Sometimes people wonder why some of their shrubs and trees have produced leaves in the spring while others have not. Often, they worry that a plant that hasn’t broken dormancy yet is dead. While sometimes it is true that a branch or an entire plant has died and this is why it’s not producing leaves, in other instances the plant is not yet ready to grow. In my garden the maples bloom and make leaves well before the oak trees. My buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) is barely showing signs of swelling buds, while the bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) have been robustly growing foliage for two weeks. And every year I notice that some of the invasive plants in this area, such as the honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), produce foliage a full month before the native plants. This is one of the sneaky ways that that an imported invasive plant gains dominance over indigenous plants.

The new buds and leaves on shrubs and trees are astonishingly beautiful. Take time to walk in your garden and wild places, and watch the plants wake up.