Snow! still here today

It feels like an April fool’s joke! The early bulbs and narcissus are starting to show off their color and style. And now they are covered with snow!  Just as the warm and mild temperatures helped them along into an even earlier bloom then usual. We all hope this snow is equally ephemeral – here today, gone tomorrow. An optimist by nature, I am glad the snow cover will provide needed protection  to tender new plants these next few extra cold nights.

The earliest Fritillaria radeanna in Chinatown is worn by winds, while the fields of blue from blooming Chionodoxa in the Wharf district and in the Fort Point Channel parks are covered in white now. Hopefully this blue beauty, known as Glory of the Snow, will live up to its name and survive under the blanket of snow. It is one of my favorites! It increases each year and loves to show off.

On the shyer side are the delicate, ephemeral Erythroniums popping up in the Urban Arboretum and soon, in the Wharf parks too. We have three varieties in The Greenway and keen eyes can watch for the bolder yellow selection Erythronium ‘Pagaoda’ and the delicate Erythronium ‘White Beauty’, with a glowing yellow-green center and the species Erythronium revolutum, blooming now with pale pink flowers and clearly mottled leaves.

The earliest of our daffodils Narcissus ‘February Gold’ has been blooming for a few weeks now across from the Boston Fire Department on Purchase Street. There are many more varieties that will continue blooming into May. Fingers crossed they are hardy enough to survive our recent weather.