Early Spring, 2012

Cherry blossom.

It’s spring. To celebrate, this weekend I cleaned the house. By cleaned I mean I really cleaned. I scrubbed and polished and vacuumed and dusted and drank too much coffee - not necessarily in that order. 


A full Saturday in spring spent cleaning the house means I am already behind in the yard. And my garden, like all of New England, is waking up early this year. In addition to the usual suspects sprouting in all the right (and some wrong) places, the cherry trees are blossoming and most of the daffodils have bloomed. Past years, I have had daffodils blooming thru late April along with the lilacs. 


It's time to rake and put down mulch and edge and tidy up... If you garden even a little, you know how exciting spring is. The soil is warming up, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping. You look to see what survived the winter. You lament the loss of perennials you lovingly planted last year or years before. You make plans and you feel grand. Sweet & Simple has taken a toll on my yard and garden, after all there are only so many hours in a spring or summer season, and I've come to terms with a few more weeds and more containers for pops of color. But I love the simple peace and quiet of working outside and I've promised myself  a few extras hours of gardening this year.

To bring a little spring indoors, this morning I made the tiniest bouquet of violas. The weensy perfume bottle marked “Lazell’s Perfumes New York” is a thrift store treasure, the violas are from a planter at my front door.

I'm seeing dramatically fewer daffodils this year, so it looks like I’ll be busy planting more in the fall.  I like to order daffodil bulbs from a Connecticut company - Van Engelen Inc. 

Daffodils in my backyard.

Happy spring to you! I wish you all the joy of the renewal season.