It’s official! Spring made its debut at The Good Earth about two weeks ago with the yellow aconites and snow drops in full bloom in the garden. To further reinforce the arrival of my favourite time of year, lilac crocuses pepper the back lawn of my garden. I have no idea who planted these lovely harbingers of spring but they thrive and multiply year after year. As soon as the last of the snow melts and we get our first truly warm spring day, they emerge – first as a faint hint of colour and then as a sea of purple. Oh, how our bees rejoice!
My seed order has been placed with William Dam Seeds in Dundas. Normally, I treat myself to an outing to the store to browse through row upon row of tantalizing seed packets but life is far too busy this spring to get away. My annual “garden affair” has begun with my good friend Bob Hamersma. He has been to visit twice in the last two weeks to pace out the gardens at our winery. Yes, our project is almost finished and we are now in the final stretch – urging our good contractor Bolek to move along and…OUT! (I am afraid he has fallen in love with The Good Earth – who can blame him?!) There are lots of cedar rail fences to go in, sod to be laid, seed to be sown and all sorts of beautiful shrubs and flowers to be planted. I am happy to report that our five fearless Carolinian trees which we procured in the fall have all survived the winter! With any luck they will find a permanent home in our new garden in a few weeks time.
Today, I broke down and bought a flat of pansies at The Watering Can. I can never resist those smiling little “faces”! Not only are they a welcome splash of colour in our containers in front of the school and pantry shed, but they provide us with lovely edible garnishes for our plates. It may be still a tad early but I am willing to take the chance.
So, it’s official! Spring has arrived at The Good Earth and all of us, feline and canine included, couldn’t be happier!