WATCHING SNOWFLAKES: Emily Poulin, of South China, snapped this red squirrel this past winter.
ANYBODY HOME?: Bonnie Squires photographed this bluebird last fall.
DON’T EAT IT ALL!: Barbara Doody captured these two pileated woodpeckers at a suet feeder.
by Peter CatesRecently I have been browsing through volumes of the Library of Universal Knowledge, published in 1880, not so much for information on any particular subject but for how it was discussed in 1880.
A few examples-
“Infant, in English law, means every male and female under the age of 21.”
“Augusta, the name of two considerable cities in the United States. 1. A. is the capital of Maine, situated on both banks of the river Kennebec, which is here crossed by a bridge 520 feet long. Its latitude is 44 degrees 19 minutes north., and longitude 69 degrees 50 minutes west. …. Up to A. the river is navigable for sloops from its mouth, a distance of 43 miles in a straight line; while a dam, constructed immediately above the city, enables steamboats to ply more than 20 miles above as far as Waterville. ”
2. Augusta is the second city in Georgia, on the Savannah, 231 miles from its mouth.”
“Augustulus, Romulus, the last emperor of the western portion of the Roman empire. His name was Augustus, but the diminutive title under which he is universally known was given him by the Romans on account of the essential littleness of his character.”
“Adultery – in some of the United States, Adultery is made criminal by special law; in some it is not so recognized; in some the act itself is not a crime; but open and continued Adultery is.” [Whatever this means – the English language might not have been as simple to understand in those good old days 145 years ago. ]
I noticed that Beethoven, Berlioz, Verdi and Wagner are listed but not Brahms.
“Waterville, a village of Maine, on the right bank of the Kennebec river, at Ticonic falls, 82 miles north north central from Portland. Around the falls are clustered saw-mills, plow, axe, hoe, and scythe factories, machine-shops, tanneries, etc. Waterville has a Baptist college, with 100 students, and a library of 15,500 volumes, an academy, etc. Population in 1876, 4,000.”
Luisa Tetrazzini – Swiss Echo Song; Victrola Red Seal 88311, recorded 1918, 12 inch one-sided acoustic shellac disc.
Luisa Tetrazzini
Soprano Luisa Tetrazzini (1871-1940) had the kind of vocal agility and beauty of tone and phrasing that left her listeners awestruck. I own a batch of her records and include her among my top favorite singers of very long ago with Caruso, McCormack, Evan Williams, Elsie Baker, Olive Kline, Amellita Galli-Curci, Nellie Melba (with whom Tetrazzini had a long-sustained feud.) and Rosa Ponselle.
The Swiss Echo Song is a silly trivial piece yet Tetrazzini transforms it into a precious gem by the phenomenal beauty and perfect pitch of her trills, top to bottom notes and phrasing.
Personality-wise, she was much loved by her colleagues but could throw a fit with agents, and recording producers, demanding exorbitant fees for her appearances on stage and in the studio. When it came to grudges or slights, Luisa never forgot or forgave.
One touching anecdote though – she and Caruso had the deepest personal affection for each other. When the tenor took ill during his last year (he died in 1921 at the age of 48), he sent her a note with the following words: “I am waiting for you with open arms, waiting every moment to salute you with a golden note.”
Unfortunately, Tetrazzini was never able to visit him.
by Dr. Greg Carnevale,Spring into health this season by refreshing your well-being routine and building healthier habits for the rest of the year. While many Americans make health a primary focus of their New Year’s resolutions, 57 percent of recent survey respondents said they take up healthier lifestyle choices only after having a medical concern.
As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, it’s a great time to get moving and focus on living a healthier lifestyle. There’s no better time to get started than today.
Here are three steps you may start taking right away:
A primary care provider can help guide you on your health journey, and studies suggest that access to primary care providers may help people live longer. Yet more than 30 percent of American adults don’t have a primary care provider.
One important item to check off your health care checklist each year is an annual wellness visit with a primary care provider – even if you feel healthy. A preventive care visit may help you better understand your health and detect any problems early. If you don’t currently have a primary care provider, check with your health plan for in-network doctors in your area or other options for accessing care like virtual care options. Health plans usually cover preventive care, which means you may pay $0 out of pocket for certain covered preventive services if you go to an in-network provider.
You may also be eligible to earn rewards through your health plan for activities like your annual wellness visit, getting certain preventive screenings or completing a health survey. Some health plans also offer coverage for certain health screenings like those for breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
Check with your health plan to understand your coverage and eligibility and talk to your employer about benefits and wellness programs that may be available to you.
