Signs of spring begin to bloom

By Juergen Hansen - Penticton Western News - March 23, 2008

In one of the earlier garden columns, I tried to tell you all about the “Vorfruehling,” the pre-spring that is heralded by

The promise of unlimited possibilities and of realizing a new dream are the essence of Easter.

As you may know already, this year Easter falls on the earliest date ever for those of us under 95 years of age.

So let’s start, in a non-competitive mindful way, with the annual spring flower count.

Locally,

To the delight of forgetful gardening planners among us, all snowdrops can be transplanted right now, which saves you the bother of having to mark their location if you want to transplant them in summer when they are dormant. Just make sure that you don’t let their roots dry up while you transplant them.

All snowdrops love some compost in the soil. They also tolerate summer shade from trees and shrubs, since most of their growing takes place while broadleaf plants have not yet budded out and while the ground still holds a lot of winter moisture.

A large golden variety is always the first one to bloom. By now, it has been followed by a white and a blue variety.

All of them have been thriving and multiplying for years in a wind-protected spot on a slight southern slope.

In fact, I suspect that the golden ones have spread by seed into his lawn and into some other corners.

This also happened in our own garden with snow drops.

Similarly, two Korean forsythias have started to open their buds, just in time for Easter; the common forsythia varieties and species will be closely behind and are ready for forcing right now.

But the most spectacular shrub or small tree of them all is the Chinese Prunus davidiana, David’s peach to some, and sometimes (falsely) called P. davidii.

“It grows wild in my garden; probably from seed,” she commented.

Timely topics

_ Reminder: birches, grapes and walnuts will bleed if you prune them now.

_ Spring is the promise of perennial possibility. It’s the serenity in knowing that at the end of any dark tunnel is an opening to a whole new beginning. It’s the knowledge that even amid the greatest adversity, you can realize the dream.

_ In this season of sunrise, remember you have the power to regenerate, too. Nothing can bind your soul. Awaken that part of you which has been separated or sleeping, and reveal the beauty hidden in your heart. Now is the time. Now is the season. Arise!

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Signs of spring begin to bloom

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