Signs of Spring

The first signs of spring are the crocus, at least that's what I always heard. While we were at our ranch sorting and closing things down for the last time I noticed crocus blooming in the small garden beneath the hot tub window. This is a photograph of crocus taken by Barb Bellin.

On the ranch, the first signs of spring were yellow bells with a sweet fragrance. Once I picked one and put it in my dad's shirt pocket. While we worked on "gopher patrol" every now and then he'd comment on a sweet smell wondering where it came from. I got to surprise him with the perfumed poesy in his pocket.
Bird Beaks were the real sign of spring on the ranch. This photograph popped up while I was seeking another. The hillsides would be covered with the purple and yellow blooms and I'd be encouraged that the snows of winter were at last behind us. Always the promise of spring appearing in the flowers. I'm so grateful.

What flowers bring you a memory or two?

Oh, and my Hulda Klager lilacs are budding out! Won't be long and I hope to be inhaling the memory of the lilac gardens and Hulda Klager's passion for her blooms. Here's to gardeners everywhere: spring is near....Jane

Comments

Carol Garvin said…
Around here the snowdrops are one of the earliest to bloom, but I begin to believe in springtime when the peony buds break the ground.

When it comes to memories, sweet peas were my mother's favourite, and lilacs my grandmother's, so both evoke memories of childhood days in their gardens. I have three different lilac bushes in my rural gardens but I've never been able to grow sweet peas successfully here until last summer. I tried planting a knee-high variety in a planter, used a plastic bag over it as a temporary greenhouse, and finally met with success. I was jubilant! :)

Happy springtime, Jane.
Connie R. said…
I didn't know you actually had lilacs from Hulda! Awesome!!! Spring always reminds me of my mom and dad going to old abandoned cellarholes on dirt roads where they remembered old lilac trees that still bloomed. In lean years this is what we picked for cemetary vases on Memorial Day. Then there's the first lily of the valley of the year that my mom always loved to see. I actually look for as many of the "firsts" as I can...what's the first flower to bloom on the block where I live, where did I see the first rhodedendron, apple blossom, forsythia....and I ALWAYS need a pot of pansies on my doorstep.....in fact I need to buy them pretty soon!
Jane said…
A good cause to be jubilant, Carol. I love the image of those sweet peas! so what do snowdrops look like? Must be pretty.
Jane said…
Ah pansies, yes, they never stop speaking to me, often weathering the snows and showing up first (because they never left!). I do have three Hulda lilacs. Pretty special. I love your images of abandoned cellarholes on dirt roads. That's what my folks did too on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Your words evoked images of my grandmother's farm in Wisconsin and all that's left are the lilacs. Keep seeking those firsts! Jane
Carol Garvin said…
Snowdrops are tiny, pure white, nodding bell-shaped blooms that grow from bulbs in the spring garden. They arrive early and survive chilly temperatures and late snowfalls. I have a photo of some of ours on my Flickr page: http://flic.kr/p/9gSs95
Anonymous said…
My favorite flower story is one spring in my childhood, perhaps 4 or 5, my dad was planting pansies. He proceeded to tell me that if I looked really hard I could see a face in each blossom, and he was right! To this day, I look for faces in all my pansies! And I didn't know you had lilacs from Hulda Klager's either. That is awesome!