It reached 85°F here yesterday, with very little rain and a relentless breeze that was just dry enough to escape being called muggy. It will be in the mid-80s today and tomorrow—muggy today, and if we are lucky, rain tomorrow.
When it gets over 80°, the spring ephemera start going dormant. Leaves start yellowing and drooping, and obvious signs of putting energy into reproduction appear.
Dutchman’s Breeches
I noticed that the corms are showing on the Dutchman’s breeches. I propagated them last year by digging up a patch of corms and scattering them where I wanted them to come up.
The leaves will be gone in a matter of days.
Shooting Stars
These come and go fast. They started blooming at the beginning of the month. The flowers are nifty, and columbines hide among them. The foliage is nothing to look at, however.
The plant is rather generic and weedy looking, but it doesn’t last long.
As they go to seed, the flowers turn their faces up.
As of this morning they are mostly looking up, and their foliage is collapsed and yellowing.
This area needs some sort of summer cover. I just have not quite figured out what to put there. It is under the southern edge of a pawpaw that is under a very large silver maple.