We received much-needed rain over the weekend and now, as my sister put it, “it looks like Ireland” around here. Everything is brilliant green, the trees are leafing out and the apple and crabapple trees have exploded in blossoms.
The plants and trees are growing about 3 weeks ahead of normal. According to the Wisconsin State Climatology Office, our weather in late March and early April was the warmest in 120 years in some parts of Wisconsin.
While I’m just itching to start hardening off my annuals, I’m holding firm. The days may warm up nicely, but the nights are still very cool. In fact, we’re under the threat of frost tonight and tomorrow night. It’s tempting to hurry up and get everything in the ground, but as we learned during our very cool summer last year, plants will sit in place and do nothing if the soil and air temperatures aren’t warm.
We’ll see how long I can fight off the impatient gardener…
(Pictured above is daylily ‘Song of Spring’)