Yesterday, the temperature finally hit 80 in Chicago. That was the first time in over 180 days the temperature around here reached the 80 degree mark. It’s safe to say the city was anxious to get out and enjoy it. Chicagoans are used to long winters and slow starting springs, but this year it feels like spring has yet to arrive. I don’t have any specific data to back it up but based on what trees and flowers have yet to bloom I can assure you spring is taking it’s sweet time to get rolling.

As a landscape architect, I’m always keeping an eye on what plants are in bloom, how long the bloom lasts, and how prolific it might be. I don’t have a scientific method or record the data, but based on the last twenty plus years, I have a pretty good sense of what’s happening out in the field. My colleagues agree that spring is well behind it’s usual pace.

That being said, it will eventually warm up and we will shift to complaining about the heat. So for now let’s appreciate the plants that are in bloom and those yet to come. So far most of the spring bloom has been in the form of bulbs like crocus and daffodils. I have yet to see a tulip in bloom which seems extremely late. A few cherry trees in the West Loop are blooming and just yesterday I noticed pear trees in bloom for the first time. Crabapples and redbuds have yet to pop, but they will hopefully be ready to go in the next couple weeks. The good news about the painfully slow spring, is that the bloom time is elongated and we get to enjoy it for a little longer than normal. Excited to see what’s yet to come.