A Late Frost

Trillium grandiflorum

A late frost in May is not uncommon, but we’re always happy when we skirt the possibility. For many of the plants that are blooming and at their peak ( Magnolia, Rhododendrum dauricum, primula, and the species peonies, to name a few), a frost can destroy the flowers and damage their foliage. Luckily, as I write this at 5:00 this morning and after being up several times through the night to check on the temperature, the greenhouse, and to be certain that any plants we’ve covered are still in fact covered, the deep cold has missed us by a couple of degrees. Yeah!

Mertensia virginica

On a different note, here are a few photos of what’s blooming at the moment. Blessed treasures, they are. Happy Mother’s day to all! And, a poem by e.e. cummings for this fine spring day ( just sent to me this morning by a dear friend…thank you, Joanne!)

Trillium erectum

“o Sweet Spontaneous”
sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting

fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched
and
poked

thee
, has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy

beauty, how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing and

buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
gods
(but
true

to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover

thou answerest

them only with

spring

Azalea ‘Candy Pink’ and Magnolia stellata in one of the woodland gardens