The future

To be honest, until fairly recently I thought buds grew in the spring. In fact they are produced in the later summer and early fall. They winter over, cold-hardy, then burst forth unraveling the spring.

These are particularly large examples, approaching an inch in length, but many are much smaller and harder to see. Above is a horse-chestnut, below a magnolia, distinctly furry. [ME budde; akin to OE budda beetle, D bot bud, MLG buddich swollen, OHG butil bag, MHG butzen to swell, Icel budda purse, Skt bhuri abundant — more at BOAST] -Webster’s Third New International Unabridged