Winter jasmine jumps out early
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Photographed shortly before 10am on Thursday, January 12.hawes spencer
The Hook's pet bellwether, the winter jasmine at Carr's Hill, jumped out early this year, as seen in this photo taken at the corner of University Avenue and Rugby Road. The last time the Hook documented any January blooms at this site was 2007.
"It's been usually warm," says Crozet-based nature writer Marlene Condon, "and those buds are responding to the warmth."
At the UVA Climatology office, Jerry Stenger says that his records show that last December was the first above-average December since 2007 and the 11th warmest in the 109 years of recorded temperatures at McCormick Observatory– with this year's winter running three degrees above average.
Condon doesn't need to the check the charts, as her winter jasmine bloomed in December; and she's already seen a harbinger of spring.
"There are daffodils down the road from me," she says, "that are blooming."
–story updated on the morning of Tuesday, January 17.
4 comments
Where's Bill Emory? He needs to write a conspiracy piece about this too.
"How'd the Jasmines know to bloom early?? HMMMM??? Yeah, chew on THAT, Cville. Nefarious machinations in the Big Pond! I like my pretenses that the jasmines informally agree to stick to the accepted blooming schedule. It just feels more natural. So, do they do this every time before the big bloom? That's the jasmine bush you see in the photo, in January........several MONTHS before they ususally bloom. dun dun DUNNNNNNNNNNN."
:D
Winter Jasmine? Didn't she dance at Circus Circus?
Glad to see the hook got it right this year. The Jasmine has been mistaken for Forsythia in the past.
Thanks for this fascinating look at our local weather/bloom pattern. I collect backyard bird sighting data
for Cornell Labs and watching these patterns in nature over time provides valuable data on climate change