The hills are alive with the spring rains. Even deserts do become a different shade for a few days in March and April. Little patches are grass are springing up under the protection of the dead tumbleweeds. From a distance, the hint of grey-green and the scent of nourishment will call the mustangs to higher grazing. There they will find food and water without human complication. And so the cycle begins again.
It’s been cold here. Desert cold. High winter humidity always makes it feel colder than it is. Another storm was predicted, but, only the high Sierra’s received snow. My little town just shivered with night time temperatures dropping to the 20’s.
March is a deceiving time for a gardener. The nursery is a sea of color with fresh deliveries of the prettiest Peonies or Johnny Jump Ups. How they keep plants alive at this early time is a mystery. Their garden center freezes at night just as my back yard does. To plant anything so fragile at this time of year isn’t wise. Pretty in the afternoon; frozen solid in the morning. Our growing season is shorter here in the high desert. Early March is still too soon for planting.
Waiting patiently for the day things will bloom around here, the Saturday mail held a wonderful surprise from my beloved God Mum. She never forgets a chance to make a day special, that’s for sure. In my mailbox lay a very fat letter addressed to me. I never get worthy mail around here. No cards to brighten my day. Not even unwanted news from a distant relative. Just bills and advertisements. I’m grateful I get anything, as I love opening my mailbox to received letters. To find a surprise letter was a welcomed treat.
In an adorable little card were four packages of seed. All my favorites. Forget-Me-Not’s, Shasta Daisy’s, Marigolds, and a Butterfly Garden Mix. All happy flowers for a happy gardener. That’s the thing about flowers. They are medicine for a winter weary soul. Just the pictures on the front of the packages make me smile while I think of all the fun I plan to have cocooned in the back yard of Winterpast.
For the last two years, I’ve been a Grieving Gardener. But, now, I consider myself a Gardener who Grieves on Occasion. Holding VST’s favorite shovel, I notice how worn out it is. How many hours, days, weeks, months, and years we worked side-by-side to create beauty. Although our physical projects were always stunning, the beauty of our relationship was the real masterpiece. Now, these memories make me smile. I want that beauty surrounding me again but this time, I need to create it on my own.
Wishing I lived where these flowers would bloom all year long, I accept that they might not ever mature here in the desert. There are terms you accept when living in a harsh climate. I always thought I needed mind numbing surroundings to thrive. Yet, I find the simple signs of spring here on the desert beautiful. Four defined seasons is something I never experienced in the continuous fair weather of the Central Valley of California. It was wither fog or 100 degree days. That was life in the Central Valley, something I’d find very boring at this stage of my life.
Now, it’s time to get busy with my garden check list. It’s time to make my plans and watch the projected weather forecast. Soon, I’ll call my garden expert, Mr. B, and get the water turned on. Oliver will, once again, be on toad patrol and interested in eating my emitters. Shovels need sharpening. Pots need to filling. The patio furniture will once again make the back yard my favorite place in the world.
Stay tuned tomorrow for suggestions for readying your garden plans. Spring is just 13 days away!!!!
Until then, Happy Monday!!!!