Getting outside during the day and enjoying the sunshine may be an important source of Vitamin D, boost your mood and help you sleep better.
Taking regular walks, even for 15 to 30 minutes, may be a simple way to get some sun and fresh air, get your steps in and keep your body moving. In fact, a recent study found that walking more may help extend life expectancy by up to 11 years. Ideally, adults should aim each week for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity like a brisk walk, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity like jogging or running.
Some employers now offer wellness programs as part of the health benefits available to their employees.
Many people struggle with their sleeping habits, with more than one-third of adults in the U.S. reporting regularly not getting enough sleep. Experts recommend adults get seven or more hours of sleep a night. Maintaining healthy sleeping habits may be beneficial for both your physical and mental well-being, from helping to reduce stress and improve your mood to lowering risk for some chronic conditions.
To help improve your sleep, consider avoiding alcohol, caffeine and too much screen time before going to bed, and try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
Adding these tips into your daily routine may be a great way to boost your overall health and well-being this spring.
AARP Maine is seeking nominations for its 2025 , which honors individuals 50 and over who share their experience, talent, and skills to enrich the lives of others in their community. The annual award is named after AARP’s founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, who founded AARP in 1958 at the age of 73. The nomination deadline is July 15, 2025.
“AARP Maine is excited to shine a light on Mainers 50-plus who are using what they’ve learned to make a difference in the lives of those around them,” says Noël Bonam, AARP Maine State Director. “AARP has long valued the spirit of volunteerism, and the important contributions AARP volunteers make to their communities and neighbors.”
The screening of nominees will be performed by a panel of AARP staff and volunteers. The panel will review a range of criteria including each nominee’s positive impact on their community and the lives of individuals aged 50 and over.
André Chassé, current AARP Maine Volunteer State President, says: “The AARP Maine Andrus Award acts as a symbol to our members and to the public that we can all work together for positive social change.”
AARP Andrus Award for Community Service nominees must meet eligibility requirements including:
• Nominees must be 50 or older, but do not need to be an AARP member or a volunteer with AARP;
• The achievements, accomplishments or service on which nominations are based must have been performed on a volunteer basis, without pay;
• The achievements, accomplishments or service on which the nominations are based must reflect AARP’s vision and mission;
Couples or partners who perform service together are eligible; however, teams are not;
• The recipient must live in the awarding state; and
This is not a posthumous award.
The application deadline is July 15, 2025.
The AARP Maine Andrus Award for Community Service is an annual awards program developed to honor individuals whose service is a unique and valuable contribution to society. Last year’s winner was Pamela Partridge, a retired educator from North Anson.
For more information about AARP and our work in Maine, please visit our website at www.aarp.org/me and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @aarpmaine.
Young moose.
by Jayne WintersIn looking through old articles and photo albums from Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center, I discovered a story about a baby moose that arrived at the Cotes’ in 1993. What follows is part of Carleen’s column from August 1997, recounting that experience:
On May 15, 1993, we received a call from the State Police at 10 p.m. asking if we could go to Sidney to pick up a baby moose only hours old. The calf had made its entrance into the world in a most unfortunate way.
Two tour buses loaded with people who had gone to Boston for a day of sightseeing and shopping were returning to Skowhegan via I-95. Near the Sidney exit, the lead bus pulled to the side of the highway, then the second bus followed suit. Up ahead, another bus was already pulled over and the passengers from the two tour buses joined the many people who were looking down a steep banking, trying to determine what had happened.
Then the story unraveled. The first bus to stop on the highway had just hit a pregnant cow moose. The impact had thrown one baby calf from its mother. The cow lay a few feet from this calf, with a second baby still inside her body. Among the passengers was a young woman who worked with veterinarians, and she ran to rescue the unborn calf, while a young man cradled the first calf in a blanket to keep it warm. The young woman even performed mouth to mouth resuscitation on the unconscious baby, to no avail. The bus drivers contacted the State Police, but were told there were no available troopers. Eventually, a trooper arrived, contacted his headquarters and asked the dispatcher to call us.
