“The earth laughs in flowers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson.
I have always loved this quote. In a four-season state, there is nothing like the early Spring flowers poking their heads through the still-frozen soil and reaching toward the sun. So, when the Taylor Conservatory & Botanical Gardens posted an array of Spring flower planting pics on their Facebook site on Saturday night, I made an impromptu trip up to Heritage Park with my camera the following day to take a peek. I thought it would be fun to use this quote and the pics for Earth Day 2021. I also knew a snowstorm was predicted for mid-week, so there was no telling if those flowers would be bedraggled or dead, having been smooshed by the snow and ravaged by temps that had local meteorologists calling for a freeze warning for tender plants. As I write this post on Wednesday morning, we had several inches of snow and a ton of vehicle accidents. I was happy to stay indoors as the snow will melt with warmer temps tomorrow.
I’ll make this post brief as I’m bending my just-two-posts-a-week rule, but why not celebrate Mother Earth’s beauty?
I got to the Conservatory about 8:00 a.m. and the sky darkened and a few raindrops fell before I even opened the car door – grr! I waited for that big bad cloud to exit, then set out. Yay – the sky was blue here …
… but still looked a bit murky as I rounded the corner of the Heritage Park Petting Farm and through the parking lot of the Gardens.
The Weeping Apple blossoms, which vine entwines through the archway, were just beautiful. Here is how they looked from afar and up close.
I was serenaded the entire time by this Red-Winged Blackbird high up in the Conservatory structure.
The Spring plantings were in various container pots and will be replaced by colorful annuals once the temps warm up. There are plenty of perennials in the garden area and you may recall, this is a favorite venue for me to see butterflies and look for (but never find) hummingbirds.
These are a few of my favorite flowers from my Sunday morning visit – they are some of the colors of the rainbow, or at least the Crayola box
Enjoy Earth Day 2021 – I’ll try to walk this morning, but have no expectations since the temps dipped so low, so the slick roads and sidewalks take me right out of my comfort zone.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
What a gorgeous post. I love the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote also. So glad you managed to get these lovely photos of each of these beauitul flowers before Mother Nature covered them up with a coat of snow. We had a frost and freeze here yesterday morning which broke a weather record. The weather has been so weird this year. Great post Linda.
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Glad you liked the post Peggy. That quote seemed perfect to me. The Conservatory posted pictures of the snow-covered plants on their Facebook site on Tuesday night. Hopefully they survive. I long for the weather that I grew up with … four distinct seasons. It is only 27 degrees right now, but it looks like the snow is all gone. We had four major expressways closed down and a 20-car pile-up this time yesterday.
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Wow – weather sure disrupts our daily lives. We had a 38 degree morning and the wind made it feel like your 27 degrees. Plants can often come back very well after they are covered with snow.
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We had that 27 degrees which was way below normal for this date in April, but next Tuesday we will have a high of 84 degrees which is way above normal! My neighbor’s magnolias never lost a petal despite all the snow. The snow is all gone now, even my house which is always the last to melt as I live on the shady side of the street.
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Wow what a temperature swing from 27 to 84. That sounds a lot like Arkansas. We are seven miles from town out in the country and our temps are always different than my daughter’s who lives in town.
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Yes, that is incredible isn’t it? We will break records they say – that is too hot, too soon and I hope it does not bring on volatile weather. I had that experience of the temperature fluctuation when I worked in Downtown Detroit which was 13 miles away and I thought the change in temps or raining/snowing in one place and not the other was incredible … seven miles is even more amazing for weather fluctuation.
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Weather is very unpredictable anymore for sure. We get some very hot summers here. We broke a lot of weather records this Spring.
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Yes, the weather is wacky. We had the 5th hottest Summer on record for 2020. I’m not a fan of the really hot and humid Summers – August does get pretty bad sometimes, but you would have more warmer days per year. The lack of snow and warmer weather would be a draw for me, but so many Southern states have snow and ice storms now. I have a high school friend who lives in Cary, North Carolina and she has dealt with bad ice storms and snow as well and it is happening more frequently. Hopefully you won’t have severe weather as Spring goes one and I remember there was some severe weather a few months ago there. You are the first/only person I’ve known who lives in Arkansas. I worry about tornadoes and derechos which that season is coming up soon here in Michigan.
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I do hate June, July and August here because of the humidity. We had a 15 inch snow this year with -2 degree weather – extremely unusual. Tornado season is going on here. We drive to town and jump in our daughter’s storm cellar (fraidy hole as the Arkies call it) now and then. Had a tornado go over our house five years ago, but it did not touch down until it was five miles North of us. We were lucky that day, because we were home.
