An early blooming flower in NJ that might spark concern

Whenever we think of early spring, two thoughts might cross our mind. On the one hand, it's kind of nice to have winter come to a halt much sooner than usual.

But on the other hand, there's always that concern as to what that could mean for New Jersey in general. Is it really a good thing when seasons either begin or end much sooner than they're supposed to?

In New Jersey, signs of spring are starting to pop up everywhere. Some trees are showing larger buds, and flowers are starting to bloom.

It's all well and good, except for one problem. This is all happening in New Jersey with the calendar still on the February page.

Now yes, some flowers are supposed to open early. However, February is not one of those months for us.

But yet, it's happening. On the morning of Saturday, February 24, 2024, I happened to come across an unusual sight for this time of year in New Jersey. While walking my dog, we came across a fully bloomed daffodil.

As mentioned above, it was kind of nice to see. It was a sign that spring was, indeed, around the corner.

However, it's way too early still for these yellow beauties to be opening up yet. Yes, they are known to be one of the earliest flowers, but it shouldn't be happening in February.

The same thing here with other flowers I noticed along our walk. It's the kind of color that doesn't typically pop up until a few weeks later by the earliest in The Garden State.

Again, it's nice to see, but not yet. It really is nature's way of telling us that yes, things are slowly changing with temperatures.

Now before you argue about the snow and cold we had this season, let's take a step back at the bigger picture. I'm a gardener myself and have been noticing this trend in my own garden.

One of the triggering factors in the fall that kills crops for the season is the overnight lows. Over the past few years, it's been taking longer and longer for that low to hit a point to kill certain crops.

In fact, the fall of 2023 was the first time ever that I had bell pepper plants still growing and producing after Thanksgiving. That's never happened before, but every growing season the crops last a bit longer each year.

And those air temperatures taking longer to drop could also affect how cold the soil gets. Essentially what I'm saying is that it's all tied together.

Now does that mean it's a bad thing? Not necessarily. But it can be concerning. As a gardener, it's nice to have longer growing seasons.

But what does that mean in the long run? Will we have to be dealing with more unwanted and non-native pests? Will it get too hot in the summer for some crops?

Fortunately, we're not dealing with the same anomalies that we dealt with in 2023. Early blooming flowers are one thing, but highly unusual sounds are another.

READ MORE: AFTER WARM JANUARY, HEARING THIS SOUND IN NJ IS CONCERNING

READ MORE: VERY MILD WINTER CAUSING MORE CONCERNING ANOMALIES IN NJ

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.