We’re halfway through March, and the official start of Spring is only days away. Temperatures in Texas have returned to normal after the brutal winter weather experienced a few weeks ago. Tennessee, too, has enjoyed a taste of spring. However, folks here aren’t fooled by this week of warmth. Winter still lurks, waiting to strike with late-year freezes and even snow.
I experienced a heavy March snowfall the first winter I lived in Tennessee. Nashville’s largest snowstorm, a whopping 17 inches, fell in March 1892. (And, while I am getting older, I wasn’t around for that one. Although my grandmother was. She was four years old at the time.) Even April can bring snow. The latest it’s ever snowed in Nashville was on April 25, 1810.
From the moment they settled in Tennessee, farmers understood winter wasn’t over just because the calendar said it should be. A string of warm spring-like days is often followed by springtime cold snaps, referred to as “Little Winters.”
Nashville’s ABC affiliate, WKRN, provided the following list of Little Winters. (Please note, the dates are based on Middle Tennessee. Little winters “occur later in the spring in the higher elevations of East Tennessee’s mountains, and earlier in much of far West Tennessee.”)
Most Common Little Winters
- Redbud Winter: Mid-March to early April, when the redbud trees bloom.
- Locust Winter: Some connect this little winter to when leaves start to appear on locust trees in early April, and others to when the trees bloom in May.
- Dogwood Winter: Mid- to late April, when the dogwood trees bloom. Often a heavy frost falls in dogwood winter.
- Blackberry Winter: Early to mid-May, when blackberries are in full bloom. In the Tennessee mountains, this often coincides with the last frost of spring, which can kill new plantings on the farm.
- Whippoorwill Winter: Mid- to late May, when the whippoorwills can first be heard in the twilight of evenings and before dawn.
- Cotton Britches Winter: Late May or early June, when the linsey-woolsey (linen and wool) pants worn in cold weather were put away and farmers changed to the light cotton pants of summer.
These little winters explain why the rule of thumb in Middle Tennessee is to not plant anything in the ground before Mother’s Day! (That’s the second Sunday of May!)
While there are exceptions to this rule, overall, I’ve found it to be good guidance.
So, what’s the first thing to turn green at my house? Me, envious of my family in Texas, who get to plant their gardens one to two months before I do.
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