Spring Colors

I love Spring.

It is amazing to remember that once upon a time I used to wake up every morning and garden for an hour before starting my work. Then, when I’d come home I’d head back into the garden to tend it some more, often for another hour or two. There was, and still is, something so satisfying to me when I pull out pesky weeds and crush clods of dirt in my hands.

It is the exact point when I reach the bottom of the roots and get that clean yank out of the dirt. It is the crumbling of the dirt in my bare hands, somehow lightening the load and getting air into the soil it so desperately wants. And then comes the feeling of relief: a huge body sigh.

Once my bed is done, I just sit there and stare at the fresh, tilled dirt. I dream of what it can and will become.

Every spring into summer brings to me an intense feeling of renewed joy. Every year I am handed another chance for a healthier, prettier, more bountiful garden. And though I have much less time now than I used to, I am using this Spring to start fresh. I have pulled out old perennials – flowers, herbs, bulbs, tubers – and though it is a bit of a painful process, I am ready for the new palette of colors and stronger plants.

The lady who walked by not too long ago while I stood outside asked me, “is your garden coming back this year?” “Definitely!” I told her, “with more to come.” We just dug in two more beds in our front garden, all of my seeds and tubers have arrived, and my hands are ready to get dirty!

It sounds crazy, but I never tire of watching my gardens grow. Sometimes the anticipation can be unbearable, but it is always worth the wait.

And here is one to include my little helpers: together, at last. I have so few pictures of them together – something I need to work on!