1. jstemwedel
  2. Spring starts springing.

Spring starts springing.

By jstemwedel on March 21, 2009.

As Friday was the first day of spring (for my hemisphere, anyway), I went out to the back yard to survey the local level of springiness.

I didn't make a quantitative measure of the spring constant, but qualitatively, things seem to be on their way.

The pink jasmine is starting to bloom:

i-e4f30d3d3dc1c6e6942accb85f87e973-PinkJasmine.jpg

Its fragrance won't be too intoxicating until the weather is warmer, which is fine -- we wouldn't want to be too intoxicated as we fight back the well-adapted weeds that took advantage of the rainy season to get a foothold.

Similarly, the wisteria is ready to explode:

i-45121112da6ff6c576e3dabf5b887ae3-Wisteria.jpg

More intoxicating fragrance (although strangely, it makes me nostalgic for the lilac that grew at the house I grew up in).

Another sign of spring is that a large number of the 200-odd bulbs I planted back in November are coming up:

i-1bc5df0d0d082791eab4b76f14ad960b-PlantedBulbs.jpg

So are the bulbs that I didn't plant:

i-b57765c527fc51773ede458d66f629bb-UnplantedBulbs.jpg

Most exciting to me is that our apricot tree is in bloom:

i-33c07aa5bfbf091a30bbc224d84b3f71-ApricotTree.jpg

OK, I understand that some of you got snow for your Vernal Equinox, which is discouraging. But spring will find you, too. We're just beta-testing it for you, making sure we get the bugs out (um, except the beneficial ones) so it will be fabulous when you get it.

Hang in there! It will be worth the wait.

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I love the planted bulbs! What are they?

I *think* the planted bulbs pictured here are anemones, but I'm not totally sure, since I didn't save the bags they came in. Basically, while at Costco last autumn, I bought an assortment of bulbs that would bloom early-Spring, then mid-Spring, then late-Spring, and whose picture on the packing looked pretty. (If I can't cook and eat them, the fine distinctions don't stick in my mind so well.)

*chuckle* Thanks, though. I never would have thought those big cheap bags of bulbs would actually grow so prettily! May I ask what planting zone you're in?

In terms of the climate zones in the Sunset Western Garden Book, I think we're about 16 ("Central and Northern California Coast Thermal Belts").

It's a good climate for gardening, that much is clear to me!