It Smells Like Spring Out There

Plenty of rain today but it didn't "smell" like winter. There was a hint of spring in the air. I noticed this peony today. Of course, the buds have only just started to swell with blooms in 5-6 weeks from now. This is a rare and expensive peony donated to us by Roy Klehm, a wonderful plantsman and serious peony lover. This Rock's peony (Paeonia rockii) was brought back from China by Joseph Rock as seeds in 1926. I have high regard for the work of historical and present day plant explorers. China continues to be a rich resource for new plant material but urbanization continues to threaten plants at an alarming rate. Extinction rates of plants from around the world are directly related to human causes and impacts. Anyway, back to the peony. This is a tree peony that will grow from woody stems above ground. Our specimen is 7 years old and very beautiful. Sometimes it only blooms for a week but it is worth it. We have always planned on collecting seeds as we watch the pods ripen, however, we have an unscrupulous visitor(s) that have cut off and taken the seed heads the past couple of years. We have had some plant theft in the past and I've never understood the motivation. For someone to decide that a plant in a public garden with 100,000 annual visitors is better off in their garden (or sold for profit) is unreal. Oh well.

This Saturday is our first work day. We schedule around 13 workdays during various Saturdays, April thru November. This is a wonderful opportunity for existing Rotary Gardens volunteers and the general public to come help out with group projects that will vary depending on the time of year. Projects in April may include tree planting, mulching and more spring clean-up. It's nice to have a volunteer army of 30+ volunteers that are all eager to get out in the gardens (or maybe it's the donut break in the morning that brings them in?.....). Our "Wall O' Tools" is ready to go. Anyway, spring is a welcome visitor in 2008!