Garden Muse Day--Hope Springs Eternal

Earliest Spring

TOSSING his mane of snows in wildest eddies and tangles,
Lion-like March cometh in, hoarse, with tempestuous breath,
Through all the moaning chimneys, and 'thwart all the hollows and angles
Round the shuddering house, threating of winter and death.

But in my heart I feel the life of the wood and the meadow
Thrilling the pulses that own kindred with fibres that lift
Bud and blade to the sunward, within the inscrutable shadow,
Deep in the oak's chill core, under the gathering drift.

Nay, to earth's life in mine some prescience, or dream, or desire
(How shall I name it aright?) comes for a moment and goes--
Rapture of life ineffable, perfect--as if in the brier,
Leafless there by my door, trembled a sense of the rose.
--William Dean Howells

The last remnants of snow have melted, the temperatures are rising, and I think I've spotted a few specks of green in the garden.  But the month of March can be a real tease in this part of Illinois--we are just as likely to have snowstorms as thunderstorms in March, and most of my spring bloomers won't appear for several weeks.  Still, the calendar says the first day of spring arrives in less than three weeks, and that's good enough for me.  I feel my spirits lifting, and my step is getting lighter.



First crocuses of 2010 bloomed on March 23.

Soon, the first miniature blooms will appear, announcing the arrival of spring.



First daffodils of 2010 bloomed in late March.



Then "a host of daffodils" will be dancing in the breeze.

Mid-April 2010

Followed by the later narcissus.

Early April 2010

Purple hyacinths will perfume the air.



April 2010 was unusually warm, and the crabapples bloomed early



Soon the crabapples will burst into bloom, providing a bower of pink and white along the lane.

Tulips also emerged early in 2010--mid to late April, but they didn't last as long in the warm temperatures.

The last act of this unfolding drama will be tulip time, lasting well into the month of May.



'Angelique', my favorite tulip of all.

Just a few more weeks, and the show begins.  I can't wait!

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.  ~Hal Borland

Garden Muse Day is hosted the first of each month by the ever-gracious Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.