I walked outside this afternoon, and looked around, and I thought, “I’m not sure how much longer I can stand this.”
This hill is brown. Well, there IS a little gray mixed in.
And yet, on closer examination, there WAS green in my garden. Actually, there was quite a bit of green!
Green daffodils, with white petals and pink trumpets to-come.
The green fringed leaves of yarrow, and the pink blossoms will come later.
Green leaves of Montauk daisies, and I remind myself that white petals with yellow eyes will follow.
Green fuzzy leaves have me California-dreamin' of vibrant orange petals with black throats.
Gray/green lambs ears leaves now, with their after-thought purple blossoms waiting for the season to mature.
The green sedum will frame rosy red petals in September.
But the green green green was NOT doing it for me! I turned to my Muse: Gertrude Jekyll. This woman was an artist with paint, wood, metal, and plants. Here is the book I referenced, filled with photos of her beautiful gardens. The gardens were renowned for their color, and the photographs she took were…ironically…black & white:
But I took heart after just reading the words “pink,” “blue,” “red,” and “cream.” I took another, closer look into my garden, and said the same thing I say every spring: “Thank God for little crocuses.”
And…
And…
And ending on a delicate note:
The daffodils, in all their yellow and white/pink glory, will arrive in a few weeks. I think I will make it, thanks to the crocuses in the garden, and Gertrude Jekyll’s words in my hands.
WORDS FROM OTHERS
“The groundwork of foliage was gray at either end to deeper greens in the middle to complement the flower colors, which were carefully gradated from pale pinks, blues, yellows, and creams at the ends, to deeper tones of yellows, pinks, and blues, to an intense center of oranges and reds.”
— from “Gertrude Jekyll: A Vision of Garden and Wood,” by Judith B. Tankard and Michael R. Van Valkenburgh, (c) 1989; describing Jekyll’s 200-foot-long flower border in her garden at Munstead Wood
Great post lady. Forgot the vinca though!
It’s amazing what the early signs of spring can do – the way that color can energize. This is one of the best times of the year, if you live in a region where seasons change. (It’s harder to appreciate in California, but you still can!) Another great thing about living in a place where seasons change? When the weather starts getting warm and those first hints of green start to appear, you feel like you’ve earned it. Happy spring!
We’re on the same wavelength, Kate! I swear, when I was looking at my daffodil buds this morning, I thought, “Those blooms will be my reward for waiting all winter!” I do feel like I’ve earned it. Happy spring to you, too!