Rocky, the next door pup, eagerly looking for the Boo to scare the living daylights out of him. Since we just moved in here there have been no opportunities to plant anything, the ground was frozen, and there is still frost at night. But that doesn’t stop the gardener in me from picking up a few perennials each time I visit a store. Our local big box in the next town over knows us by name I am sure. My wistful glances at the empty nursery, and gardener’s pleas for something green has spurred them into bringing in the plants earlier.
Now I have quite the collection shivering by the front door, and in the garage, it’s growing each day. There are shrubs, and perennials tucked in like toes under a coverlet, the front porch is overflowing. The potting bench in the garage is jammed with pots of summer blooming bulbs waiting for some warm weather.
The front beds, see what I mean? Boooooorrring, it needs some color in the winter. And it’s not like the front yard is barren of plants, it has Mahonia growing like a weed, and some interesting Dr. Seuss like shrubs in the front. But it’s the winter and early spring interest that I am pining for.
But I have Iris, and they will be lovely. I miss the green of the coast, the lushness of the rainforest, the early blooming Azaleas, Rhodies, and Hellebores that I saw everywhere down there. The bulbs peeking up at the end of January, after all it’s April already, and the cherry blossoms are out down on the coast, we haven’t even got buds here yet. It’s all brown here, brown twigs, grass, and dirt.
The Dr. Seuss trees, which are coming out ASAP. Bet you never saw anyone get so excited about a few green sprigs of grass in the beginning of March. Next spring I hope that the yard will be filled with early blooming spring color. Hellebores, Forsythia, early blooming bulbs. I am making a mental note as I look out each window, plant this here, plant that there, put a few vines over on that fence.
So in February when my gardeners heart is drooping, I can be invigorated by the knowledge that whichever window I look out of, there will be some spring color. And even if it doesn’t show up until March, and April I will know it is still coming.