Old Tulip.

4-23-08 SHORT HILLS: It’s gorgeous. It’s sunny, warm and dry, but too dry, and I have already started the sprinklers. Spring is clearly committed, all the trees are opening, even the grass is starting to appear. The sun is now just past the halfway point to the summer solstice.

Yesterday I planted a flowering pear tree near the Great Hills fence and a red twig dogwood in the SE corner by Westview Rd. The red twig dogwood, a shrub, is most showy in the snow. When everything else is brown or gray, its branches are deep red and show well against the snow. Today I planted two lilacs and a small lilac volunteer in the area where the big ash was blown down in March. Almost all the mangled shrubs that were under that tree and the broken utility pole have bounced back and are showing new leaves. Add to those plantings some trimming and pruning and just walking around enjoying spring and you have my days.

New blooms: grape hyacinth, snowball viburnum, jill-over-the-ground, tulip. One tulip bloomed for the first time in years. Years ago I planted some tulips that bloomed for a few years and then stopped blooming. Every year the tulip leaves come up, I fertilize them, and after a few weeks, they disappear. What’s different this year? Wet winter? Who knows.


Return of the Prodigal Tulip.