Since this was our first moose calf, the next morning I started making calls for information on how to care for the surviving baby moose who had been so traumatized – but very little information was available. After many calls, I was referred to a woman in Bangor who was researching moose; she would send me literature. In the meantime, I proceeded to care for the calf as I would care for a fawn
Despite our best efforts, on the calf’s fifth day I noticed blood in its stool, not an encouraging sign. And, not surprisingly, the next day the calf died, succumbing to injuries it had received when its mother was hit by the bus. This unfortunate incident, though it broke my heart, is part of the reality of caring for creatures of the wild.” (In case you were wondering, the Cotes cared for several other young and subadult moose over the years with positive outcomes.)
This story reminded me of the fawn I wrote about in 2023; thankfully, the outcome was more positive. A doe had crossed the road in front of a car and the driver couldn’t avoid hitting her. Upset and worried about the doe’s condition, he got out of the vehicle to make sure she wasn’t suffering. Although she had died upon impact, she had expelled her fawn, still in its placenta. The driver and his wife delivered the baby, rubbing it down with a blanket and massaging its mouth to get the airway functioning. Its first breaths were drawn while being held by its human “parents.” What a gift, especially under such sad circumstances.
They brought the fawn home and made calls to several rehabbers, none of whom had room for a newborn. Having grown up on a farm and familiar with raising young animals, the couple took on the care and feeding of the newborn fawn. At three weeks old, he was brought to Don at Duck Pond for bonding with others his age and was eventually transferred to another rehabber for release with his new friends.
Duck Pond is not accepting admissions or phone messages at this time, but we have worked closely with Wilderness Miracles Rehab, in Bowdoin, (Kathi at 207-720-0074), Misfits Rehab, in Auburn (Jen at 207-212-1039), Bridget Green, in Wiscasset (207-631-0874), Critterville Wildlife, in Brooklin (845-549-2407), and Saco River Wildlife (207-702-1405). Turtle rehabber Pam Meier can be reached at The Turtle’s Back (203-903-2708). Otherwise, please check these websites for a rehabber close to you: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/index.html or contact your local Animal Control Officer through your town office.
deer tick
by Roland D. HalleeIn 2024, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Tick Lab processed 4,776 tick submissions including samples from 398 towns, representing all of Maine’s 16 counties. The majority (3,650) were identified as deer ticks, also known as blacklegged ticks, while American dog ticks accounted for 1,045 samples. Laboratory testing showed that 41.5 percent of the deer ticks analyzed carried Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, while significant proportions also carried Babesia microti (12 percent), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (9.7 percent) and Powassan virus (1.1 percent).
Most tick exposures occurred close to home with 68 percent reported from the submitter’s own property. Yardwork was the most commonly cited activity at the time of tick encounter, accounting for one‑third of all incidents. Despite this, only 16 percent of individuals reported using any protective measures against ticks.
“These data confirm that Lyme and other tick‑borne diseases remain a serious, statewide public health concern,” said Tick Lab Coordinator Griffin Dill, who urged residents to wear protective clothing, apply repellents and conduct tick checks after outdoor activities. The full 16-page report is available on the Tick Lab’s website.
Thanks to ongoing funding supported by the Governor and Maine Legislature, the UMaine Extension Tick Lab keeps its comprehensive tick testing service affordable at just $20 per tick, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to public participation.
Through educational outreach programs including the 4‑H Tick Project, the Tick Lab engages youth and communities statewide, sharing practical prevention strategies through webinars, workshops and print resources.
Lyme disease is the most known of the tickborne illnesses. It is transmitted through the bite of an infected deer tick. Cases of Lyme disease have more than tripled since 1993 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Lyme disease causes a rash that looks like a bullseye. It also causes flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches.
Lyme disease may evolve through phases, which can overlap and cause ever worsening symptoms that may involve the skin, joints, heart, or nervous system.
Antibiotics are effective treatments for Lyme disease when detected early.
Remember, ticks can typically be found in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas, or on animals. They typically wait on the tips of branches, leaves, or tall grasses for prey to walk by.
A tick’s saliva has anesthetic properties, so you may not even realize you’ve been bitten.
When spending time outdoors, be aware of your surroundings and the possibility of ticks in the area. Wear insect repellent with DEET. If you must be in a grassy or wooded area, wear long sleeves and long pants. Tucking your pants into your socks for extra protection. Shower immediately after being outside. Ask someone check your body for ticks. If you find a tick on your body, time is of the essence! Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp it by the head as close to the skin as possible. Gently pull the tick upward, making sure not to twist or squeeze it. Wash and disinfect the area with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
Take a photo of the tick and submit to a tick identification website which can inform you of the potential pathogens it could be carrying and whether you might want to have the tick tested as a further assessment of disease risk.
