One day last week, the high was 87 degrees. Tomorrow, we start working back to the more normal highs in the 50s and 60s with lows in the 30s and 40s. Spring in Minnesota is ever an adventure. No frost is forecast over the next couple weeks, so the mosquitos get an early start. But still, it could be worse.
The checkered lily, also known as chess flower, frog-cup, and many other names, is in bloom. I found the bulbs last fall on a big sale and thought I would try them. I’m glad I did. As a cut flower, they are long lasting and interesting. They are associated with the national symbol of Croatia and are the official flower of the Swedish province of Uppland.
Asparagus has begun to break ground. Soon, we will be able to harvest this special crop, lightly steamed with lemon and butter. In the woods, spring beauty, that tiny forest floor flower, is in bloom and Juneberry bushes, usually the first native woody plant to bloom, are about to burst forth white.
Juneberry goes by 11 different names, perhaps even more, attesting to its importance to life on the northern prairie and forest edge. In earlier times, before electronic news, its blooming signaled the time to bury the dead of winter and welcome the new life of spring. Juneberries resemble blueberries but have a richer, more brut taste, a favorite of the impersonator of woodland and meadow, the catbird.
