First day of Spring

Purple crocuses, blooming in the detritus of last years garden, herald the arrival of Spring in my yard.

     Ah Spring! When a young man’s thoughts turn to fancy, yadda, yadda, yadda.  It’s also a time when a grouchy middle-aged man’s thoughts turn to cleaning up his garden and getting it ready for summer.

     Spring is also the time of year when the gardener begins thinking about what he or she wants to accomplish in the garden this year.  For myself, I plan on removing a dying serviceberry tree and replacing it with a black chokeberry bush.  I also want to fill in a lot of blank spots in the section by the bird feeder and add a few shrubs where the old veggie garden used to be.

     But as the old saying goes: “the best laid plans of mice and overambitious gardeners”.  Every Spring I write down my goals for my yard, and I usually make good headway on them in April and May.  Then June arrives and now I’m more into chilling in my hammock than worrying about finishing projects.  July brings the heat and August turns the thermometer up a notch.  When I work outside in late summer I sweat so much that if I were to shake my head side-to-side I would look like an impulse sprinkler.

     September arrives with cooler temperature, but now it’s time to start putting the garden to bed.  Well, I guess there is always next year.

     Still, today is the first day of Spring.  Time to sharpen the gardening tools, get the lawn mower working and start enjoying the longer, warmer days.  Ladies and gentlemen, let the gardening begin!