Protection is the key, however, if you do come in contact with a tick, don’t wait. If you’re not sure, seek professional medical help.
More information on ticks in Maine and how to submit tick samples to the lab is available online at ticks.umaine.edu or by contacting 207.581.3880; tickID@maine.edu.
Which NBA team has won the most championships?
Rhododendrons (left), hydrangeas (right)
by Jude HsiangRhododendrons are popular shrubs that require little care once properly planted and established. They thrive in New England’s acid soil and prefer light shade, conditions many of us can provide. There are over one thousand species and include azaleas. Most are native to Asia, but there are several North American species. As they have a wide range of mature sizes and flower colors, some are evergreen and some deciduous. Some varieties are very fragrant.
Like other shrubs I’m writing about, rhododendrons don’t need much pruning if planted in a spot that allows them to grow naturally. They need good drainage so avoid wet areas. As with any woody plants, the most important things to be aware of when thinking of pruning are broken stems or any stems that cross and rub against each other which can allow disease to enter.
Pruning to control the size is best done in the spring after the flowers fade. This will allow the plant to recover and set new flower buds for the following spring.
If a rhododendron has gotten too large for the space where it was planted or has a neglected appearance it can be pruned in winter when it’s dormant. Just realize that the flower buds might be cut off and you’ll have to wait another year for flowers.
The azaleas are sometimes less tolerant of our cold winters, they can still be a beautiful addition to our gardens. A good nursery or garden center will be able to make suggestions for our area.
Although they won’t bloom until summer, hydrangeas are another group of flowering shrubs to think about now. Unlike rhododendrons, they don’t mind a little wetter spot, but all are deciduous. They also need protection from strong summer sun. Because there are several species with different appearances and needs, there can be confusion about them.
The “big leaf” hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) are rounded shrubs that often have clusters of blue flowers here in New England. The color is due to our acid soil. Small potted hydrangeas are often sold around Mothers Day in flower color choices ranging from pink to lavender-to-blue according to how it was raised in the nursery. If that small potted plant is then moved outside to the garden, the pink or purple flowers will eventually be blue as the plant adapts to our soil.
To add to the confusion, there are varieties of these hydrangeas that naturally have white, or pink-to-red flowers. And there are “lace cap” types with a mass of tiny flowers surrounded by a border of larger flat blossoms.
All of these big leaf hydrangeas produce their flower buds during the previous year, so if they are pruned in spring all of the flower buds will be lost. If you want to prune, wait until you see the new green leaves and buds appearing on the straight brown stems in the spring. Then it’s safe to cut back a bit or remove old dead stems.
If your yard could use a little color, a rhododendron or hydrangea or two, may be the answer. Of course, there are a lot of other beautiful shrubs to consider.
© Judith Chute Hsiang
Jude Hsiang is a retired Extension Master Gardener instructor and member of the China Community Garden.
by Peter Cates
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker (1920-1988) was labeled perhaps a bit misleadingly as a character actor; on film and television, he did portray men on both sides of the law but he didn’t have the characterizing artistry of a Rod Steiger or Sir Lawrence Olivier.
What Meeker did have was a tough, almost explosive masculine screen presence. Examples would be the smiling rattlesnake outlaw he portrayed on the late 1950s Disney series Texas John Slaughter, the coldly focused detective in the 1955 Kiss Me Deadly who smashes a rare opera 78 in pieces to get information from a reluctant witness and the kidnapper who gets sent to prison in Big House USA, also from 1955, and escapes with four deadly cell mates, portrayed with consummate persuasion by Broderick Crawford, William Talman, Lon Chaney Jr. and Charles Bronson.
Meeker was also a motorcycle cop in the 1953 Code Two, whose slightly rebellious attitude during police basic training is pulverized by a drill instructor convincingly brought to life by actor Keenan Wynn.
The 1955 season one of Alfred Hitchcock Presents began with an episode Revenge, one of a few directed by Hitchcock himself and starring Meeker and Vera Miles as a married couple who has relocated from back East and set up temporary living quarters in a trailer park community on the otherwise still unspoiled Pacific Coast.
We find out that the wife is under doctor’s orders to take it easy for a few months after having suffered a nervous breakdown, that the husband has taken an engineering job at a nearby plant but that otherwise he does most of the cooking and other domestic chores so that his wife can relax as much as possible.
