Spring's First Bloom

Spring has brought her first bloom to my garden. A tiny crocus, purple and fresh, it is in stark contrast to the brown, wintry leaves around it. It’s a brave little flower, undaunted by the rainy, cold, miserable day and unafraid of the weather that lies ahead. It’s Spring’s first attempt to bid farewell to Winter.

Move along, Winter, Spring wants to take center stage in the garden!

But Winter will not leave readily or quickly just because Spring wants to arrive. Winter shows its might and throws down sleet and snow and ice in Spring’s path. And if Spring tries to arrive too quickly, Winter will blow its fierce cold winds and frost the buds that Spring has coaxed into opening.

It’s a battle that takes place every year in the garden, this transition from Winter to Spring.

It seems easy, somehow, to transition from Spring to Summer, Summer to Fall, even Fall to Winter. But Winter to Spring? It takes bravery and patience. It is never easy.

But in time, Spring will win this battle. Her first crocus is merely a beginning. Soon she will vanquish the Winter and celebrate her victory with more crocuses and daffodils and tulips under canopies of magnolia, forysythia and lilac blooms.

And I, the gardener, can merely sit and watch. I can’t make Winter move on any faster. I can only cheer Spring on, delighting in each new bloom she brings with her to my garden.

So let the battle begin. May Dreams Gardens, and the gardener, are ready.