Brief burst of summer

Heuchera micrantha pre-bloom

Yesterday, the cool, wet spring changed drastically. The temperature climbed to 25°C. Naturally I had to get out into the garden. It was quite warm! And the moist earth smelled wonderful.

Early May bloom is happening as April flowers start to fade away. The pretty shooting stars (Dodecatheon pulchellum) that are happy have all flowered (a few are not so happy). Mertens' sedge, the grass that thought it was an iris, is making its funny little flower thing (the iris have not yet bloomed). Heuchera micrantha (alumroot) is starting to bloom. At this point, the flower looks like a small berry, but it should open up soon. Maianthemum racemosum (false Solomon's seal), which has stayed in a cluster, has made its white flower clusters. Vanilla leaf have flowered, and the false lily-of-the-valley are starting. Meanwhile, the Saskatoon looks like it will have pretty good fruit this year, judging by the flowers. Salmonberry less so (as usual).

Dryopteris expansa

I have been on the hunt for the smaller ferns in the fern bed. The sword fern is large and dominant. The licorice fern is spreading on the lady's mantle roots (it usually grows on trees, such as the horse chestnuts in the nearby park). False lily-of-the-valley and vanilla leaf hold their own. But the smaller ferns can get lost and even snuffed out. Two out of the original three deer ferns (Dryopteris expansa) are coming back. I have made some space for them. One maidenhair fern is coming back as well. The tiny deer ferns, which were still there two years ago? Maybe not. But I have to be patient.

We were supposed to be hit by a band of thundershowers last night, possibly with hail, but thankfully those did not materialize. It rained hard for a while and carried over to today. And the temperature is half of what it was yesterday afternoon and probably won't go much higher.