April showers bring May flowers, or at least that's how the saying goes.
According to a quick Google search, the saying was introduced by an English poet in the 1500s. Originally, "Sweet April showers, do spring May flowers," but how accurate is it?
Putting it into a local perspective, the National Weather Service and Baltimore-Washington International Airport have the month of April as the 9th wettest month on average. The month with the most showers would be July.
Spring occurs in March every year, but as far as peak bloom for the Mid-Atlantic, that can vary based on species. Mostly, "May Flowers" actually bloom anywhere from late March through early June.
My take on the saying is that the poet was well ahead of his time and just wanted to have a poem and flowers ready for his mother... sometime in May. Pure speculation, but the timeline works.
Technically, April showers do bring May flowers, but it's a little vague for specifics. Either way, enjoy this year's bloom once all of these, more accurately called "Spring showers," are over.
