Two and a half weeks ago, we were trying to get through cold and snowy days. This was Lost Lagoon on February 11.
A few days later, I saw this gorgeous witch-hazel shrub that doesn’t give two hoots for the snow. And why should it, if its roots are warm, several inches down?
Wanting to see whether this narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) was in bloom yet, I walked to the English Bay seawall, and there, almost ready to burst forth with pollen, were its tiny purple flowers. I wanted to know, because I’ll be leading a Nature Vancouver tree-identification walk in English Bay on March 22. Maybe the excitement will be all over by then.
Walking in the West End on February 26, just a few days before March 1, meteorological spring, Ilistened to red-winged blackbirds and pine siskins singing and whistling in a sidewalk tree. Small birds were enjoying someone’s balcony feeder. Until a crow flew in, stretching his tail feathers. And I found so many plants in bloom:
o An ornamental cherry blossom tree known as Whitcomb, Prunus subhirtella ‘Whitcomb’. This tree, shaped like a question mark, survives year after year in spite of being attacked by ivy in this rather untended location on Nelson Street at Bute Street.
o This is the earliest of the dogwoods: Cornus mas, cornelian cherry;
o Harry Lauder’s walking stick, Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’, also known as contorted hazelnut. In the second photo both the hanging yellow male catkins and the tiny red-topped female flower are visible.
o And finally at home, my acacia is leafing out. Does anyone know its full name? I’ve lost the plant tag and I seem to know trees better than shrubs.
Text and photos by VMG Nina S.