The timetable for the explosion of color that befalls the Cecil and Molly Smith Garden every spring is expected much earlier than usual this year.
Chanda Koesel, caretaker of the expansive garden halfway between Newberg and St. Paul, said a mild winter and warmer-than-usual weather in March could cause the full bloom of rhododendrons, trilliums and camellias to occur closer to the Saturday, April 4, opening day of the facility.
Typically, the garden doesn’t reach full bloom until late the third or fourth weekend in April, depending on the weather, Koesel said…