The First Day of Spring

The plants got the message that winter is over. Every year this message comes in secret, in subtle ways that only plants seem to understand, but they all get it simultaneously and come back to life with a speed and enthusiasm that always humbles me, even after so many years of gardening.

This moment sometimes coincides with the spring equinox, but oftentimes it doesn't, and you are left scratching your head in disbelief and going back and forth between the calendar date and the trees that refuse to acknowledge it.
Spring always comes suddenly around here, you go to bed in a gray dormant landscape, and wake up in a lush green paradise.

I have been dreaming of daffodils for over ten years now and it looks like finally this year my dream came true. In all fai
ess, the potato sized bag of bulbs I planted last fall had to yield some result. They're everywhere, beautiful and fragrant, the color of egg yolk and sporting bright coral middles. I'm pinching myself constantly and this is just the beginning, most of the later blooming varieties have just now started to emerge from the ground.
The forsythia bloomed and I proceeded to prune the roses according to good gardening practice, only to notice this winter was not kind to them at all. There was a lot of damage, even on the floribundas, which usually weather anything that comes their way effortlessly.

Since this year I didn't start veggies from seed I get the consolation prize of getting bigger plants from the nursery. I know it's still too early to plant any of them outside, but I can hardly wait!