Little wonder we yearn for the arrival of spring and celebrate the final departure of winter. We appreciate the winter sun when it's cold out, lighting up the atmosphere and doing what it can to warm our upturned faces. But it's the spring sun, its awakening of all that has been hidden, bidding growing things to emerge and return to life that we miss. And now that it has returned and we can feel its warmth on our heads, our backs, our hands, we understand how deeply its absence has affected us.

 

 

The enthusiasm we feel now, sudden urges to be in the outdoors accompany surges of energy. Not too difficult to understand how many people can feel 'reborn' with the return of accommodating weather. I think in quiet moments, before sleep overtakes me what next I plan to do in the garden. And when I awake, those plans nudge me to take the action I'd been planning.

 

 

Just little things, one thing at a time, bringing forward the gardening calendar. Every day we discover    little  surprises; something has presented itself out of the warming garden soil. Other vegetation that had already begun to show itself matures. I haven't yet planted the two 'dormant' stock roses I bought last week. And today, when we were doing the food shopping, I acquired yet another shrub, so there are three awaiting planting.

 

I plan that for tomorrow. This morning I dug out an old ground shrub rose that had been faithful for many years, but last year it struggled and overwinter it died. In its place will go the third shrub. Another ground shrub (carpet rose) is meant for the very front garden, and halfway between another shrub rose.

I took the hoe out today and tidied up the beds and borders. It really does make a difference. And took an inventory of what's up and what's beginning and what hasn't yet appeared. One of our oldest clematis vines has already vigorously sprouted, but as yet none of the others, both in the backyard and in the gardens hard up against the house. 

 

The peonies have all started to emerge, including the two tree peonies. They're all elderly residents of the garden, and never fail to produce spectacular blooms. The green shoots of lilies are everywhere. Hydrangea canes are beginning to bud. The two little weeping flowering pea trees are sending up their green shoots, but not yet the mulberries.

We took ourselves out to the ravine to wander about the trails with Jackie and Jillie. The trails are almost all now dry. Trees and shrubs sparkling with new foliage, tender and green. We're now seeing false Solomon's Seal beginning to unfurl. It's a truly exciting time to witness emerging vegetation. The woodland violets, pale yellow and mauve, are blooming.

 

Although we're expecting temperatures to sink close to the frost line tonight, we're also anticipating days that will measure in the 20s and more following tonight's frost warning. And those warming days will propel us to the garden nurseries we have depended on for their wonderful annual flowering stock to plan on our summer gardens. We'll do that at some point this week.