Spring is in the Air

It’s hard to believe with the temperatures the last couple of days that spring will soon be upon us. Sunday’s snow showers were a reminder that winter isn’t quite done with us and that bringing out the summer wardrobe will have to wait a few more days. Or weeks! But there is that certain smell in the air that only comes when it starts to get warmer outside. Or when it is at least thinking about getting warmer outside.

But there are signs that something underground is waking up. There are buds on a few of our trees. And we have beautiful irises in the back yard along with another bulb flower that I can never remember the name. It looks a bit like a miniature hyacinth. (You can see both in the picture to the left.) Those two are some of the first to bloom, right behind the lenten roses. I wasn’t sure the hellebores would come out this year, but they finally did.  I’ve been buying them for a few years and am now up to four plants, a pale green, a light pink, and a yellow one. The latest one I planted is a deep burgundy color. I really love the flowers as they last so long, like orchids, and they seem to do very well in my side garden, with its odd mix of full shade then full sun, then full shade. By the way, if anyone has any plants that can take full shade mixed in with three hours of sun, please let me know; I am always looking for new plants!

I also saw that some of our daffodils have buds on them while there are little green wedges pushing up from the tulips I planted last fall. My grandfather always had daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and peonies growing in his backyard. In spring, we’d always come home after visiting with a large bouquet of sweet-smelling flowers. He’d carefully cut them, wrapping the ends in wet newspaper covered in tinfoil for the trip home. The car smelled wonderful as did our house. Daffodils, in particular, remind me of my grandfather, especially the little white ones with the orange edges.

A few other plants that I’ve spotted coming up are some columbine and another plant that I can’t remember what it is without seeing the actual leaves. I think it might be an Indian pink, but who knows! One of these days, I will diagram my garden to remember what’s where. It would be more helpful than my “I’ll buy this and if it lives I should get more” attitude that I currently have which only goes so far when you can’t remember just what it was you planted that did so well… Pete says that the Jacob’s Latter is blooming (very early for that!) as well as seeing some flower buds on our wood poppies.

So, since it is springtime, I’d like to leave you with a poem by Robert Frost. I love reading poetry because it always amazes me how so few words can convey such feeling. Frost does rather well in capturing the process of winter retreating and spring arriving.