The calendar says it’s spring…despite cool temperatures in the mornings and the recent snow showers that my dad would have termed the “poor man’s fertilizer.” A farmer for most of his life, he always looked upon those spring snows as nutrients for the soil and harbingers of the greening of the land.
I love spring. It’s my favorite season, despite the rain, despite the cool temperatures. I love the newness of it, the renewal of what has lain dormant through the winter. The signs are here already.
As for me, spring really starts the day I pull my wheelbarrow out of its winter resting place in the garage and lean it against a tree in the yard. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I will start yard cleanup that very day. It’s my promise to myself that I will get to it soon. In the meantime, before that happens, I am content to watch for the many signs of spring and rejoice.
I find myself looking out my kitchen window toward my weeping cherry tree. It started its full bloom for Easter, but its cycle is so short that I never want to miss a moment of it. I think I’ve taken a photograph of it every year since I’ve had it. My uncle bought it for me all those years ago, and it’s now taller than the house.
In regard to other types of trees, I especially love that early shade of green when they first begin to leaf out. I once had my living room painted a color that was named April Green. It was so much like that first green before the leaves darken.
Despite my great desire to get my hands in the dirt, it is too early to plant most annuals, though pansies thrive despite the cooler temperatures. My dad always said not to plant any other annuals until Mother’s Day, and then only those that can sustain a late spring frost. Geraniums and other annuals, according to dad, were to be planted around Memorial Day.
Since I have a great deal of yard cleanup to do, it will have to do until planting time comes in May. Meanwhile, though, the rhododendron in my front yard is blossoming, and the azaleas are beginning to bud. The forsythia is simply beautiful in its golden glory. Snowdrops and crocuses are gone now, but they were springing up everywhere just a few weeks ago, along both sides of the stonewall that borders the road. They also pop up in the lawn in places where I never planted them.
Most of my daffodils are in bloom, but others are budded and ready to bloom. They are one of my favorite spring flowers. When I see their buds in the spring, I’m always sorry I didn’t plant more of them in the fall. Deer don’t like them so they survive to bloom, and they multiply without any help from me. Unfortunately, deer have already eaten the early shoots of some tulips I was looking forward to seeing.
I know it was a hard winter for deer, as far as food goes, but why do they always have to go after the tulips, even ones that I have surrounded by daffodils? Nothing seems to protect the tulips from their inevitable fate. I once had a border of beautiful pink tulips in one of my flower gardens. They had actually made it all the way to flowering. One day they were there; the next day they were gone, each pink flower only a memory. A line of green stems remained. I never planted tulips there again as it seemed to be a deer route through my yard.
However, to give the deer the benefit of the doubt, I have never known them to eat the stems and leaves of tulips, so the most recent tulip massacre may not have been caused by deer at all. There are several rabbits that have their habitat in tall grass behind my house and under trees, and, while I usually see them in my yard munching on clover, I have seen them fairly close to my flower gardens. I’m not sure the deer repellant works with rabbits, so I’m concerned that some of my other early bulbs that are already sending up green shoots may fall victim to the cute little bunnies.
The bunnies are cute, but they can be as destructive as deer. One of them ran out in front of the car when I returned home from dinner recently. It had no doubt been inspecting the greenery in my front flower garden, though I saw no damage the next morning. It may be just a matter of time.
Since I have deer repellant on hand, a trip up to Shakespeare’s Garden here in Brookfield may give me some ideas on what I can do to combat the bunny onslaught. Yes, they are cute and fun to watch….as long as they (and the deer) stay out of my gardens.
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