photo: Cercis canadensis 2004-02-20

February 20th, 2004
Week 07: Spring is Sprung

Dateline: February 20, 2004

Valentine’s Day is usually when I mark the beginning of spring in Austin. The redbuds start blooming and spring takes off from there. But this year it snowed on Valentine’s Day. No matter. A couple of days later, the highs were in the 70s. With all the rain we’ve had recently, the flowers could hardly wait to strut their stuff.

photo: Crocus tomasinianus 2004-02-20
Garden Spot in Houston reported her first Tommie crocus on February 16th. My first one opened today, on the 20th, as did the ‘Ice Follies’ daffodils, which is one of the most reliable daffodils for Austin.
photo: Narcissus Ice Follies 2004-02-20

Summer snowflakes and the Mexican plum started blooming yesterday.
photo: Prunus mexicana 2004-02-20

And the yellow-flowered Sedum palmeri that Valerie shared with me have been blooming for a couple of weeks now. It’s just been too cold and rainy to snap a photo.
photo: Sedum palmeri 2004-02-20