“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.”

— William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

Have you ever really looked at the buds on a tree or shrub as they open in the spring? They are fun to observe and to learn about. They come in lots of different shapes and colors, and they have been there, waiting to grow, all winter.

People go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning. Trees go to sleep every autumn and wake up in the spring.

It is spring time, which means that tree buds are beginning to open up and leaves are growing.

During winter trees appear to be bare and dead. They are not in fact dead, but are dormant. That means they are just resting and waiting until conditions are more favorable for them to be active again. Those favorable conditions — warmer temperatures and longer days with more sunlight — happen in the springtime. Those buds are actually on the tree all winter long and aren’t just there in the spring when the trees are budding.

During the winter the tree does not have any leaves so it cannot make its own energy. At the end of summer, the last new leaves the tree makes will become the buds that protect the tree all winter long. These winter buds contain all the tree will need to start growing again once it is spring.

In the spring, when the temperatures have warmed up and the days are longer, the trees begin to come back to life. One of the first signs that the trees are no longer dormant and are active again is that the tree buds open up and new leaves begin to grow.

Fun tree bud facts:

1. By the time a tree’s leaves drop in the fall, its leaves for the next spring are already formed.

2. Tiny leaves, stems, and sometimes flowers are located in packages called buds.

3. Buds are made of tough scales that form a waterproof case.

4. In the spring, sap rises from the roots to the branches; the scales fall off the buds; and the tree’s leaves, stems, and flowers unfurl and grow.

5. During the summer, the tree begins to develop new buds for the following year.

Spring is a wonderful time to go outside in Boundary County. When walking through a wooded area, take a moment to observe trees, twigs, branches and buds.