Spring Equinox

I don't think I'm alone in the Northwest in feeling a transformation when the sun comes out for a few days and teases us with spring.  The plants are fooled too.  It's amazing what a couple warm (70s) days can do for the awakening of leaves and buds.

A few trees are already in full bloom--stealing the glory--since everything around them is still half asleep.  Magnolias and flowering fruit trees make a show.

And if you're one of those who plan for your spring garden in the fall, you've planted bulbs.  They always amaze and delight as the harbingers of spring.

Hellebores are trusty Dec-Jan-Feb arrivals and are at times the only plants that look alive in my garden. The variety of muted and dusty shades--from almost black to white--are a welcome sight in the gloom of Oregon winters.

But whites (with blues for contrast) are my favorites.  Bleeding Hearts, Camellias and Vinca are a few.

With the change to daylight savings and the official first day of spring, I feel energized and encouraged from those few days of sunshine.  I wander around the garden to see what holes need filling.  Despite the fact that we have at least two more months of rain, and it's way too early to plant tomatoes and such, I laze over plant catalogs and head out to nurseries.  Nature has its way of inspiring and motivating garden lovers--reviving us after our winter hibernation.