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The humidity is a killer sometimes – I’m sure you get much hotter there than here. I didn’t realize you were part of that big snowfall that hit so many. I’m glad you have a safe haven to go to … fraidy hole is clever but I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute. Tornadoes scare me. We had a Derecho in July 1980 or 1981 and the grass was long and as it blew through, it “combed” the grass down and along the main street, they had just planted saplings and it bent them over. Not snapped, but leaning over and they had to take out each one. I was working downtown on the 11th floor of an office building. The Derecho was so powerful it knocked the windows out of a corner office where the senior attorney was. He was on vacation but all his papers and mementoes flew out the window and it was raining and water came in … it was a real mess. You certainly were lucky.
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Yes tornadoes are terrible. We have had several in the state this year, but not in our area.
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Glad to hear the tornadoes have bypassed you in 2021 Peggy. Now I will listen more closely when I hear of severe weather in Arkansas. I hope it is a quiet year for you.
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Thank you. I hope it is a quiet tornado year too.
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I’ll keep you in my thoughts as volatile weather appears.
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Thanks.
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Gotta love spring bulbs. The color is always brilliant which is exactly what we need after a drab winter. I would plant more but there is always the scraggly foliage in June that they tell you not to cut down but in April the plants are much appreciated.
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Yes, they are beautiful. My neighbor across the street planted bulbs (tulips and daffodils) many decades ago and when she died, the house went up for sale and the new owners dug up most of the beds to widen the driveway. But even though they messed with the front garden, the flowers continue to pop up each Spring. Pretty resilient.
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The last owner here cut down a street tree at the end of the driveway. There must have been a bed there too because the grass is sparse and this spring there are a huge crop of bluebells blooming in the grass. We’ll probably put a street tree back in.
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A street tree is nice – my neighbor has one which gives a lot of shade to my driveway which is nice if I’m hauling in groceries in the Summer or doing yardwork. Our City is giving away street trees and have advertised three times this month so I am surprised there are no takers. They are good-sized trees and the City plants them for you.
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Wish that was the case here but I will have to buy it and have someone plant it.
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They finally planted the extra trees in the park where I walk every day – I noticed it today. I was surprised there was no interest and the City kept posting of their availability. My neighbor got a City tree, nice Maple which will no doubt yield a dozen yard waste bags for me to rake up like the neighbor on the other side. 🙂
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Nice street art to finish!
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Yes, I love that artwork too Jeanine and whenever I am up there I always take a picture of it, especially once it is surrounded by colorful flowers. It would look perfect in the field of crocuses. Too bad you can’t show it to an artist to suggest it.
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All your photos are colorful and gorgeous. I especially like the pansies. I’d forgotten about Earth Day. I don’t seem to know what day it is anymore!
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Glad you liked the photos Ally. I wanted to go there while these flowers still looked fresh. And they looked beautiful covered in snow on Tuesday night from the pictures posted on the Conservatory’s FB site. I have never had pansies but they always look so cheery. Well, they made a big deal about Earth Day last year as it was the 50th anniversary so it was more subdued this year.
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I don’t know why, but pansies always seemed like the most cheerful of flowers to me. And they like the cooler temperatures so we can plant them in April here. I’m so glad you captured the beautiful spring flowers at the botanical gardens before the freak snowstorm. The apple blossoms are so lovely. Happy Earth Day, Linda!
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Thank you Barbara – I hope you enjoyed your Earth Day as well. I think pansies look cheerful, like they are smiling. I saw all the snow on these flowers in a post Tuesday night – hopefully they were okay, but my neighbor’s small magnolia tree and bush were already out and had blossomed and were covered in snow and look just as good. I am glad I went up there to see them to at least THINK Spring. We had/have below-average temps and the snow and next Tuesday, unbelievable we will have 84 degrees which is above average temps!
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Beautiful post, Linda! Our spring bulbs are almost at the end of their season, but yesterday the first two bearded irises opened. Everything’s blooming early here since we’ve had some really nice weather lately. Rain however is on the way!
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We had that very warm spell about two weeks ago so everything bloomed early. Our irises aren’t out for a while though. Everything seemed to come through that snowfall – the magnolias, some tulips … all looked perky. The rain is a bummer for you. We have a rainy day in store on Saturday. At least no more snow and 84 degrees for Tuesday which is just crazy!
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We actually need the rain as even the “rainy and wet Pacific Northwest” is in a serious drought. There also have already been a few wildfires which were driven by warm temps and a dry east wind.
