Rain, wind, and cold have been making it difficult for these and our other forsythia flower heads, which emerge before their plant’s leaves. A number of the yellow petals probably will hang on until sometime in May, when the bushes start to leaf and turn into nondescript green humps for the rest of the spring and summer.
Forsythia flowers are edible and can be made into teas, syrups, and a traditional Chinese medicine to treat the common cold. The plants are part of the olive family and are native to east Asia and southeastern Europe, but they’ve been popular in Great Britain and the United States for centuries. Victorian gardeners considered forsythias to be symbols of anticipation, perhaps because their blooms are among the first flowers of spring.
The plants were named after the 18th Century Scottish botanist William Forsyth (1737-1804), a royal head gardener who is known as creating one of the first rock gardens. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on April 23, 2023.)