The Late Spring Speed-Up

Winter is long in Maine, and it is always a delight to see spring coming around again. This year, after a false start in March, spring was delayed by more than a foot of heavy, wet snow in early April. As the snow melted, though, crocus flowers slowly appeared from under the snow, followed by a cheerful display of daffodils on the front slope. In the second half of April, I was finally able to work on spring clean-up in the garden, as native spring wildflowers like bluets (Houstonia caerulea), wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) and violets bloomed.

By mid-May, I was experiencing something that happens every year but that always catches me by surprise – the late spring speed-up. Suddenly, after being bare for more than six months, deciduous trees went in days from the lacy look of flowers and new foliage to being fully leafed out. I scrambled to finish my spring clean-up as new growth shot up; and each morning’s walk through the garden revealed new flowers beginning to bloom.

First came moss phlox (Phlox subulata), then the first of the perennial geraniums (Geranium maculatum). The fothergilla bloomed, followed by beach plum (Prunus maritima) and lilacs (Syringa vulgaris).

The native sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis) joined the late spring display, as did Allium x ‘Globemaster.’

As May has turned into June, late spring is morphing into early summer in the garden. Blue star flower (Amsonia tabernaemontana) is in full bloom, as are the spikes of Heuchera ‘Raspberry Regal.’

Only a week after they began to flower, Siberian irises are bursting into bloom.

Many plants characteristic of the early summer garden display, like dianthus, spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana), Baptisia australis, lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis), roses, and several species of geraniums, have begun to bloom. Others, like peonies, astilbes, and spirea have rapidly developing buds that will begin to open in the days to come.

In April, it can sometimes seem that the new garden season will never quite develop. But by the end of May, the late spring speed-up has changed all that so dramatically that it can leave me feeling a bit breathless.