Adequate Spring Expectations

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Have you ever seen this?


I suspect we are not the only ones to keep reposting this picture at least 2 times every year.  As a rule, we have a few days of glorious spring-like weather in early February.  It coaxes out early spring bulbs and fools us into believing that winder is over.  That is "Fool's Spring."  Despite us having it every year, every year it is so convincing that we buy into it wholeheartedly.  



Then, of course, the winter gloom is back, and we look at the pictures we took and proudly posted with a mild disbelief, shaking our heads and believing that we have learned our lesson. Right...






February tags along, sometimes better, sometime worse. 




Gardening jitters begin, and we watch a gardening show, or 70.


We start some seeds, go visit a nursery or two to look at hellebores, to smell the witch-hazel and to resolve to plant more winter/early spring plants. 




We buy a few and think we shall plant them right away, but first we need to weed, to mulch, to tidy up the garden, to move other pants around, or just to decide where the things should go. 

And then comes March. Now, I come from the Pacific Coast of Russia, and usually the snow doesn't melt till April there. Despite that, everyone believes that the Spring starts March the 1st.  Here in the Pacific North West, like everywhere in the States, people believe the Spring starts on March 21st, no matter if you are in Florida or in Alaska. I guess it all depends on what we mean by "spring."

I have my own view, and to me, the early spring starts with snowdrops and hellebores blooming (usually the second half of February here), and blooming tulips start mid-spring (midd-ish March or so). Today is March 11, and I can see a bunch of buds on the earliest tulips, like T. Sylvestris. 








But it is still raining and cold and miserable. But we all know, spring is coming, and even summer... Eventually :)





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