6/05/08 FLOWERS AND COLOR IN THE LANDSCAPE

Thursday, 8:00 AM. 44 degrees, wind NE, calm. Fog obscures the channel and the Island, and the barometer is down, predicting rain.
Red oaks (Quercus rubra) have been in bloom for at least several days, not very apparent, as the long catkins are the same color as the leaves. The mountain ash trees are about to bloom, as are the very first of our wild lupines.
I attended a Public Works meeting yesterday at which was discussed whether or not to continue garden water meters, which allow people to water gardens and yards without paying the sewer surcharge, although they pay for the water. Representing the tree board, I argued for retaining them as they encourage growing vegetable gardens, caring for trees and for community beautification in general. The opposing argument is that they encourage wastefulness, and are out of sync with state policy in the southern half of the state, where water shortage can be an issue. There is an element of political correctness in all of this which I find disturbing, but the matter was resolved in good faith and spirits, and garden meters will remain available for the foreseeable future. The upshot of all this is, for me, that we need more honest policy debates on environmental issues, and less rancor on all sides of these questions.
As I look out the window to the young red oak across the street, chartreuse splashed against the dark green of pines and maples, I realize again the power of color in the landscape, irrespective of pretty flowers.