In Hawaii it is easy to take the warm weather for granted. It’s a virtual constant that leaves us in the land of summer nearly the entire year. But all around the world, people are starting to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring. One of the most beautiful aspects of springtime is the emergence of vibrant flowers and thriving plants, fresh from a winter slumber.
In this San Francisco Chronicle article, Katherine Grace Endicott focuses on one of Japan’s most famous plants: the Japanese maple.
Says Endicott:
It brings me courting every day to watch its leaves unfold like tiny, delicate hands opening to the sun. The emerging pastel foliage is blushed with very fine silvery-gray hairs. The leaves will turn to a rich, deep red until late in summer, when they will turn a bronze green, followed by such a fiery red in the autumn that it makes me gasp.
Japanese maples are often chosen for their spectacular fall colors, but they can also be dazzling in spring. Certain varieties are cultivated in Japan as container plants and used as spring offerings at Shinto shrines.
So if you live in Hawaii, be sure to take a moment to appreciate our lovely year-round weather. And if you happen to be from a cold-weather climate, well, you are probably outside right now enjoying the sunshine.
