Spring Garlands

a hazel tree catkin

The first week of spring is certainly strange. Instead of a sunny and not-so-cold weather, it was wet-and-windy. I neither expected a temperature of around 20°C nor a day-in-day-out clear sky, but hardly did I imagine that it would be this dismal. I don't find late spring snow unusual for I have experienced it in the past (we even had an incident of a hail storm). But at least when these winter-like episodes happened, the wind wasn’t that strong. At present, not only is it rainy and gloomy, but the wind is pretty gusty and forceful (you can even hear it howling at night). Oh, we do have occasional burst of sunlight or sudden clearing up of the sky. But they’re not enough to dispel the chilliness in the air.

Since the weather is quirky, I decided to post a photo of these garlands of flowers which I found intriguing. These dangling floral clusters are called aments or catkins. I read that they are called as such because they resemble a kitten’s tail. You’ll find these filament-like blooms on birches (trees with white bark), poplars and hazel trees . With numerous aments, these trees looks like a scene of a child’s innocent antic: a denuded tree decorated with a profusion of confetti. I find this sight amusing because it brings back memories of childhood follies: making a casserole of leaves and wild flowers for meals, hanging strips of fabric on branches of trees to build a house, using rocks as furniture...


I just wonder why birch trees, like apricots, plums and forsythias, grow flowers before they have leaves. Since leaves manufacture and store food for the plants, I’ve always assumed that plants need to have leaves first before they can produce flowers. I guess I was wrong. And that’s a good thing *grins*. Having flowers after the winter months is such a great pleasure.They bring gaiety and a sense of festivity in the otherwise bare monochromatic surroundings. But I would enjoy them better if only the sun would stay long enough in the sky without being covered by dark gray clouds. Nymphs and Anemoi, please hear my wish for a better weather--- lots of sunshine, no heavy rains and just a light breeze enough to rustle the leaves and stir the scent of freshness in the air.