A Black Spring Remembered

A number of years ago we had an early Spring, and the season was well ahead of normal schedule. Fruit trees were in full bloom, and our gardens were filledwith all types of budding bulbs of diverse colors and sizes. Also well ahead of schedule, the trees had nearly fully developed leaves. Then came the bigfreeze. On a night in late April, the temperature dropped down to 17 degrees and remained that low for several hours. The next morning there was littledamage that could be seen. It was not until the following Monday when I returned to Blackberry that effects of the freeze damage became evident. All aroundthe gardens and along the roads, fields, hills and mountains the leaves on the trees had turned solid black. The scene reminded me of a Spring landscapepainting in which the artist substituted black for the bright light greens of spring.

John Coykendall, Master Gardener