We wish you and your family and friends a very Merry Christmas and an amazing 2014!
The day after Christmas I will start the official countdown to spring. But, just to get you started—it’s 85 days! 🙂
I am just crazy about spring and here are two of the reasons why—ROSES & LILACS…
Spring’s gonna be so much fun!
From the tiny Tete e Tete to the gigantic yellow trumpets …Â I have always loved daffodils. They scream spring!!
Daffodils are perennial, increase eagerly and are wonderfully deer and rodent proof.
Four years ago they became even more important to me. We lost a beloved family member on March 19, just as the daffodils were blooming. Uncle Tony (Mr. G’s brother) heroically battled cancer for 20 years. At 49 years of age, it was much too early to lose him. Uncle Tony was a rare and special person … extremely creative, rock solid in his faith, a lover of people, a gardener AND a lover of spring & daffodils.
Just before his death when we were visiting with him, he mentioned wanting to get out in his garden and in par
ticular wanted to see the daffodils blooming. That did not happen.
In the fall of that year, I individually wrapped hundreds of daffodils in burlap, tied them with a jute bow and gave them away to anyone who wanted to plant daffodils in Tony’s memory and so many did!
Each year people give me reports on Tony’s daffodils and I know he is remembered.
Here are a couple of favorite family pictures….
So many of our family memories are tied to plants and gardening. Here are a couple of other posts about family members and gardens…
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Do you have plants that hold special memories for you?
Mr. G has a new toy that he calls the Rose-A-Matic. We planted 25 or so roses today. It took a fraction of the digging time it usually takes. Mr. G was very happy with his new purchase. You know how boys are with their toys! 🙂
The Rose-a-Matic will also be very helpful next week when we are digging post holes for a new arbor … you guessed it for more roses. Francis E. Lester, climbing hybrid musk rose, named for the founder of Roses of Yesterday) will be planted by the arbor!
VIDEO: If you are view on a mobile device you may have to click on title to see the video!
Spring fever is a term applied to several sets of physical and psychological symptoms associated with the arrival of spring says Wikipedia. It isn’t mentioned here, but I can tell you that at my house it includes being so excited that you can’t sleep. And, you should limit reading gardening books too late at night–might cause an adrenalin rush!
It is way too easy for me to get spring fever — regardless of the time of year. I start counting down the days until spring the day after Christmas. So, you could say that today is a day I look forward to most of the year. However, due to current low temperatures, the quote by Hal Borland below is one I am clinging to today…
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. – Hal Borland
Look at this… the difference between this year and last year …. same week!
But, I am not discouraged …. no, not one little bit. Spring is my friend and I am willing to wait. I’ll be seeing the forsythia and daffodils blooming soon and I’ll be filling buckets with Moo Poo tea to soak those bareroot roses I ordered this winter while I was “patiently” waiting on spring. Soon … real soon. Fingers crossed!
COMING SOON………..
Ready and waiting……………
Do you have anything blooming in your garden or are you, like me, “patiently” waiting?
P.S.
I had a little help writing tonight…
Even though they don’t rate as high on my list as roses, herbs and hydrangeas, forsythias do have a special place in my heart for several reasons.
REASON #1: Forsythia blooms signal it is time to give my roses their spring trim.
REASON #2: Just when winter is at it’s most dreary and I am ready to scream, out pops these bright, beautiful blooms.
REASON #3: Forsythia can be forced to bloom inside even before it is warm enough to bloom outside. Another late winter perk.
REASON #4 (And, the most special reason): My parents loved forsythia. As most of you know, my dad passed away in January of 2013, and one of his last conversations about his yard was that he was looking forward to seeing the forsythia bloom. That now takes forsythia to another level!
I cut some of Dad’s forsythia in hope that I could force it to bloom for his memorial service but we didn’t have enough time.
Each spring seeing the forsythia bloom makes feel a little closer to my mom & dad. And, it will remind me that it is time to get the roses trimmed and let the bloom thyme begin!
Other stories about my parents…
My Mom, Gardening and Red Lipstick
What is it about spring that you are looking forward to most?
Today we have our first snow and this morning it looks fresh and beautiful and boy is it cold… windchill factor is 7 degrees! Burrrrrr…. wasn’t it in the 50s a couple of days ago?
Here’s my view today in and around The Potting Shed…
As you know I spend a lot of time dreaming of spring but for today, I am enjoying the pretty snow.
By the way… it is only 88 days until spring! If you want to see how the garden looks in the spring, check out these posts…
I have many dogwood memories. I grew up in the mountains of Tennessee where the spring is beautiful with azaleas, rhododendron, redbuds and dogwoods. There is nothing quite like seeing the mountains dappled with red, pink, purple and white!
When I was a teenager my dad came home with 8 dogwood trees he had dug in the woods where he had lived as a child. He was so excited about these little samplings. I wasn’t sure. They didn’t look too impressive. I was not sure they would live up to the impressive ones I had seen in the mountains. But, over time I became very impressed! To this day those dogwood trees line my dad’s driveway and are spectacular in the spring. These dogwood trees have brought my family years of pleasure and have brought food and shelter to the many birds there!
When Greg and I moved to our home 26 years ago, we couldn’t wait to plant dogwood trees and through the years we keep adding more. Currently we have 3 very large white dogwood trees, 1 medium sized white and 3 small pink dogwood trees! Funny story… when we bought the last 3, I told the nursery I only wanted white dogwoods. They were not blooming at the time but the tag said, “white.” All of them bloomed pink! And, the nursery went out of business the next year–so pink it is! They are beautiful too but white are still my favorites.
THE LEGEND OF THE DOGWOOD
Have you ever read the Legend of the Dogwood? Although the Bible does not tell us what type of wood the cross Jesus was crucified on was made of, this legend says that the cross was made of dogwood…
In Jesus’ time, the dogwood grew
To a stately size and a lovely hue.
‘Twas strong and firm, its branches interwoven.
For the cross of Christ its timbers were chosen.
Seeing the distress at this use of their wood
Christ made a promise which still holds good:
“Never again shall the dogwood grow
Large enough to be used so.
Slender and twisted, it shall be
With blossoms like the cross for all to see.
As blood stains the petals marked in brown,
The blossom’s center wears a thorny crown.
All who see it will remember Me
Crucified on a cross from the dogwood tree.
Cherished and protected, this tree shall be
A reminder to all of My agony.
Not a part of the legend BUT, in the fall dogwoods produce clusters of red berries and if you look closely you’ll notice that for most of the dogwood varieties the berries are not round but rather shaped like a drop of blood! Hummmmmm
Legends are legends, but I am so grateful for anything that reminds me of His love and sacrifice on our behalf….
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
I hope you have a glorious GOOD FRIDAY.
The white dogwood trees are in full bloom today… Along with the birds in the background you will hear “shots.” Don’t be alarmed, we live near a shooting range! 🙂
My garden is coming back about 4 weeks earlier than ever before. Click on the first picture to start the gallery.
