Photo Deborah Carew – Forsythia
“May, with alle thy floures and thy grene, Welcome be thou, fair fresshe May.” – Chaucer
Back in the depths of winter I was asked, probably rhetorically, why we live here. I will answer the question anyway. We live here because spring is so glorious. Dr Johnson said that a man who is tired of London is tired of life. But I think that I would say rather that a man who is tired of spring is tired of life.
The forsythia is particularly gorgeous this year as it always is after a mild winter. And the daffodils have lasted well with the cooler, damp weather. I had to laugh at a pairing of daffodil varieties in the Vesey’s catalogue being called Winter is Over. Isn’t the point of all daffodils to show us that winter is well and truly over?
The first spring bulbs here in the valley are the snowdrops. These appear when there is still snow on the ground and it always makes me happy to finally see the first ones.
Then come the first of the little snow crocus next to the warm west wall of the house. I planted two varieties a few years ago (Blue Pearl and Snowbunting) and they have been slowly increasing. There’s a short window for dividing these that usually comes on the first hot day of the spring. The flowers are done at that point but it’s still possible to see what colour they are.
There are much older varieties of snow crocus that have naturalized and spread throughout the lawn. The first of these were planted decades ago and the flowers are smaller than the more modern varieties. I think I prefer the older ones and I wonder why plant breeders would want to make them bigger.
The chipmunks and squirrels appear to have spared the bulbs and must have found enough to eat elsewhere. They excavated a lot of the lawn crocuses and species tulips a few years ago. I’m hoping that they continue to dine elsewhere.
The beautiful spring ephemeral bloodroot with its cheery white flowers blooms in a few spots in the lawn close to the house. Unfortunately there were a few hot days when they first appeared so they didn’t last long.
Phoebes are back nesting in the side porch this year. There were no phoebes last year which worried me a bit. Having Mrs Phoebe sail over my head every time I go in or out of the door has been a ritual of spring here for many years.
There is lots of other bird life close by. I can hear a grouse drumming at all hours and in the early morning a woodpecker makes lots of noise on the metal garage roof.
I would be surprised if there are wood ducks this year since the water level in what was the beaver pond has dropped down a lot. I miss the wood ducks but not the relentless construction that characterizes the beaver kingdom.
In the vegetable garden, the garlic grows by leaps and bounds. I’m hoping that all the rain will make for a good garlic crop. The snow peas that were planted a few weeks ago should be up any day now.
It is a joy to see and hear the world come back to life in the spring. Yes even the woodpecker on the metal roof.
Happy spring everyone.
By Jill Williams
