No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow

Spring is by far my favorite time of year. I love watching all the plants revive from their winter sleep.

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
- Percy Bysshe Shelley

There are so many things happening in the garden right now...

the Hellebore are still blooming,




the Columbine are budding and are getting ready for the first hummers to arrive,




the Hosta are poking up their heads,




the ferns are shooting up fronds,




and the bleeding hearts are coming up and budding.

Back from the dead

I am always amazed at how my creeping phlox (Phlox subulata 'Emerald Cushion Blue') return to glory after the winter when they look like they have expired. After this cruel winter I was wondering if indeed they would return. They never fail me. Again they look glorious cascading down my garden slope. A wonderful staple every Southern garden should have.

First signs of spring

Over the past week I have been watching my Kwanzan cherry trees (all 12 of them) grow. Here is a photo gallery of the evolution from bud to WOW!






The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a
green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and
deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the
man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.
- William Blake, 1799, The Letters