Meeker displays an endearing tenderness as the husband. As he leaves for the day, his wife promises a surprise dessert that evening.
Inevitably, Hitchcock being Hitchcock, the plot thickens. The husband returns home to find out that the wife has been violently raped (due to 1950s censorship, the word is assaulted) during a home invasion by a salesman.
Events proceed to where the couple is driving around the surrounding area, the wife sees a man walking on the street and yells, “That’s him!” The husband sneaks into the stranger’s hotel room and murders him with a wrench.
As they drive away, the – well, I won’t reveal the ending.
Gary Sinise
I recently started watching the 2004 opening season of CSI: New York starring Gary Sinise as the lead investigator in the forensics unit of the Manhattan Police Department. My most memorable experiences of Sinise’s acting were in Ransom as a psychotic kidnapper and in Snake Eyes as the assassin of a Secretary of Defense . He conveyed a brutal ruthlessness in both roles.
In the TV series, Sinise started off with a strong presence but then has been getting more stiff and boring in subsequent episodes.
* * * * * *
Mozart: Magic Flute – La Dove Prende; Emma Eames, soprano and Emilio de Gogorza, baritone. Victor Red Seal 89003.
A very charmingly sung duet as sung by Eames and Gogorza who were married for over 25 years and resided much of the year in Bath, Maine.
Rossini: Stabat Mater – Cujus Animam; Evan Williams, tenor. Victor Red Seal 74093. Evan Williams sang a truly spirited performance of this very joyous aria from Rossini’s Oratorio. He passed away in 1919 from an infected boil at the age of 52. Williams, Enrico Caruso and John McCormack were considered Victor’s three most popular tenors during the World War I years.
Strauss: Blue Danube Waltz; soprano Frieda Hempel. Victor Red Seal 88540. The world’s most famous waltz gets a nice but not exactly earth shaking vocal performance.
Handel: Il Pensieroso- Sweet Bird, That Shunn’st the Noise of Folly; soprano Nellie Melba. Victor Red Seal 88068. Australian soprano Nellie Melba left many splendid shellacs and this one from a rarely heard opera of George Frederick Handel is sung with beauty and expressive dexterity.
Gluck: Orfeo and Euridice – On My Faith Relying; soprano Joanna Gadski and contralto Louise Homer. Victrola Red Seal 89041.
Both Gadski and Homer were huge successes at the Metropolitan Opera of the pre-World War I years. Gadski was most acclaimed in the operas of Mozart and Wagner while Homer sang the male role of Orfeo, as contraltos Rise Stevens and Marilyn Horne would 50 years later.
I have enjoyed their various other Victor shellacs but, strangely, this one didn’t quite get off the ground both in performance and the very dimly recorded sound.
All five of the above Red Seals came from the pre-electric microphone years and can be heard via YouTube.
Ralph Meeker
92% of older Americans living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are undiagnosed—but they can be helped.
(NAPSI)—Throughout my career as a clinician, I have experienced firsthand the concerns and challenges that cognitive issues cause older adults. They fear they’ll lose their memory and their independence, and become a burden to their loved ones. The questions they ask most often are if their “forgetfulness” is just natural aging, or if they’re developing a form of dementia. They are often scared of the answer because they think there is little they can do about it.
Even though there is no cure for dementia, if you or a loved one are tested and diagnosed early, there are treatments that can slow down disease progression. These treatments can help you protect your cognitive function and potentially add years to your memory and ability to live independently.
The key is early screening and diagnosis, but sadly, far too many older adults need testing. In fact, according to research published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 92% of older Americans living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a common predecessor to dementia, are estimated to be undiagnosed. Similarly, the Alzheimer’s Association reports 54 percent of adults aged 45 and older who believe they have cognitive decline, have not talked with their health care professional to get tested. This gap is a huge concern since diagnosed cognitive issues can be managed to help reduce the disease’s progression. Without care planning, older adults with MCI have an increased chance of hospitalizations, among other risks, resulting in higher costs to families.
Individuals with MCI and those around them may be aware that memory or mental function is declining. Oftentimes these subtle changes may seem insignificant, so they do not discuss it with their primary care provider who could recommend early interventions that would make the most impact.
