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Some days, the most interesting topic of conversation turns out to be the weather. Today we noted the pros and cons of what it wasn’t: it wasn’t the least bit warm, wasn’t ever sunny, and it wasn’t at all spring-like. But we also noted our gratitude that at least it wasn’t snowy or stormy in our little corner of Virginia. It was a day for shivering in the wind while searching the landscape for any and every sign of spring.
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A few bulbs have appeared beside my mother’s driveway.
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I ventured a hundred odd miles northwest today, and a week or more back in meteorological time.
Open faces on daffodils were scarce, though we spotted buds here and there. Japanese quince shone a muted red through the misty gloom.
But I was cheered to see potted Camellia shrubs and the first of the early perennials have arrived at my favorite Richmond greenhouse and nursery. They were stocking the seed packet racks and unpacking Aroid tubers, while a cheerful group of Master Gardeners conferred with customers and handed out fact sheets to those ready to start the season better prepared with good advice.
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The daffodils are much further along in my Williamsburg garden, than any I saw around Richmond today.
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Today we could feel the gears clicking together a little roughly in this reluctant transition from winter to spring. Winter still has a very firm grip on the situation, and we’re feeling a bit rebellious. We’re ready to relax a little into a sunny day, sow some seeds, and maybe plant out a pot or two. Why fight the inevitable, especially now that we can see the trees are preparing to cooperate as their buds swell and color?
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Magnolia stellata
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My self-control was weak; and you couldn’t blame me. The jazzy blooming lilies and flamingo pink Hydrangeas nearly pushed me over the edge, and that was before we circled the orchid display at least three times.
Spring was in the air, if only inside the glass house packed with blooms. And of course I filled a little basket with fresh flower pots and a blooming Begonia, a few cute little ferns and a bag of summer bulbs. It was a small extravagance and did more to lift my mood than I care to admit.
The girls at the register were all smiles and happy talk as people streamed through with carts piled high. We all needed to take a piece of spring home with us, some little bright something to distract us from the day’s winter gloom, a living promise of brighter days just ahead.
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Woodland Gnome 2019
“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That myth is more potent than history.
That dreams are more powerful than facts.
That hope always triumphs over experience.
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love
is stronger than death.”
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Many thanks to the wonderful ‘Six on Saturday’ meme sponsored by The Propagator.
Forest Garden 
How nice that your daffodils are still going. I miss mine already. There were some that were planted this season, but they had been forgotten in a bag until it was too late to plant them. I would be pleased if they just survived this season, to bloom next year.
Thanks for the preview of the daffodils yet to come. Ours are just poking up and it will be a while before they bloom.
My pleasure , John . I hope you will be enjoying yours, soon.