Time of many petals

My plum tree

I do not celebrate religious holidays (not choosing to be identified and limited by a particular belief pattern). I also find the gregorian calendar uncomfortable. It is too much of a “one size fits all”. And, as with clothing, that is NEVER true. THIS January is not the same as LAST January. So I tend to identify the time of year (at least in my own head), based on what the living world is doing. There is the “alder catkins are lengthening” season. Others are the “daffodils are sticking their green tips above ground”, the “native hazel is blooming”, then the “frogs singing!”. There is “Daffodil Season”, during which the pens where I work wear daffodil headdresses. They wear these disguises ONLY while the daffodils on MY driveway are blooming.

Along my driveway

As I have many different daffodils on my driveway, all planted since I moved in fifteen years ago, “Daffodil Season” is fairly long.

Pheasants eye type daffodil

Jet Fire

Many of these seasons overlap. Tonight, I am in the middle of Daffodil Season, as well as “frogs singing!” season. We are also in the midst of “time of many petals” which is when the pink and white cherry blossoms start dropping their petals.

I love it when there are drifts of pink in all the gutters, swirls of dancing petals curly-cuing across the sidewalks and asphalt parking lots. This leads into the shocking season of  “RHODODENDRONS” which is very strong. Up until then, the colors are gentle to our winter-dulled eyes. White and yellow and pink, with small splashes of purples.

Red-flowering Currant

Later, the Rhododendrons will burst upon us, in enormous masses of off-shaded pinks and purples and reds. All of which have some hint of the other colors in them. They are, after all, mostly varieties developed from crossing Rhododendron yakushimanum with other varieties. So their general structure, and color groups, are similar. Big masses of clustered blooms. Go up to the Rhododendron Species Foundation at Weyerhouser, and visit Rhodies that look entirely different! Ones that look more honeysuckle, with looonnngg tubular flowers, that only trumpet out a little bit at the end.