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I hope you got your rain – we had two bouts of rain today and it’s raining now. We had a serious wildfire up in Northern Michigan that began as a controlled burn yesterday and got out of control due to sudden windy conditions. People had to be evacuated from their homes, but no one was injured and no damage to homes. It is only 32% contained but not further danger they say.
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Yes, it’s raining here too and fortunately no fires. 😊
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Such beautiful flowers. I love the apple blossoms. Thankfully our apples have not blossomed yet. We didn’t get as much snow as you did. Really just enough to cover the ground but once the sun came out it melted away. We saw a few flurries today but nothing to stick around.
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That’s great news Ruth – a relief for you. We got 4.2 inches of snow in Wyandotte which is near me; 3.3 inches of snow at Metro Airport. Most of it melted yesterday. I saw some photos of an apple orchard in the City of Detroit and they were asking for volunteers to help cover the trees, or bring firewood to burn to save the trees. One more very cold night tonight.
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Your photos are very vivid! Beautiful.
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Thanks Anne – I wanted to get photos of them while they were freshly planted as they are all out in the open and they have a lot of flowering trees there, so I looked for them. Surprisingly, the flowering trees in our neighborhood are in full bloom, but at Heritage Park, most had dropped their blossoms already.
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I wonder why. We were up high this afternoon on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the trees are a couple of weeks behind us at home. Our house is at 2,600 feet, and we passed the highest point of the parkway at over 6,000 feet.
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There it could be the altitude or colder. I think I mentioned my mom and I traveled to a few southern states the week after the Kentucky Derby and the end of the week we visited the Smoky Mountains. We were ready to set out and the waitress said to wait until afternoon as there was black ice. I was concerned over the winding curves as it was, so I was happy to wait a few hours, so we spent the morning in Cherokee. I did not understand why those trees were without blossoms because Heritage Park is just five miles away. I guess I should have gone earlier – next year I will know better. Our flowering trees don’t look any worse for the wear from the 27 degrees and 4.2 inches of snow which surprises me.
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We’ve had freezing temps, but I don’t think they went much below 32 degrees. We haven’t had any snow recently and certainly don’t expect any now.
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They gave the weather forecast for the next six weeks and we are done with snow too thankfully – we have 84 on Tuesday which is just over the top.
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84 will be a shock to the system!
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I know – amazing isn’t it! It was very chilly when I went out today. I wish Mother Nature would just pick a season and stick with it.
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We have more excitement this way.
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Miss Linda…………………….those flowers are beautiful that you took……………………..you are an excellent photographer………………….
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Thank you Ann Marie – I am glad you liked the photos – that is nice of you to say this. I’ll be going up there more often once they plant the annuals and more flowers are at the Conservatory to lure the butterflies and hummingbirds. I got some fun goose pictures at Coan Lake last Sunday and the Missus sitting on a nest in the boulders of all things, which picture I e-mailed you. That was a first for me … she did NOT look comfortable in the least.
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Don’t you just love the spring colors? What a beautiful place to walk at, they keep it very nice! Loved your pictures!
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I wanted to see the Spring plantings the first day while they were fresh and it was a nice collection. It is a big place and run by volunteers from the Taylor Garden Club and they will gradually bring back the container plants that they overwinter off site and plant some Summer annuals once it warms up a little; plus with the perennials everywhere, it will be very colorful by the first of Summer. They have weddings here in the warmer months and often feature the bride and groom photos on their site. I’m glad you liked the photos Diane.
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because your having cold nights that would mean the maple sap would be running! I heard on the news that the sugar bushes are expecting a poor crop this year due to warmer nights. For the sap to flow strongly it has to be cold at night and warm during the day.
So I wonder if your area has better maple production? Do you know of any productions sites near you?
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With our wacky weather, I wonder if we could have a second maple syrup production? We had our maple syrup tapping back in March. I would like to go watch this and we have it at a few of the Metroparks in the area, but not at Lake Erie Metropark unfortunately. They do produce the syrup and then sell it – individually or a three pack of different colors of honey. You can watch them making it. I watched a lengthy YouTube video of them tapping trees, then making syrup at Kensington Metropark and it was very interesting.
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Those are cheery pics! I’ve never seen a weeping apple like that lovely arbor. My brother lives near Lake Erie, so I heard about the snow up that way.
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Thank you Eilene. I like to go the Conservatory/Gardens in the Summer months too – it’s really colorful then, but I hurried up there to see the Spring planting. They do such a nice job and it is all volunteers from a local garden club. It will start to fill in once they bring the container plants that they overwinter off site and the perennials and annuals are in full bloom. They have weddings and receptions there all Summer. The snow and its slick aftermath caused four freeway closures at the same time and a 20-car pile-up and melted within 24 hours. Wacky weather!
