'PJM' Rhododendron in full bloom, May 2011

Welcome to What’s Bloomin’, a friendly, helpful Blog from Yardvark Yardcare. Every year we get asked tons of questions in the field, but most frequently people want to know what’s blooming at a certain time of year. We get a lot of, “Oooh, what’s that?” and “I want that beautiful plant that you always see blooming this time of year, in my yard.” So, we’ll try to address what’s bloomin’, along with other common questions and tips regarding your landscape.

This has been an unusually warm late winter/early spring. At a time when the most colorful thing popping up is usually orange construction barrels, we’ve seen a full complement of colors that are usually occurring much later in the season. Crocus, daffodil, tulip, hyacinth… all manner of spring bulbs are rocketing out of the ground. If they’re in a southern exposure (full sun), they’re either bloomin’ or well on their way to budding up and bloomin’. The yellowish buds of forsythia bushes are abundant and magnolia and rhododendron are gearing up as well.

So on this unusually warm St. Patrick’s Day, the best thing to do is to enjoy it all. The weather is great now, but frequently unpredictable. While we all want to believe it’s going to be this way right through summer, we have to remember that we live in Wisconsin! It could actually snow again before we get to the summer months, so savor these uncharacteristically wonderful days and keep your eyes pealed for what’s bloomin’.