Time For Spring

Every winter, the temperatures drop to bone-numbing lows, the ground freezes like concrete, and the weatherman throws out forecasts that include cheerful phrases like “wind chill factor of -35 degrees with 40 mile per hour winds”. And every winter, I wonder if spring will ever come.  Nature is suspended, like a faded leaf trapped in the ice. Winter hangs on until the last day allowed on the calendar, and often it overstays its welcome. This year, the first day of spring brought several inches of snow, 30 mile an hour northerly winds, and a 3 foot snowdrift settled like a glacier in our driveway. But the temperatures crept up steadily over the next few days, the glacier melted away, and the grass pushed forth in defiance of the snow that had covered it. My flower beds hurried along their spring emergence, aware of the few days winter had cheated them.

 The daffodils are up now. The delicate flower buds come up with the leaves. In a few short weeks, there will be yellow daffodil flowers dancing on the breeze.

Daffodil Bud

 The first shoot of a peony bush has appeared. Tiny red sprouts will become a vigorous green bush bearing large white blooms in later in May. 

Peony

The delicate columbine, now only a small pale shoot, will in May and June, bloom with multi-chambered red flowers, attracting hummingbirds to the yard.

Columbine

The first pale shoots of irises. In late April and May, tall stalks will proudly hold aloft large purple blooms.

Iris

 Daylilies pop up in bunches. Just the leaves now, but later in June, flower stalks will emerge, and fill the garden with pink, yellow, red, and orange flowers in June and July. The daylilies were a gift from a friend of mine back in Missouri. Thank you, Glenda.

Daylilies

And of course the crocuses are blooming. They started to flower before winter ended.

Crocus

Crocuses don’t allow themselves to be cheated by winter, no matter how long it holds on.