Blooms, bees, and sunshine

I love Spring. Watching the plants begin to emerge from their winter hibernation. Looking to see, every day, if my tulips and lilies have started to break through the ground. It goes so quickly after that initial appearance, almost like every day you can see new growth, more sprouts, taller stalks. I love the cheerfulness of my pansies and the immense reward of planting them in October but seeing them really reach their potential in March, April, and May. I enjoy this awakening of new life after the long pause of the winter months.


I miss Bartow, sometimes. Mostly, I just miss living near my parents. But, I would find it incredibly difficult to return to Florida and lose this changing of the seasons. Florida, of course, does have seasons, though most people like to say that it doesn't. It gets cold in the winter there, and Spring does have new blooms, but it is not the same as further north. Up here, I love the leaves changing in the Fall, and snow in the winter, and of course, the bursting forth of life in the Spring. One thing I adore about Florida? Orange blossoms. They smell like home, and my childhood, and create in me this incredible sensory memory of family, friends, grandma, and just home.

Soon I'll start my annual Spring planting. Replacing the pansies that will die off in May with petunias or begonias or snapdragons. I'll watch Delia get the most exercise she does all year as she chases the huge bumblebees that swarm my flower beds. Then I'll plant my vegetable garden-- the one I've planted and neglected the last two summers but I am committed to this year. (I promise!). I'm hoping to try my hand at composting if I can get Daniel to buy me a composter... I'll start planting my container plants for our back deck, and some herbs to use in the summer-- basil, rosemary, thyme. All these things make me happy.


God bless the Spring.