Some important red flags to look out for when considering if mental decline goes beyond the typical forgetfulness that comes with age are:
1. Missed appointments and social events
2. Consistently losing train of thought and inability to follow the plot of a book or movie
3. Trouble following a conversation
4. Difficulty taking medicine due to confusion or lack of dexterity
5. Falls
6. Difficulty making decisions, finishing a task or following instructions
7. Issues finding a way around familiar places
If you or an aging loved one is experiencing these potential warning signs, do not ignore them. Take action and get tested as early as possible. If you are diagnosed with MCI, you can determine your management options and start them early to help you stay independent for as long as possible.
Digital cognitive testing, which leverages technology for a more accurate diagnosis, is one of the most efficient and effective methods to identify and address cognitive issues early. These tests, which can be completed in less than ten minutes, are offered to eligible health plan members as a part of Signify Health’s In-Home Health Evaluations (IHEs), a visit covered under many health plans at no additional cost to the member.
As part of the IHE, clinicians administer the digital cognitive test in the members’ homes where they are often more comfortable than in an office setting. The clinicians also discuss any concerns and fears a member may have regarding the sensitive topic of cognitive decline. Once the test is completed, the results are shared with the member’s health plan and their primary care provider to help facilitate care planning and develop a treatment plan so health plan members get the support and resources they need.
By catching cognitive health issues early, older adults can get ahead of the disease progression and start treatment that may help reduce future caregiving challenges and concerns. Additionally, early detection gives members and their caregivers extra time to learn more about cognitive decline so they can actively engage in making decisions about their future health care and daily living support needs.
If you or a loved one is interested in exploring digital cognitive testing, visit the self-scheduling portal at HelloSignify.com to see if you’re eligible for an In-Home Health Evaluation.
While 92 percent of older Americans with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are undiagnosed, early screening means they can be helped to a better, more independent lifestyle. Tests are available as a part of Signify Health’s In-Home Health Evaluations (IHEs). Learn more at HelloSignify.com.
by Jude HsiangWhile the daffodils and crocuses are just poking their green noses out of the soil, forsythia begin to bloom. This shrub is a favorite just because the little neon yellow flowers cover the long stems as we are becoming even more tired of snow and mud. Some people prune forsythia into balls and hedges, which it will tolerate, but it wants to grow into a fountain shape. Those long stems will root if they touch the ground and, in a few years, can become a jungle of crisscrossing square branches with small leaves. It’s not the most beautiful shrub for most of the year, but it shouts, “Welcome Spring!”
For many New Englanders spring means lilacs. They’ve been grown here for centuries and with their preference for a more alkaline soil than our native plants, are often found around long abandoned cellar holes nourished by a bit of limestone. In a range of lavenders—some reddish, some more blue—and crisp white, lilacs with their lovely fragrance are one of our “must haves.”
In addition to the common lilacs, which is a direct translation of their scientific name Syringa vulgaris, we can also plant Korean lilacs which are a little smaller in every respect. These re especially useful for smaller spaces. They don’t usually have the same rich perfume, but some varieties will re-bloom a little later during the season which is a plus for some gardeners. Lilacs should be pruned within a couple of weeks after the flowers fade, to assure a bounty in the following year. Just clip off all the flower clusters, or if the plants are getting to tall to reach easily, or covering the windows, cut them further back. Lilacs will sprout all around the base of the main shrub, and those sprouts can be dug and transplanted.
Another group of shrubs for our area are the Viburnums. There are several species and a wide range of cultivars available. Some have a strong sweet fragrance: others almost none. Some bear their flowers in “snowballs” and others have tiny clusters of flowers of more interest to insects but produce berries that attract birds. Most viburnums have white flowers but there are some pink varieties, and many have good red fall foliage. You can choose from rounded shrubs that might only reach six feet, or small trees whose branches are covered with flat blossoms and stretch out in layers. Viburnums rarely need pruning, but if they are becoming too large, it’s best to prune right after flowering, like lilacs.
These three groups of flowering shrubs are hardy and need little care after proper planting and appropriate watering in their first two years. They are mostly pest-free, except for four species of viburnum that can defoliated by an invasive beetle. A good nursery or garden center will help you avoid purchasing one of these species: V. dentatum (arrowwood viburnum, V. nudum, (smooth withered), V. opulus, (European cranberry), V. opulus ssp. trilobum, (.American cranberry). There are lots of other fine viburnums to choose from.
These fine shrubs will provide decades of beauty with very little attention so why not add one or more this spring?
In my next article I’ll cover flowering shrubs for summer and beyond, including some favorite natives.
© Judith Chute Hsiang
Jude Hsiang is a retired Extension Master Gardener instructor and member of the China Community Garden Project.