Phenology Not Phrenology

I was at the Niagara Rhododendron Society Meeting and learned about phenology yesterday.  This is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life.  How is climate changing and what is its impact on plants? (This is not the study of the human skull size - phrenology). Dr. Robbie Hart's interest is rhododendrons in the mountains of south China - Mt. Yulong.  He tracked the temperatures and the blooming times over two years. He told us that one of the studies that has been done in relation to climate change has used historical records of various kinds.  The Japanese have recorded Sakura blooming times over centuries - as part of novels, historical records, personal diaries, and more.  Robbie showed a chart of the increase in temperature from around 700 to present day. You can see the article and chart HERE. It was published in the International Journal of Climatology, in 2008. Japan is obsessed with cherry blossoms - and wonderfully so.  There are so many everywhere that  there is a cherry blossom forecast by region for 2018.  Blooming starts as early as March 21st in some areas.  A tour of the parks is shown in this article HERE  Our images today come from Hagley Museum - the Dupont's original powder works.  It is in Delaware close-by to Longwood Gardens.

A City in a Park

This is the Evergreen Brickworks.  There is just so much to show you.  Today's headline 'the city in a park' is what you see on every park sign in Toronto.  Toronto considers itself a city of parks. How does this relate to the rusted wall with plants and water flowing down it?  This is the largest map of Toronto.  And it is a living wall.  It shows the major roads and major rivers/creeks in Toronto, and designed to connect us to our watersheds. It is titled Watershed Consciousness by the artist Ferruccio Sardella. Here is the link to the information by the artist on the work: https://ferrucciosardella.wordpress.com/watershed-consciousness/

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