Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published April 17, 2002

Spring is here, but Wolfe knew better

Thomas Wolfe wrote of April,"Autumn was kind to them, the winter was long to them - but in April, late April, all the gold sang. Spring came that year like magic and like music and like song. One day its breath was in the air."

Spring is here, so the calendar tells us, in mid-March. Wolfe knew better. We arrived on the Plateau in the fall of 1986, the final move on our road of life. Coming from the north, I believed spring's arrival in Tennessee would be more trustworthy in following the calendar. With that faulty belief I planned a state-wide meeting of journalists to assemble here on Saturday, April 4, 1987. The early registration was good but on April 3, we awakened to a deep snowfall and the phone started ringing with cancellations. Of course by that Sunday there were only a few patches of snow visible. From that painful lesson I vowed I would follow the guidance of those knowledgeable gardeners who wait till Mother's Day to do their plantings if I ever planned another conference.

Snow does not discourage the early bloomers and the daffodils, crocus and hyacinth appear according to the calendar's date of spring's arrival. The lovely, small, native serviceberry tree sends forth its dangling clusters of white or pinkish flowers very early signaling spring is just around the corner. It is unfailing in its dependability unlike the Bradford pear tree which so often disappoints us. Just as it is about to blossom, one cold night can spoil the expected showy display.

We have now arrived at tulip time and what a variety of colors and shapes we see. Tulips came to America very early in its history when the first Dutch settlers in New York planted the bulbs they brought as early as 1642.

It is hard to believe these lovely flowers were at the center of a great scandal in Holland from 1634 to 1637. In 2002 we hear of Enron but in those years it was dubbed Tulipomania. Many wealthy citizens of Amsterdam engaged in speculating on tulips during that time. Tulips had been introduced to the Low Countries from Turkey and other countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean.

This new flower caught on like wildfire and soon fortunes were being invested in a single root. One popular bulb was purchased with two wagonloads of wheat, four loads of rye, four oxen, eight swine, 12 sheep, two hogshead of wine, four barrels of beer, two barrels of butter, 1,000 pounds of cheese, a marriage bed with linens and a sizable wagon.

The investing frenzy ended when disappointed buyers found the bulbs they bought did not produce the expected flower. They did not understand that the supply of native tulips from southern Europe had undergone natural crossbreeding and were also affected by an aphid-borne virus which changed their color and texture. Many Dutch burghers' fortunes were wiped out. No matter the century, speculating is risky business whether flowers or power (energy).

At this time in April we can appreciate Wolfe's words about spring, "One day its breath was in the air." Enjoy while it is with us.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.