Almost Spring
Weather
Weather can give you whiplash this spring, with wild swings turning summer temperatures to hard freezes in mere hours, changes always accompanied by strong winds and crumbly chaos.
A few days ago it snowed, just to spite the groundhog and his overoptimistic predictions, and then the thermometer jumped back to the seventies.
We had two massive temperature swings this week alone, which the vegetation took in stride, choosing to follow its internal calendar instead and ignoring the conditions on the ground.
Not so much equanimity for the gardener. It's exhausting to wake up every day not knowing whether to reach for the sandals or the parka, and the constant shifting winds start grinding your nerves after a while.
I miss summer, and not having a pile of debris to clean up. Winter always makes a mess.
Early Borders
The early spring flowers are deceptively delicate. You have to see them on harsh February days, buried under snow and whipped by freezing winds to realize how tough they really are.
Because the weather was impossible, I didn't go out into the garden to check on the borders like I usually do. When I finally did, I discovered that the hellebores had grown a foot tall.
The winter aconites, typically the earliest blooming flowers, blossomed and withered before I could catch a glimpse, and with the forsythia in bloom and the roses growing lush foliage before I got the chance to prune them, it appears I'm falling behind on my gardening tasks.
The spring bulbs have all emerged, but there are no flowers yet. I keep thinking about clearing away the old foliage to make room for fresh growth, but I am constantly forced back inside by another cold spell.
Sun Spots
It's hard to miss the cheerful yellow flowers early in spring, when most of the landscape is still dormant and they stand out against the gray and brown background.
Blooming in the dappled shade of naked trees, they favor the sunny spots and are easily mistaken for them.