The science of phenology is how we learn more about climate change and its effects. In this article, I’ll explain more about what phenology is and why it’s important (and why gardeners should care about it).
It’s a common topic of conversation every season — we all observe various phenomena, such as temperature, first snowfall, the date of ice-out on the lake and when birds start building their nests, when our peonies start to emerge in spring and when the first hummingbird arrives.
Often our comments turn to things like, “I don’t ever remember it being so warm at this time of year.”
We humans have been making such observations since before recorded history — in China and Japan, for instance, the dates of important cultural festivals are timed based on when cherry and peach trees bloom and have been since ancient times.
By looking back at the dates of these festivals as far back as they were recorded, we can tell when these trees blossomed, and that gives us an idea of how the climate in these areas of the world has changed. Records of grape harvests in Europe go back 500 years and similarly give us a picture of how summer growing season temperatures have changed over a long period of time.
Modern phenological recording started in 1736 when Robert Marsham, the owner of a large estate in Britain, began writing down the dates of the first occurrence of events such as certain trees leafing out or flowering, or the emergence of various insects. His family continued these recorded observations until 1958.
These trends over such a long period of time have helped to reconstruct climate trends and how they affect nature around us. Now, volunteers around the world participate in monitoring and recording specific events. The USA National Phenology Network is one such organization.
One study they conduct invites volunteers to send in the bloom time of cloned lilacs and dogwoods, a predictor of when spring has arrived in different parts of the country. This, in turn, helps the government track how plants and animals are responding to climate change.
An example of why this is important has to do with “phenological mismatch.” Let’s say that a plant blooms earlier than usual this year, but its pollinators don’t arrive until after it finishes blooming. That plant species will set fewer seeds, and its population will decline.
Or the hummingbirds that rely on that plant for nectar migrate later — they will miss out on an important food source. Visit the USA National Phenology Network’s website at
mnpn.usanpn.org/
where you can watch a video about its work and learn more about how you can get involved!
The Beltrami County Master Gardeners will be hosting a talk on phenology by John Latimer, phenology show host on Northern Community Radio, as part of our Spring Garden Party on April 11.
Come and learn more about his work tracking seasonal changes over the past 40 years and be inspired to become a citizen scientist, making and reporting observations that can help us learn more about climate change. Visit
tinyurl.com/gardenparty2026
to register for the Garden Party! We hope to see you there!
These local garden articles will reach you each week throughout the gardening season, but gardening information can be found year-round by clicking on “Yard and Garden” at the University of Minnesota Extension website,
www.extension.umn.edu,
or by visiting our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/Beltramicountymastergardeners.
Local Master Gardeners will respond to questions via voicemail. Call
(218) 444-7916,
and leave your name, number and question.
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