Phenology

Spring is here. I have been watching the plant world and paying attention to the subtle changes around me. Within the last month I have noticed small stinging nettles (about 1 inch tall), snow drop flowers, indian plum buds, pussy willow buds come to fruition as well as the first crocus.

I have a phenology chart in a binder, which i refer to every time I notice a bud awaken on a plant, a flower open in the wild, or a small plant start to grow that was dormant/self seeded during the winter. Phenology is the practice of recording the first signs of all life around us, (including animal life) during the seasons. Wikipedia defines it as "the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate". I start a new chart every spring, but I also record when I see the first thimble berries in the summer and the first hawthorn berries in the fall.

This art has been practiced for longer than I can imagine. Farmers have paid attention to the subtle signs in nature in order to decide what crops to plant when. Each micro climate is different, but after a farmer has been on their land for long enough, as the natural signals reveal themselves they know what to seed indoors and what to plant in the ground.

Also environmentalists are using phenology to study the effects of climate change on a specific bioregion. For example, by tracking what time of year the salmonberry flowers bloom, on a yearly bases for a decade, we will know if the arrival of spring is coming noticeably earlier. Therefor we will know to what degree our planet is warming up.

I fell in love with phenology because it is a simple, beautiful practice, which connects me with the land. I believe that it allows us to have an understanding of our weather system. It also teaches me about the micro climates on the land i live on and therefor helps me understand where I want to develop a garden.

It is a fascinating tool, which is so enjoyable! I encourage you to start a phenology chart now if you are interested. Because the magic of life is just starting to bloom.