Awakening of Spring
With the Daylight Savings switch-over, I'm seizing on every degree over 45 as an indicator of spring's arrival. A bit optimistic and definitely eager, I admit.
As my Oregon winters go, this one has seemed colder than the others. We've had a few snow flurries that were pretty and brief, and a bit of freezing that didn't do too much damage. But we've had lots of damp cold. And mostly, we've had bone-chilling wind. Living on top of a hill--which I cleared of much of the shielding close-in forest--has left me with no wind break. I've been pelted with relentless gusts much of the winter.
But enough weather whining!
The plants I ordered in the fall arrived the first week of March--so we're evidently just about past our last frost in zone 8b--or the nurseries wouldn't be shipping. Also, Costco has started getting in their bags of bulbs and early spring plants. (They have big healthy hellebores.) So we're getting close.
One significant difference between California and Oregon gardening is that much more goes dormant in the winter here. I've had to adjust to the 'annual' versus 'perennial' status of some plants that I always counted on to live through winter. But here, even those that live-over get battered by rain and turn to mush after a freeze. Since I'm a lover of perennials, the silhouettes of woody plants and my few evergreens are all I have to look at. I was never a fan of red-bark maples, but now I'm happy to see the red twigs of my dogwoods--the only color in my winter garden.
Since I did so much planting last year, I'm excited to see everything come back. My gardener says, "The first year they sleep; the second year they creep; the third year they leap." This is my second and third year for many plants, so I'm holding him to that!
Hydrangea & Peony coming back It's always a struggle to get in the mood to order bulbs in August. But I've found you have to if you want a good selection. I feel guilty watching my gardener plant them in October in the rain--but not so guilty that I get out there with him! But the rewards are absolutely worth it. I love scanning the beds for those first little green noses, sometimes even through the snow. And then the thrill of the buds popping open, announcing spring has arrived!
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