Mother Nature Can Be The Ultimate Tease
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Every once in a while, Mother Nature teases us with some very warm temperatures while we are still mired in winter. The teasing comes in the form of a brief warm up where temperatures climb well above normal only for a day or so. Such was the case this last weekend when temperatures on Friday and Saturday topped out in the mid 60’s for Northern Illinois. A temporary warm up on a weekend is a true blessing. It was nice to go for a walk without being bundled up against the cold.
Then about a week ago we experienced a heck of a wind storm . Fortunately, it did not accompany any snow, so we just had to deal with numerous branches that had blown out of the trees. Unfortunately these high winds can cause severe damage to trees and buildings, but more often than not the worst thing that happens is the dropping of limbs that are weak or already dead. It is Nature’s way of pruning out the dead wood from a tree and it provides inspiration to go outside for a while and escape the indoors. It also becomes a great opportunity to walk around the yard and look for any other problems around the yard or see if any plants are beginning to pop up.
While I was doing a walk through of my own yard, I saw some of my daffodils poking up in a few places and even some early blooming tulips struggling to find the warmth of the sun. As was mentioned in a previous blog post, these plants are especially adapted to survive if temperatures drop below freezing. In fact, there was one daffodil that had reached about 6 inches in length.
Some perennial plants may go dormant during the winter, but the leaves stay green. Such is the case for all the irises growing in my flower beds. Irises are great low maintenance perennials that require little work to keep them in check.
Every year in the fall I cut back all of the leaves in my yard. Then every couple of years I will split the roots (rhizomes), to make room for the plants to grow even better. I then plant the extras somewhere else in my garden or give them away to a friend.
To bring it all back around by Sunday, the temperatures had dropped back to normal levels and there is even snow predicted for the upcoming week. The warmer weather was enjoyable for a couple of days and that is just going to have to be sufficient for another month or so; it was certainly nice while it lasted.
If you have any questions regarding the crazy weather and its affects on your lawn and landscape contact your local Spring-Green for more information.