“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” ~Harriet Ann Jacobs
For all my handwringing in late March, because spring did not seem to be sticking around, I was noticing many signs that indeed spring was here….just taking her sweet time to fully reveal herself. The beginning of April has also been chilly, even downright cold with snow, so spring is hiding…she must be shy this year. Come out, come out dear spring!
Patience is not my strong suit, but I am trying to show up in the garden with a positive attitude as I wait to start working in the garden and planting early veggies like peas and radishes.
Our 4 feet of March snow fully melted just as March ended, and I was happy to see it gone even though the garden was sodden and in many places puddled or under water. But nothing seemed to deter the garden from growing despite many a night in the 20s and hoar frost when I awoke more than once. Above is the pond that has been freezing and thawing for weeks and weeks since late March.
These crocus grow at the foot of the trees in the back so they are well insulated. Those at the top of the post popped up in the front and back in open areas.
And I was surprised to see these hardy cyclamen growing through the thick leaf litter between the trees out back.
Winter aconite like the other blooms are defying the cold weather and growing. It is amazing how resilient my early flowers are. I often forget that….and they remind me that I am resilient too.
My heart was fluttering when I finally saw one iris reticulata blooming before Easter. They are my absolute favorite. More are finally growing, so I should see them blooming soon.
Many clumps of snowdrops, that had begun to grow in our very warm February, were back with the retreating snow and blooming.
I was also shocked to see the maple flowers, on the tree near the house, already blooming in late March.
Too bad the bees were not out to enjoy them, but there are more maple flowers still in the bud in the meadow waiting for the bees to return.
And one of the biggest surprises, I spotted, was my dwarf willows already sporting their pussy willows tight in the bud. Once we warm up, the pussy willows will open more to give up their pollen.
The returning male songbirds, like this American Robin, came right on cue for spring in March even with our snow storms. But the females were delayed by a couple of weeks due to the cold, wet weather. They arrived as April began.
The three sisters, our orphan baby deer, have survived and are growing.
And their coats are shifting from their thick winter coats to their lighter spring ones. So many signals that spring really is here, just not as warm and settled as we gardeners would like. So I will continue to seek out more and more spring delights in my garden and nature. My garden has been so anxious waiting for spring….almost as anxious as I am!
How has spring been treating your garden? Has she shown up with bells on or has she been shy?
The First Early Spring Vase
These early snow crocus are between a front tree and our cement porch….a warm spot that melts fast and is warm enough for these to open first. I have watched them everyday, and they have lasted for weeks. I finally decided to cut a few for a sweet little vase….my first spring vase from my garden.
You can see they have virtually no stems. The little bottle I placed them in was found when I was cleaning out a few cabinets in the kitchen. Perfect for tiny flowers.
I adore their simple beauty. And with spring slowly rolling along, I know a few of the flowers from the post above will end up in another vase soon.
I am joining Cathy@Rambling in the Garden for her wonderful In A Vase on Monday meme. The pictures shared here were created with my iPod Touch camera and two free apps, Pixlr and Prisma.
I am posting poetry, almost weekly on Sundays, on my other blog, Living From Happiness. You can read my latest poem here.
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