The Daffodils Are Up!

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This week, amid the detritus of last fall, my daffodils finally began to bloom. This is a photograph of the first flowers to grace my garden. What is anomalous is the fact that these spring daffodils are in simultaneous bloom with the winter crocuses featured in my last post. These flowers are not usually seen together, at least not in my garden. The usual pattern is crocuses bloom, then wilt before any of the spring flowers are up. This unusual concurrent bloom is just another indicator of the energetic shift that is taking place this year.

Regardless of the reason, I am enjoying the floral show immensely and am looking forward for the rest of my flowers to erupt. I probably have close to two hundred daffodils in my garden (thanks to prolific propagation on their part) and only about a dozen have bloomed, so I'm in for one heck of a show in the next couple of weeks. In addition, my tulips have shown their leaves, as have the irises, the rudbeckia, the sedum, the Stella D'Oro daylilies and the hostas. The hydrangeas are beginning to bud and all manner of mystery growth is taking place. No matter how many times I see them grow and bloom, I am always amazed and delighted at the wonders my garden offers me. Here's to the beginning of another year of earthly pleasures.

Ballo ergo sum,
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Spring Finally Arrives

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Exactly three weeks ago today we New Yorkers were given a parting shot from Mother Nature in the form of a major snowstorm. There was snow and ice aplenty but fortunately it didn't last very long. By the end of the week we were again enjoying unseasonably warmish temperatures. It was quite odd to be standing in front of my house in a t-shirt having a conversation about the relative heat when all around me were the final vestiges of snow that remained. This inconsistent see-saw weather, warm one day, cool or cold the next, is being reflected in my garden. As I mentioned in my last post, my daffodils and tulips were beginning to show their tops early while my crocuses were nowhere to be seen. Apparently I'm not the only one noticing the delayed crocus bloom because I just read a post on another blog that reported the same thing.

Back in the fall, I reported in my personal blog, Gitana's Corner, how fall seemed to begin early then paused in order to allow summer to tend to unfinished business in the form of late blooming crops. (Click here to read that post.) Well, it appears that same energetic shift is repeating itself with winter and spring. Spring appears to be ready to burst forth in the form of tulips and daffodils but it has slowed its pace, allowing the crocuses to sprout and bloom first. Last weekend I was delighted to be greeted in my front garden by the first of my tiny crocuses. Like last summer's crops, the crocus bloom was not as abundant as in past years but if this seasonal transition emulates the last one, spring should be bountiful.

The energetic shift I am observing in my garden also seems to emulate that of society at large. People are anxious to get on with life as usual in a hurry but our current economic downturn is holding things at bay, allowing changes that are being made at the governmental level an opportunity to take hold and have an effect. Everyone wants things to change right away. The universe is taking it's time.

Here's a thought...wouldn't it be wonderful if human nature took a cue from Mother Nature and slowed down, allowing things to unfold in their own good time instead of being in such a rush? Something to think about.

Ballo ergo sum,
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Nature's Sucker Punch

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Last fall, I posted an entry on my main blog, Gitana's Corner, that discusses that contradictory energy I encountered in my garden last year. (You can read more about it here.) Well, it would seem that Mother Nature is not yet done with her temporal shenanigans.

Here in New York, we enjoyed temperatures in the low 50's for much of last week, inspiring me to begin pulling back the mulch on a section of my front garden. I was delighted to see so much new growth poking up through the ground. What surprised me was that I saw what appeared to be nascent daffodils and tulips, flowers I did not expect to see for a few more weeks. The tiny crocuses that I normally see at this time of year were not apparent. (To be honest, I didn't remove the mulch in their part of the garden yet. Perhaps they are there waiting for me to "pull back the sheets", so to speak.) At any rate I convinced myself that winter was over and spring would be early, in spite of the inner voice that told me otherwise, so I resolved to return to the garden over the weekend to complete the mulch removal. The siren song of my garden was calling and I was anxious to respond.

How foolish of me to second guess Mother Nature. She showed us all her capricious side by dumping a snowstorm on the NY metropolitan area on Sunday night, so much so that the city's schools were closed on Monday. There was nearly a foot of snow piled on my garden. As the ice melted and refroze, it created huge icicles around my house. (Take a look at the stalagtites hanging from my air conditioner.) Fortunately I had not gotten around to removing any more of the mulch so most of my garden was still under a protective layer of leaves. This was a valuable lesson for me. It taught me once again not to ignore that little voice that speaks to me from within. It always speaks the truth and to ignore it is to risk regretting your actions. I can only hope that my nascent flowers will weather this storm well and live to bloom another day.

Ballo ergo sum,
- Gitana, the Creative Diva