The small irises and crocuses continue to bloom, filling in the gaps and now carpeting the new front landscaping bed. Soon enough the greenery will be up and this bed will pass into its summer garb of textured greens, but for now, when the rest of the world remains brown, the lilacs and purples are a constant source of joy.
Even though I have been gardening and planting for a long time, and you would think that I would take the return of the plants for granted, each year, when new shoots arrive and the treasures planted the previous season return to greet the world, my heart does a little dance of joy.
Now the hellebores, whose green leaves braved the onslaught of winter, looking perhaps a little tired after the months of snow have perked up, put out new leaves and are bursting into bloom. These are my first hellebores and I am thrilled to see them, battle scarred though the leaves may be, especially since I am planning to plant more. The light ones, "green heron" are the first to bloom, but I see deep purple buds proliferating on their darker cousins, helleborus hybridus "onyx odyssey" as well.
I did not get as far with the bulb planting as I had hoped last year, so there are no fields of flowers, but this small front yard is really all that is necessary, warm and welcoming and filled with joy.
