Happy Snowdrops

Today was another gorgeous day to be out in the garden. Ed spent almost the entire day outside, working on his ramp, weeding and adding soil to the shade garden. I headed out at around 11:00. With so much to do, it's hard to know where to start. It's a given that these beautiful days will end soon, and we will be back to cold, even snow. March has been kind to us so far, but it not likely to last. Where does one begin? With so much to do it really doesn't matter, so I just started. I did some weeding, picked up debris and cut off some spent flower stalks. The reality is that with a garden this size, and just the two of us to tend it, we just have to work at whatever seems right.

Late this afternoon Ed and I walked over to the memorial stone bench that Ed built for my parents. It's some distance from the house, and much of the path is shaded by the hill. The ground beneath our feet was still frozen hard. But the path turns and when we made our way to the bench, we were rewarded with the sight of this big clump of blooming snow drops. The plants are obviously happy where they are planted. They have had nearly an undisturbed decade to establish themselves. The snowdrops in the garden are just beginning to open.

Sorry We're Closed

I confess to being a Goldilocks gardener. I like it not too hot, not too cold but just right. Yesterday was cold and rainy and I stayed inside. Ed spent some time outside anyway, and when he came in he told me about the snow drops over by my parents' memorial bench. I promised to take a walk over there. Today is colder with little snow is in the air, but I bundled up, and we walked the path over to the bench. It's a popular path with the deer. We really had to watch where we were walking. Most of the droppings were on a sloped part of the path. We speculated on whether these deposits were made going up the hill or going down. When we arrived we were greeted with two clumps of snow drops. All of the flowers were closed tightly on this cold and cloudy day.




The clump in the front illustrates how persistent these little flowers are. If leaves are over them, they just pierce right through and bloom anyway. Even closed up tight they were worth the trip!

These snow drops are the most impressive that we have. Self planted and largely undisturbed they have flourished here. Some were chewed off but most were intact. Shade is part of this location. We do not know if the luxurious growth is the result of somehow favorable conditions or because we leave them alone.

Easter flowers

I have a guest photographer on the blog today. My daughter is visiting and took this terrific shot of snow drop buds, and snow. It's chilly out there on this earliest of Easters. These brave little snow drops are still tight buds. But look at those snow crystals sparkling in the sun! Sometimes we get so impatient to move on to the next thing, we miss the exquisite beauty that is right in front of us.