Did you know “spring bud” was a color? I had no idea that Spring Bud 520 was actually a paint color. Spring Bug 520 is part of the Benjamin Moore Classic Color Collection. When I started to write this article, I Googled spring buds, because I wanted to find some interesting facts about buds, trees and shrubs. Instead, I kept getting information about Benjamin Moore paint. Who knew?

In Northeastern Pennsylvania during the winter, trees appear to be bare and dead, but they are not. They enter a dormant period for the winter. My mother worked for the U.S. Forest Service Library for 35 years, and as a kid, I was always proud that my mother worked for “Smokey Bear.”

My mother knew more about trees than anyone else I have ever met. Of course, it makes sense that she would have to know this information so she could pass this information along to people who visited or called the library.

Sometimes the things she talked about “stuck” in my head, and I learned those facts and other times the things I had learned from her were forgotten.

Over the years, listening to her I knew trees lost their leaves in the fall and went into a dormant period and I knew that in the spring the trees and shrubs would be active again and buds would open. I also knew that the warm temperatures and longer days caused the sap to move again and was sent to the buds and the buds absorbed the sap and opened.

I thought I knew what was happening each spring; new leaves were growing. It turns out that wasn’t true. I didn’t know that when the leaves dropped in the fall, leaves for the next spring had already been formed.

Tiny leaves, stems and flowers were formed in the fall and were in the buds just waiting until spring. The buds are made of tough scales that form waterproof cases that enclose the delicate parts of the plantlike the leaves and flowers. Some buds have another layer of protection in the form of a gummy substance that offers protection from insects, as well as too much moisture. So all winter, these buds bide their time until the time is right. In 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.

During the summer, the tree begins to develop new buds for the following year. I always thought the buds formed in the spring. It turns out I was wrong!

So, this spring, you will see me out there traipsing around with my tree guide in hand searching for all those buds that are just waiting for spring to warm up and stay warm so they can blossom. I always try to learn new things and this spring I am trying to learn more about buds, shrubs, and trees.

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The center rehabilitates injured animals and educates the public on a variety of wildlife found in the area. For information on the Carbon County Environmental Center, visit www.carboneec.org.