FORSYTHIAS

RESPECT THE FORSYTHIA, AN URBAN  LANDSCAPE STALWART...

..ALSO.BEAUTIFULL IN A VASE

Sunday,9:00 AM.  37 degrees F, wind WNW, light with stronger gusts.  The sky has scattered clouds, heavier in the east. The barometer is up at 30.19 in., and the humidity is 52%.  It will warm up some and be a decent day.
   The ice is out on lower Chequamegon Bay at Ashland.  I don't know if this is a record but it is close.
   The forsythias on the south side of the house started blooming a few days ago and are almost in full bloom today.  They are such a common and utilitarian shrub that we sometimes don't give them the respect they deserve, as like daffodils, they really announce spring in the urban setting.  They are not particular as to soil or other conditions, but do want pretty much full sun.
   The modern Forsythia x intermedia is a hybrid between two Chinese species, which were introduced to the Western world in the early to mid Nineteenth Century, after they were found in Japanese gardens.  There are many further selections propagated from sports of that hybrid in the nursery trade.     The Genus Forsythia is named after a famous Scotts gardener, James Forsyth, who was one of the founders of The Royal Horticultural Society.
   You will note that the Forsythia has no fragrance, probably because it blooms early and prolifically and  is visually very showy, attracting pollinating insects without the necessity of fragrance.  At least that's my theory, but why then are daffodils fragrant? Go figure.