First hints of warmer days to come
DeAnna Cobb deal these beautiful pic and an equally beautiful meditation on this time of year :
“ Another winter is all too slow coming to a finis . February has long been my least favorite month as it is usually a rainy blue stretch of parky gray days , even in the deep coastal South . A huge sheath of Spring fever is upon me , so bad that I stray the garden section of the local big box store in the rain this past weekend , umbrella in hand , just to see some flowers . My brain is spin with plans for the time of year . What plant should I tote up for the hummingbird , butterfly stroke , and the bee that can take our red-hot and humid summers ? How shortly should I startle tomatoes ? Must n’t forget to plant moonflower seed this year as I for sure missed those huge and haunting blooms that seem to glow in the dark last summer . I sternly resist the itch to buy plants by the carload . The blush wine in full blooming are dreadfully tempting but in all likelihood an exercise in foiling this time of class . Plus , I would call for to research to see if they would do well in this area and where would I put them ? We will have a frost or two yet I ’m sure . I only bought one potted red geranium for the front steps figure if a Robert Lee Frost menace I can move it indoors temporarily . ”
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My camellias, the only bright flowering presence in my yard at the end of the season, are just now recovering from the last month’s arctic blast, as the bitter cold turned their blooms to brown mush. Yet the promise of Spring appears in February — when all hope seems lost for warm sunny days, clear blue skies, and gentle breezes playfully waving flowers about.
The first hint of Spring I see is from the truly massive Japanese magnolia (Magnolia soulangeana, zones 4 – 9) residing in our side yard. We’ve been told the same family lived in our house since it was built in the late 1940’s and I have no trouble believing they must have planted it when they first moved in, or perhaps it was already there and they thoughtfully placed the house next to it rather than cut it down. It smothers itself in thousands of lovely pink and white blooms, which burst open from tightly closed buds seemingly overnight. It is a literal traffic stopper. I’ve observed people hit their brakes and exclaim over the loveliness.
The magnolia petals drift to the ground and give soft color to the sleeping lawn. The bloom is fleeting, in mere days the grand show will be over, but then bright green leaves swiftly appear and this is the signal for the rest of the yard to slowly awaken.
My eyes are desperate for color in this drab winter world. I scrutinize the “bones” of my yard as they are exposed in late winter. I content myself with weeding, mulching, and tidying flowerbeds, between raindrops it seems, for the warm sunny months to come.
My work is interspersed with daydreams of flowers in profusion, productive veggie and herb container gardens (pictured is my lettuce and parsley container), and hummingbirds galore. What are your plans this for this green and growing season? What gardening dreams are whirling in your mind? What new plants and old faves are you going to welcome into your space?
