By Zan Tomko
For the past 30 days, my coat rack at home has looked like a free-for-all at a flea market. Scarves, gloves, hats, down-jacket, sweaters, sweatshirts, wind-slicker, boots, sandals, long-sleeves and short-sleeves; there is no room for all four seasons on a coat rack.
But here we are, in an unfamiliar season of weather wonder and woe.
Below is a chart I made of the highs (blue) and lows (red) we have been through in the metro area in the last 30 days.
NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, collects and stores weather and climate data because our lives, commerce and my coat rack depend on accurate weather. On the NOAA website, you can locate your nearest weather station by ZIP code, find the daily high and low temperatures and create a chart in Excel.
Changes in barometric pressure are influenced by temperature and humidity; consequently, many of us are uncomfortable during these dramatic shifts in weather experiencing headaches, sinus problems or joint pain.
It’s been a good season for walking and touring along Three-Mile Drive, with access to all the favorite stops. The entry to the Woodland Azalea Garden is marked with white blossoms bursting from two large clumps of snowdrops, (Galanthus nivalis). Snowdrops are native to Europe, but hardy enough for traditional Minnesota winters.
Further down the drive, daffodils, the national flower of Wales, show off near the trail behind the Woodland Azalea Garden. Daffodils can become naturalized and bloom year after year. All daffodils are narcissus, some other members of the family are jonquils and narcissus.
Only the second week of March and “ice-out” has already been declared on Lake Minnetonka. With the unseasonably warm weather and no snow cover, the soil holds additional warmth bringing out the early blooming plants.
Just before the Prairie on Three-Mile Drive, a clump of forsythia is in bloom, and bright yellow blossoms break out along the woody stems. Many early-blooming plants first have blossoms and then leaves.
Pussy willows are one of the first signs of spring, early or late. The buds are shaped like a cat’s paw and the growing, elongated buds are called catkins from the old Dutch word for kitten, “katteken.” A European variety, Salix caprea, has a pink tinge from the triangular bracts in the flowers that make up the flower head. This tree is sometimes called a goat willow.
Cornelian cherry — actually a type of dogwood — is one of the first trees to flower in spring. It is small, about 20 to 25 feet high. There are four or five beautiful specimens tucked into the Shrub Collection. The tree is native to Europe and Asia and has a beautiful, compact structure. The red cherries taste more like a plum and are used fresh, in jams, compotes and fruit leather. Also developing catkins, birch and aspen trees provide food for early pollinators.
Maple trees are another early blooming tree. This species is a naturally occurring hybrid maple cross between Acer rubrum and A. saccharum, called Freeman maple (Acer x freemanii). The blossoms are showy, red and unusual.
The bark of young maples is perfect for the lichen that looks like text — Common Script Lichen or Graphis scripta.
Call it the “lost winter” or just a very early spring, Mother Nature has the early pollinators covered, even if we are challenged by the crazy weather.