Will No Showers And March Flowers Wilt Queens?

Mary Ann Muccini was shocked when she saw her neighbors quince tree in full bloom in the first week of March. "I was amazed," she said. "We could still have a snowstorm tomorrow."
Long before spring officially began on March 20, residents all over Queens were discovering a cornucopia of plants and shrubs erupting from the ground and groves of flowering trees beginning to blossom.
Whats not certain, however, is whether this urban Eden is cause for joy because of the advent of spring, or despair over the undeniable and troubling shifts in the environment.
Greenhouse gases and other man-made assaults on the eco-system, as well as natural climate cycles have driven up temperatures around the globe.
After four or five years of overall climbing temperatures, this past February was the third warmest since the City began to keep records 140 years ago, said experts at the Queens Botanical Garden.
This winters lack of snow also contributed to the warm temperatures. Whereas a snowy groundcover reflects much of the suns energy back into space, a bare ground absorbs the energy and keeps the heat close to the earth.
Whatever the reason, the buds in Queens are popping. Strolling down Hollywood Ave. in early March with a reporter, members of the Douglaston Garden Club pointed out crocuses and snowdrops. The snowdrops are much more mature than usual, the club members said. Crocuses are also beginning to open, about three weeks ahead of schedule. A cluster of blossoming periwinkles at the foot of a tree are a month early.
A short trip to Catharine Richardson Park, which the garden club maintains, revealed crocuses in a range of colors and daffodils that are fully open. According to Marianne Kristoff, the Botanical Gardens supervisor of gardens, these early spring bulbs are hardy, and people should not worry about them if the weather turns cold again. In the experience of Douglaston Garden Club member Sheila Vondrack, "nature takes care of them." A hard frost may ruin the blossoms for this year, but the plant will come back next year, she said.
In Whitestone, Carolyn Brinks pansies are in full glory. Though they come from a new, hardier breed that stays green all winter, the pansies usually would not be blooming this early.
Nick and Pat Manos of Bayside were already cleaning out their garden beds on a recent Friday afternoon. "I remember past years when it was late April before we could even get our hands in the ground," said Nick Manos. He and Pat have already purchased fertilizer and insecticide for the summer.
Parks-a-Poppin
Queens Parks are also experiencing a lot of early growth, and that means more work for Parks employees. "Were starting to spray for weeds already," said Borough Parks Commissioner Richard Murphy. "Weve gotten more use from park patrons, and were cleaning parks as if it were spring."
Ballfield preparations started in February, earlier than Murphy has seen in his 31 years with the Department. Leaf removal from parks flower beds has also begun. "There is no rest for the average park worker," said Murphy. Many employees take their vacations in February because park use is down, but this year he has had to call some staff back from their breaks early.
On the upside, the warm winter has meant that the Parks Dept. has not spread as much salt as it has in other years. Salt is bad for both plants and Parks infrastructure such as pathways and masonry.
Parched Posies
If the unseasonably warm temperatures are a concern to officials of the Parks Dept. and the Botanical Garden, the impending drought is a far greater threat.
"Queens is facing a major challenge," Murphy said of the drought.
Queens has 682 small plots with grass and trees scattered throughout the borough. A continued drain on the Citys reservoirs would force Parks officials to truck water to each of these sites two nights a week. But with the possible budget cuts, this may not be possible, and plants in the plots may die. Murphy also said that lawns in larger parks could suffer brown outs. "Parks are going to look crumby," he said. "People are going to be upset because it looks bad, but theres nothing we can do."
But Queens parks will fare better than those in other boroughs this summer, because they have a number of wells they can draw on. Jane Randolph, a spokeswoman for City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benape, said that because of the drought, the department would not make any new plantings this summer and, instead, focus on maintaining existing beds.
A byproduct of the warmer, drier weather is the early advent of the allergy season. According to Dr. Brian Novick of the Allergy Testing Center in Forest Hills, current pollen counts are at levels usually seen in late March or early April, and people have already been coming to his office seeking treatment. Novick hesitated to predict whether this year would be a particularly bad one for allergy sufferers. He said pollen levels in the spring and summer will depend on the amount of rain the region gets.
Warm winters in New York City are not unprecedented. In 1946, temperatures were in the 70s during the third week of March, according to the National Weather Service.
Some people say they long for the warm weather during the winter months. But be careful what you wish for, environmental experts say.
"We just dont know the consequences," said Patty Kleinberg, a meteorology instructor at SUNY Maritime College and director of the Botanical Gardens Greening Compost Project. "We dont know if its going to be disruptive to our way of life and our economy. If it happens quickly, plants, trees and other living things cant adapt and will die."