I so wish I had taken a picture of the shrub yesterday before the blossoms browned and withered, if only for bragging rights.
Even worse, the musky scent is gone, vanished, without a trace from the flowers reduced to brown tissue.
I can only still hope that the few remaining unopened buds of the Magnolia keep their beauty and their fragrance hidden until better days appear.
And this apricot will certainly not be a producer this year. There is a reason that Kansas is not a major exporter of apricots and you are witnessing it.
Still, however, the apricot blossoms and snow make a really nice photo composition, don't they? Click on the closeup photo of the apricot blossoms and blow it up in all its splendor. Wow, what subtle pastel colors!
And then there are the Scilla and the Siberian iris, peeking sky blue and purple out above their snowy feet. Good gracious, can we just start spring over again?
I say again, "Garden, go back to sleep". There will be time later for all this foolishness. Let sleeping gnomes lie.
I was really looking forward to apricots this year. Several weeks ago it seemed a possibility. A reminder that it is March in Kansas.
ReplyDeleteOur Stellar Magnolias survived that round (more coming I see) but the larger magnolias on campus, which I think are Saucer Magnolias, got hit hard. Which is sad, because thy are so pretty in full bloom and they are very large.
ReplyDeleteAlways look forward to reading your amusing musings. A refreshingly light touch among all the endless earnest garden blogs out there. So glad I tripped over yours. Thanks...A Canadian Okanagan fan.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ferne, that's a very nice thing to say.
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