Every spring I have a (mostly) silent conversation with my flower beds by the house. They lie near large red oak trees and in autumn the leaves gently fall and cover the beds.; keeping the plants and bulbs warm under the winter snow and ice. Decomposing leaves are good for the soil as they keep the moisture in the soil, and the weeds at bay, so I keep some of the leaves in the beds. The daffodils, however, have other ideas, they want to be free of the leaf cover. As they poke several inches above the leaves, this morning they called me out to uncover them. There is still a bit of snow in front of the garden shed but I pulled out a rake, and the wheelbarrow and gently uncovered the beds.
Iris sprigs are only an inch above the ground, tulips are peeking out, fragile blue scilla, hollyhock leaves at the very edge. No sign of the hostas, they are waiting for warmer soil and spring rains. The daffodils will bloom by Steven's birthday, some of them perhaps earlier. The soil is cold, it isn't time to begin planting....although I have located by gladiola bulbs and have garden seeds and can't wait to begin digging in the dirt!
