Spring has definitely arrived here in central Florida. The trees are putting out little green sprouts that will soon be full grown leaves. The grass is beginning to green up again, and flowers are beginning to bloom. Despite what the groundhog predicted, the robins (Turdus migratorius), my spring forecaster, predicted an early spring around here. They began forming large flocks and feeding heavily in preparation for migration back north in mid January. There are still a few around, but their numbers are much lower than they were a month ago. Then at the beginning of February I spotted the first of the spring flowers, the Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium jessamine) pictured above. Now it’s climbing everywhere, turning fences and trees into golden curtains of yellow flowers.

About the time the jessamine started blooming, the eastern redbuds (Cercis canadensis) were also just starting to put out little pink buds. Now some of them have matured to full grown flowers and the trees themselves are a wall of pink. Some of the flowers are beginning to shed petals creating a pink snow on the ground under the trees. Before much longer, the pink will become peppered with green as the tree leaves start to emerge.

Last week, on my way back and forth into town, I saw the first of the roadside flowers emerging on the wild radishes (Raphanus raphanistrum). On my way home, I stopped to take some photos of them. As you can see in the image below, even though a few of the beautiful yellow flowers are open, for the most part the plants are still covered in little green buds. These plants will continue to flower along the roads well into the summer even though they are one of the first to open in the spring.

Near the wild radishes, I also discovered several Carolina cherry laurel (Prunus caroliniana) bushes putting out their tiny little pinkish white flowers. Quite a few of the flowers had one or more carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) feeding on their nectar. These little guys are the first pollinators I’ve seen so far this spring except for a single butterfly in the Gothe State Forest. Before long some of these beautiful little flowers will begin to produce the berries that help to feed many species of migratory birds as they pass through here.

It won’t be much longer before the phlox flowers begin to bloom. Most of the plants are covered in little buds. And some of the local azaleas are also flowering but not in large numbers, yet. We’re still having some cooler weather, but we are being graced with more and more nearly perfect afternoons, and even a few that are a little on the warm side. Yes, spring has definitely come to central Florida!