Written by Darrah Cole, Senior Horticulturist and Designer

How does a bear know when it’s time to hibernate? Why do April showers bring May flowers? Many plants and animals don’t have calendars but take cues from the changing seasons.  

Changes such as temperature, precipitation, and length of day signal organisms to enter new phases of their lives. Buds form on plants as temperatures warm in the spring and deciduous trees and shrubs lose their leaves and become dormant as temperatures cool in the fall

Phenology is the study of the timing of biological events in plants and animals such as flowering, leaf unfolding, hibernation, insect emergence, and bird, fish and mammal migration. Phenology is literally “the science of appearance.”

The Greenway Conservancy has a dedicated group of volunteers who walk the park and record these phenological observations each week. Throughout the season, they help find the best, most exciting and interesting plants blooming this week, in real time! Learn more below about what’s blooming on The Greenway in May: