New England Spring 2025

When my wife and I moved to Massachusetts in 2001, I was dismayed to discover that the local nurseries didn’t open until the first week of April because winter lingered so long. I grew up in Oregon, where the winters are milder, and you could start buying plants in mid-February. But as the years have gone by and civilization’s waste products warm the world, nurseries in the Boston area are beginning to open in mid-March.

We had a fairly typical winter here in New England (meaning typical for twenty years ago — climate change is real), with ice on the Charles River and a fair amount of snow.

Snow on February 9

Spring has been slow in arriving. This morning the temperature was 29 °F (-2 °C), but the wind made it feel like it was 16 °F (-9 °C), and my hands felt like they were freezing while I walked the dogs at 7 a.m.

My crocuses, which in the 2020s have started blooming in the last week of February, bloomed only a few days ago, about three weeks later than our new normal.

Crocuses in the front yard

Late last fall, I bought some pansies and put them in a planter by the east side of the house. They survived snow, ice, and many nights of very cold weather, and they’re blooming again.

Pansies in a planter

I plan to go to Ricky’s Flower Market this week to buy more pansies and a few other plants.