Easing Into Spring
snowflakes + daffodils + seed starting
Greetings on the grayest of gray Ash Wednesdays! Not a speck of sunshine today. This begins the Lenten season of fasting and prayer in preparation for Easter for us Catholics. In my climate, Ash Wednesday usually falls around the time that our bulbs are starting to bloom, like the Snowflakes pictured below. The tiny, white little bell flowers look perfectly painted with little green dots at each petal’s edge. While many trees and shrubs are still dormant with bare branches, these little beauties are eager to announce Spring.
Look How They Shine … They Were All Yellow
Just behind the white little snowflakes, there is yellow. Abundant, bright yellow dandelion flowers dot the lawn. They come and go all winter around here, but are prolific right about now as the days get warmer, which the bees definitely appreciate.
Then daffodils begin to bloom. I ordered heirloom daffodils a couple years ago, and sadly they only produced foliage last year. I wondered if they would survive. But this time around, I have some blooms! Except, not the blooms I anticipated.
I planted a double daffodil called “Butter and Eggs” and this bloom is definitely not that. The foliage on this one plant is different than the others around it, which haven’t bloomed yet. Makes me think a bulb hopped into the wrong bag.
This little daffodil looks to be a Jonquil, a smaller clustered-blooming daffodil variety known for its sweet scent (and available from the same seller). But they’re early-blooming and adorable, so they are quite welcome to stay.
Beginning Again
This year has been the latest I have started seeds in some time. I’m usually getting hardy annuals started in January for February planting. Not so this time around. First batch of seeds just hit the trays in the past week: lots of herbs, peppers, snapdragons, nigella, and chard. The next wave of planting will be tomatoes with zinnias and other warm weather flowers after that.
I’m resisting feeling rushed or overwrought about the garden this year. Focusing on growing varieties I know to be reliable, in quantities that feel right. No matter the approach, gardening is full of challenges and surprises along the way (hello, jonquils), but it feels nice to ease into Spring gently.
Till next time - Peace!
Ashley