Key spring flowers in your area

[NbyNW]

I think you might be the most northern TE North American member, NbyNW. Unless there's a member here in Alaska. (One needs to check if Serendipity in Thunder Bay, Ont. is further south of you ..).

'Course lph and Duck on Wheels in Norway beat us all here. Wonder what spring is like right now.

During the Olympics I was chatting up with a staff member manning one of the Canadian arctic territorial govn't pavilions. She was from the Yukon territory. She rhapsodized about the ever-changing carpet of colours for the tundra up there.

I know you aren't THAT far north. Seems like every other person who lived in Edmonton at some point in their life, also lived for a spell in the Canadian Arctic.

My dearie was there on business awhile ago. He saw the northern lights not far from Edmonton.

I've never been to Alaska, it would be fascinating to see how the seasons manifest up there!

I keep hearing that we are in a prairie ecosystem, which I've never experienced before, and being so far north we do seem to be a few weeks behind everyone else. And of course, in the city, most of the neighborhoods have been landscaped in a way that pretty much denies the native vegetation. It sure will be exciting when I finally see something flowering of any variety!

[crazycanuck]

It's autumn down this way but wildflower season will be upon us soon.

http://www.wildflowerswa.com/en/Wild...ee/default.htm

[Skierchickie]

The first wildflowers I see around here are Spring Beauties and Trout Lilies. Not much else will be blooming for a while, even though we're probably about a month ahead of schedule this spring. There will be lots of apple blossoms and lilacs, but usually not for another month. We have some Rock Clematis on our property, but my understanding is that it doesn't belong here, so I'm not sure what it's doing here, so far from its home. Many years ago someone must have planted it. We had a very difficult time identifying it in the first place. The local nursery guy wanted us to give him seeds so he could try to grow it, but we never got around to it, and now he's retired (and we didn't want to disturb the fragile vines). Anyway, that usually blooms around Memorial day, just for a week or so.

In town people's yards green up sooner, and some of the flowering shrubs are probably blooming already.

It's nice this year - warmer than normal, and the little tiny leaves have been on the trees for a couple of weeks already. Usually things pop at the end of May. If we don't get rain soon we're going to be in big trouble, though.

[Skierchickie]

I totally forgot about the service berries! A lot of people around here call them sugar plums, but a friend in the biology department at the university corrected me once. Anyway, I just noticed this evening that the blossoms are starting to pop out. There are tons and tons of bushes growing wild around here - several in our yard. We'll be all surrounded by white blossoms soon.

Of all the flowers around here, these probably fit the "key spring flowers" category the best for us.

[bcipam]

Because of the unusual cold in the Southern California area this year, and the rain, the Spring flowers are just now starting to show when usually they are already gone by March/April. The Padres shooting stars are gone, but poppies and lupines (many varieties) are everywhere as are chinese houses, checkblooms, mariposa and catalina lilies, farewell-to-spring and 5 spot clarkia, fiddleneck, radish, sunflowers, tall buttercup, brittleweed, peonies, windmill pinks, redmaids, blue eyed grass, cob-webbed thistle, ceonothus, chamise, elderberry, flannelbush, etc. It comes and goes so quickly but when it comes, it's beautiful I'll post some photos later.