ST. LOUIS – After record-breaking warmth earlier this week, spring is already starting to show off across the St. Louis area.
At the Missouri Botanical Garden, trees that normally bloom later in the season are already bursting with color giving visitors an early taste of spring.
“We like to look for the crocus, and the snowdrops, and cherry blossoms, just to see what’s popping up right now,” said Becky Schroder, a garden visitor.
“I love seeing all the pink and green trees because pink is really pretty. It’s one of my favorite colors,” said Elinor Schroder.
The stretch of unusually warm weather helped jump-start the growing season. Buds opened quickly just days before the official start of spring.
“Everything just exploded around the garden. So magnolias, and daffodils, you name it. All came out thanks to that warmer weather,” said Daria McKelvey, a supervisor at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
The garden was busy with guests taking in more than just the views.
“I just love this smell. And you’ve really got to time it right, because wind might come up. It’s all about timing here in the garden…I mean this is my happy place,” said Jan Marson, another visitor.
“I was worried that it would blow away some of these early blooms and so we wanted to come and see what we could see before that happens,” Becky said.
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But while the view may look like April, the calendar — and the forecast — say otherwise.
Cold air is expected to return early next week, with morning temperatures dropping into the teens and 20s. That sudden freeze could be bad news for some of the blooms.
“So what I’m hoping with our Meryl magnolia. Hopefully by the end of the weekend it will fully bloom out and we all get to enjoy it. But as soon as those cold temperatures hit, the flowers are going to get damaged and especially with those high winds, we’re going to see a lot of magnolia petal drop unfortunately,” said McKelvey.
And hopefully the frigid temperatures won’t impact the much anticipated cherry blossom peak which typically happens late march or early April.
“They have started coming out of bud so they’re not fully developed and I am concerned since that growth is very tender we might see some damage so I’m hoping not but we’ll see,” said McKelvey.
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