The Beauty of Spring

There is something fresh and rejuvenating about the first days of spring. Even the air smells different as green things sprout from the soil and buds form on trees. Spring is refreshing and reviving after the hibernation of winter. I become somewhat hermit-like during the cold days of winter. Come spring I can't wait to be outside enjoying the wonders of nature.

In the spirit of renewal and new beginnings, I am starting this garden blog. It is my way of keeping track of what's going on in my garden and sharing information on classes I've taken, gardens I've visited, garden-related art, and other garden miscellany. The look of this blog will no doubt change as I learn to use it – being that I'm a graphic designer it has to look good! In the meantime, here are some photos that I took a few weeks ago of the jubilation of spring bursting forth in my garden. It seems only natural that I begin my "Daffodils and Daydreams" blog with some daffodil shots. In a sense, daffodils are the flowers that first planted the gardening seed in me. When I was a little girl, my sisters and I used to play in the woods behind our house. There was a long-forgotten garden there that we used to love to visit in spring. There was a mass of daffodils in the dappled sunlight under massive trees. It was like a fairy-tale seeing that sea of yellow. (We used to pick some to bring home to our mom – shhh, don't tell anyone.) There was a small pond with a cement bridge and on the other side was a mass of tiny blue flowers. It took me years to figure out what those flowers were – Scilla Siberica ("Spring Beauty").

I wish I knew what kinds of daffodils these are, but I "inherited" these from a previous owner so I'm not sure. They look lovely in the sunshine, though, don't they?

I planted this Helleborus Bridal Queen just last year and have fallen head-over-heals in love with it. It's a double form (obviously) and it's absolutely gorgeous. It's flowers have lasted much longer than I thought they would. I love the little maroon / pink dots on the petals.

Along with the helleborus, these purple crocus are the first flowers to bloom in my yard.

And of course forsythia (can you spot the small, green bug?)...

And I had to end with some Scilla Siberica since it's a childhood favorite. If only mine looked like that ocean of blue that I remember in that long-forgotten garden of my youth. They spread, so maybe one day they will.