Winterthur, Delaware on March 13, 2020

Legacy of Henry Francis du Pont, 1880-1969, American

 

 

 

It is not only that the flowers are ephemeral and are so called, glory-of-the-snow being the first to appear;

 

Also ephemeral are the changes of this time between winter and spring: the threshold of spring.

 

In winter, almost everything is a shade of gray and brown;

 

until other colours appear at the beginning of spring: interspersed, speckled, mottled among the gray-browns

 

 

 

Japanese barberry

Flowering quince

Flowering quince

A crabapple cultivar whose flowers will bloom in the red with which it is already specked

 

 

This overlay of spring on winter renders the landscape ethereal: a colour wash over winter gray-blue-browns.  

 

 

 

Two trees are in bloom at this time of year in Winterthur:  the yellow  cornus florida

 

Cornus florida seen through the branches of a Japanese maple whose feet are in glory-of-the-snow

 

 

and star magnolia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lichen competes with ivy to reach the tops of the trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

and  golden moss leads you into the woods

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of the bushes, the bright yellow forsythia is in bloom,

 

 

 

 

 

 

the ivory and mottled pink Pieris Japonica cultivars,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the earliest of the azaleas is also in bloom: a glowing pink hybrid from Korea. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of the flowers, it is glory-of-the-snow (chionodoxa forbessi)  which is the first of the ephemerals

 

in large drifts under the beeches and the poplars

blue-purple with white eyes

 

 

 

glory-of-the-snow beneath a Japanese red maple

 

 

Surprised to find themselves almost keeping pace for height with the peonies in their beds. 

 

 

 

 

 

Lenten roses are in bloom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A rare floret of Spring crocus 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amur adonis is in bloom but not fully yet everywhere

 

 

 

 

 

And everywhere a washing away with the rain of winter shapes and colours  towards spring. 

 

But very gently. You cannot see it.  You simply mark the changes.  They come quickly at this time of year.  Ephemeral.

 

 

 

Crown of a dawn redwood

Seedpod of the magnolia grandiflora which never fell after the seeds dispersed

Buds of the star magnolia

Snowball viburnum

Largeflower winterhazel on the point of flowering

Korean rhododendron

 

 

The hydrangea seems the only plant which has remained immobile since winter, offering no hint of a spring to come.  

 

 

Hydrangea whose fragile flower heads remain intact through winter

 

 

The Hippocampus overlooking the old swimming pool is solitary.  Surrounded by grays and silver-greens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antcipating his companions of May

 

 

 

 

All a wonder year after year after year.