Fabulous Friday: Emerging

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“Acorn struggles in pain to crack the hard shell and emerge.

For it senses that out there… exists more and it knows it.

It feels that there is a sun, even if Acorn hasn’t seen it.

It has felt some warmth and energy

and it aches for more.”

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Robin Rumi

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Once begun, spring’s progression continues in waves.  Sometimes faster, sometimes slower depending on the weather; it remains inevitable in its power to transform the world around us.

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Perhaps it is a painful experience for bursting bulbs and acorns, swelling seeds, and bark ripping open to allow buds to emerge and grow.  It is a birth of new life, after all.

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Growing up, I never thought of plants as experiencing fear or pain.  Recent research shows that they register both.

I’ve been reading Peter Wohlleben‘s book The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World.  I am amazed to know that trees feel pain when cut or grazed, and can signal one another to chemically change their leaves so they are distasteful to grazing animals. 

There is so much more to understand about the natural world than we ever really consider….

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Now I wonder whether plants shiver and feel the cold on our frosty nights, especially now that our perennials are awakening and new growth has begun to emerge.

I certainly feel the cold, wandering through the garden to check its progress.  Surely they must feel the icy wind as surely as they feel the sun’s warmth on their emerging leaves.

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I relish watching the process unfold, as the earth splits open to allow tender shoots to push their way up to a new season of life.    The roots hold life, even when we don’t see or even remember them.

I am continually surprised as perennials emerge from the mulch, often spreading and popping up where they never were before.  Winter’s forgetfulness  is erased by the sudden unfolding of spring.

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The cat mint, Nepeta, is growing strong now, much to our cat’s delight.

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The dry and shaggy perennial stems hold life, too; ready to cover themselves in fresh leaves, when the time is right.

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Watching perennials emerge feels like greeting old friends returning from their travels far away.  We spot a few more each week, waiting not too patiently for their time to take off and grow once again.

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The excitement is building in my gardener’s heart, this Fabulous Friday, as we discover ever more signs of spring.

Gloucester’s Daffodil Festival begins tomorrow.  We have just returned from greeting friends there, and exploring the Heath’s display gardens at their Bulb Shop.

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Narcissus ‘Katie Heath,’ hybridized by Brent Heath and named for his mother. This stand blooms in our garden today.

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All of the roads leading into town are lined with thousands of blooming daffodils this weekend.  Shops in Gloucester Courthouse are preparing for the crowds tomorrow, all wreathed and tied with yellow bows.  Tents are popping up, and the Daffodil Arches have been raised.

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Did I mention that we have snow in our forecast for tomorrow night??  As much as we long for spring, winter has not yet finished with us here in coastal Virginia.  We studied the weekend weather, and decided to make our trip to see the daffodils today, when it was sunny and almost warm.

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We are ready to step up and do our part in the garden, just as soon as the weather settles.  But anticipation is a large part of the pleasure, isn’t it?

I hope that you have signs of spring around you this Friday afternoon, and plans to enjoy the weekend ahead.  Even if winter is still lingering in your garden, we each know in our hearts that a new season is emerging all around us.

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Woodland Gnome 2018

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Fabulous Friday:  Happiness is contagious! 

Let’s infect one another!

About woodlandgnome

Lifelong teacher and gardener.

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