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For the last week or two it has felt as if winter is ending, but spring is not quite here. This is a time of transition, and of hope inspired by the resurgence of nature. In fact, March 1st is the start of meteorological spring in the northern hemisphere, so technically, spring is here. (Unless you go by the astronomical definition, which says that spring starts at the Vernal Equinox, around March 20th.)
As far as our garden here is concerned, spring is just starting to show the first signs, but the cold of winter isn’t far behind us. There are still frosts on some mornings; enough to coat the grass but nothing as spectacular as the seed heads here. (These wild carrot seed heads were photographed back in January, when we had several days of heavy frost.) It may be tempting a chilly fate to say that winter is definitely over, but it feels like it is.
So winter appears to be gone…but spring isn’t entirely here. We’re at a threshold, where the season is neither one thing, nor yet the other. I think of it as ‘pre-spring’. It’s a short time when the approach of spring is eagerly looked for and plans made to welcome both new growth and new life.
Being poised on the brink of spring is an exciting time for me, and other gardeners too I’m sure. Everything starts to get busy now; the gardening year takes on a new urgency as we try to keep up with the rush of returning life that spring brings with it. And now it is time for this blog to put the frosty photographs away…I hope!🌱
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
So you plan to be a frost-free blog now. But as your kinsman said: “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men / Gang aft agley.” We’ll see.
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Hehe, Steve, the frosts aren’t over (we have several more forecast) but I think that I won’t post any more frosty pics until later this year…enough is enough!
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Reading your post reminds me that we’re now in meteorological autumn! The weather is certainly heading in that direction with heavy dews some mornings. Your honesty plant(s) provide great photo opportunities – how many honesty do you have?
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I hope that your autumn is warm and gentle and full of good colour. The honesty seeded itself here and just appears wherever it likes. (Though I sometimes move seedlings.) There are usually around 10 plants, but could be fewer this year because I’ve been working in the areas where they usually come up. I have sprinkled some of the seeds around, so maybe they’ll come up in new areas. (If they don’t, I might buy seed of the white variety, which would look pretty around our silver birch.)
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Honesty around the silver birch sounds magic!
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It’s true, isn’t it? There are times when we say “enough is enough,” even when there’s still plenty around! I had plans to show some other interesting plants from last year, but one day I got up and said, “Nope. It’s time to start looking forward.” Of course, it didn’t hurt that nature began cooperating shortly after that, producing a few spring blooms to get my juices flowing!
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I hope that nature is going to cooperate generously here…I don’t have a lot that’s due to flower any time soon, but there are more hellebores. 🙂
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I like the idea of pre-spring. I am very much a vernal equinox person, but I concede that the weather is very spring-like at the moment, though the shady side of my garden is still very cold. I have just moved some pots from that side into the sunnier one as they weren’t doing very much. Hoping the sunshine might encourage some life.
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It’s been a great day to get out and work in the garden here, with some decent warmth in the sun. That’s a good thing, because there are lots of weeds to deal with! (That may take me quite a while…)
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As lovely as your frosty flowers are, Ann, I hope for your sake that they will soon be replaced by new and verdant growth. Pre-spring is a hopeful time, but spring is even better. 😊
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We’ve had warm sunshine for the last few days and it’s starting to make everything feel springlike…so spring is very close! 🙂
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