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Yikes about the pileup! So nice that you have the conservatory and gardens. I would have to go a long way to find one.
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Yes, there was black ice everywhere Eilene. I’m glad I did not have to go anywhere – I don’t like driving in Winter at all. When I worked on site until early 2009, I worked in Downtown Detroit and took the bus. I like to go to the conservatory and gardens and walk around all year around, though there is not much to see in the Wintertime. They have community gardens on the grounds in the Summer/early Fall and half of it is tended by the prisoners to give the fruits/veggies to the local food bank and the other half are plots that people buy for growing their own fruits/veggies and flowers. I think that is a great idea doing that.
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That does sound like a win-win situation. For some reason, I always felt that winter driving in Ohio was much worse than here in Colorado.
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I think people in the Midwest forget how to drive when a new “snow season” is upon us. Eilene. My gripe is people drive too fast for conditions. But then I drive so slow and am a white-knuckle driver which is not good so I don’t I’ll bet folks in Colorado are seasoned pros since they get so much snow.
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Might be the case. We don’t salt the roads here, which I think can make things worse. Even so, the first snows always lead to wrecks, even here.
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That would be worrisome with no salt … here they treat the roads with brine when they know a snowstorm is on the way so it has some time to work on pavement until they are able to salt everything. This past Winter we had an 8-inch snowstorm and it was during a Polar Vortex so salt didn’t work – it took a week or so before it was safe on the roads. I didn’t walk during that time as the roads were treacherous.
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I love that RWE quote too, Linda. Thanks for sharing it. This was the perfect Earth Day post. Beautiful flowers! It’s a good thing you snapped these photos before the snow. What a shame that Mother Nature played such a dirty trick, and on Earth Day of all days!
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That is a beautiful quote Laurie and in all the years of writing about the beauty of flowers, I never used it in my blog. I was happy I saw the post on the Botanical Gardens’ site about the fresh planting – they were so pretty. The pictures they posted of the snow-covered flowers was nice as well; hopefully they recovered and had no damage. The snow was gone in 24 hours thankfully.
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Spring flowers are just so pleasing to see after a long winter. Wonderful photos Linda 🙂
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Yes, they are a treat for Winter-weary eyes aren’t they? In those dreary cold and snowy days, we long for some color and they fit the bill. Glad you liked the photos Sandra.
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Beautiful pics
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Thank you Barbara.
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Thanks Linda! What beautiful pictures – that was certainly a nice dose of spring!
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Glad you liked them Joni. I went up last Sunday as I figured the snow would not be kind to them. Better than that 84 degreed we’re getting Tuesday though.
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A nice post to soothe your senses! Great captures! Must say we all laugh in flowers!
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Thank you Kritika – glad you liked the photos of these still fresh and vibrant flowers. We do all laugh in flowers and are lucky to have them!
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I love all your gorgeous pictures of the flowers! And, that painted piece at the end is lovely too. It’s hard to imagine that your weather could have turned after such a beautiful day. Thanks for sharing!
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Glad you enjoyed the photos Janis; they were all so fresh and lovely that day. Yes, on Tuesday afternoon and through the night, my part of town woke up to a 4.2-inch snowfall. Many accidents but within 24 hours is was over with.
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Wow, stunning, Linda. I especially love the weeping apple blossoms. I just figured out that a few old trees on the farm museum behind our house are apple trees not cherry as I had thought.
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Thanks Pam – so nice to see color and fresh blooms so soon after Winter ends. I’ve never seen those weeping apple blossoms before. Usually when I visit the Conservatory, the blossoms are gone and just the vine and leaves remain. It was beautiful. I don’t know any of the flowering trees apart, but I love seeing them every Spring. There was a Redbud tree at the Park where I walk which the City tree cutters cut down – not sure why, but it used to be a gorgeous backdrop once the goslings arrived (which should be any day now).
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I love this time of year, Linda!🌺
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Me too Pam – I love that first day the trees come out and look like a canopy in the neighborhood. Our trees, despite our warm spell, have not all leafed out yet.
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🌳 ❤️
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Those are some beautiful clicks! I had seen apple blossoms at many venues but never knew what it was called. Those pristine white blooms captivate me a lot.
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Glad you liked them Monica. I would not have known about the weeping apple blossoms either. I had seen the Spring plantings on the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens website and someone asked what kind of flowers they were and they answered with this name. I’m glad I know now too … I love the Spring flowering trees – they are fleeting beauty.
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