April 2021: European larch [Larix decidua] (Lärche): The green of the needles was visible as a green point at the top of the barrel-like buds at the end of February already. A cool period in March slowed down the growth until in late March it warmed up and the buds finally opened. It always looks beautiful when within some warm days the larch trees turn from brown to greenish to green. It's the only native conifer that changes color in autumn (see front page picture of November 2019) and sheds the needles in winter. This tree is about 10m high and 20 years old: I know because it grows in an area where all the trees were toppeled by the cyclone Lothar in December 1999: after the storm it looked like after a clear cutting.