May Flowers

Spring in Maine is lovely. We have beautiful, long, snowy winters, and after five months of wool sweaters and chunky snow boots, a person starts to get antsy -- Spring Fever hits! The moment that we have a day somewhere above 40' out comes the gardening gear. Juan and I take a walk around our little house, and check out the damage. We make a mental list of what we need to pick up at our local gardening shop, and plan our attack. Weeds will need to be pulled. Fresh mulch goes down. We patch any breaks in the fences, and tidy the stone borders. The brick path is neatened, and we will probably have to paint the porch. Salt and wet snow takes its toll. Flower boxes are hauled out of the garage, and every year, for Mother's Day, Juan plants pretty annuals. It's a routine that I look forward to, despite the back ache. There is something therapeutic about it.

Then come the flowers.  First the Grape Hyancinths, followed by Lily of the Valley, Lilacs, and Forget-Me-Nots. The Bluebells, Ferns, Oriental Poppy, Yarrow, Day Lily, Lupine, Irises, Hostas, Ajuga, Lungwort, Lavendar, Salvia, and Columbine will follow shortly. By summer, we will have Honeysuckle, Bittersweet, Foxglove, Sedum, Roses, Easter Lily, Phlox, Hydrangea, Peonie, Lamb's Ear, Echinacea, Dianthus, Clemantis, Snow On The Mountain, Meadowsweet... well our little garden will bloom.  Every year is a surprise.  Some years we have a riot of color, and other years we mourn the flowers that didn't make it, for some reason. We do the same things every year, but sometimes, flowers just don't show up at their appointed times. Last year, the Hollyhocks disappeared. Gone. We will see what this year brings. You can just never tell with flowers.

I suppose, I could make the connections for you between flower beds and life, but no need. Anyone who has lived through a few winters, knows that Spring, when it comes, and it will come, is a time for hard work, getting things back on track for growth, celebrating the return of familiar beauty, looking for unexpected, new surprises, and letting go of what did not survive Winter's storms. It's a familiar routine. Bring on the flowers!