In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours — Mark Twain, American writer and humorist (1835-1910)
Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush — Doug Larsen, American politician and businessman (1976-2023)
The yellow and black swallowtail butterflies have arrived. They are so beautiful, flitting from tree to tree for a moment’s stop greeting new leaves before they wander off. As the trees pop out with fresh green leaves, flowers began to emerge from last year’s planting. A bag or two of potting soil was added to the flowerbeds just to give a bit of a start for the new season. Purple verbena was our first to come to life in the flowerbed. The lantana dried up like sticks at first sight. Then came tiny bits of green. We can only hope they will return with fresh soil, fertilizer, and rain.
Some spaces looked empty, so adding a few garden varieties such as vinca, salvia, marigold, Impatiens, nothing too fancy filled in the flowerbeds. In the past few weeks, we’ve had beautiful sunny days only to be followed by howling winds and falling temperatures. Spring can be so unreliable.
Last year a gardening friend sent pictures of his “knock out roses.” They were stunning. My knock out roses were not knocking me out. The friend asked if I had added fertilizer for roses. I had not. This spring with the adding of fertilizer the roses are beautiful and abundant. They are trailing over the garden arbor. As the temperatures reached the 70’s I moved all the plants from the greenhouse into the perennial garden. A week or so later temperatures dropped below 40 degrees. I took a chance hoping they would survive one night, and they did so. The following day more garden flowers were sown into flowerbeds and also in a few flowerpots for the porches.
While I planted a few hummingbirds visited the two hummingbird feeders. I had put out a couple then added more hoping to entice them further. The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common in our area. As the bird sipped nectar at the feeder the sun shone on his iridescent emerald green back. Then off he went.
Wilhelmina and I decided after our planting we’d sit on the front porch and enjoy the view. A different hummingbird arrived. This hummingbird had a white collar around its neck, known as the black-chinned hummingbird which occasionally can be found in Mississippi. On another note, we were inundated with June bugs arriving in April. They came in droves attaching to the cedar siding and outdoor lighting. We accidentally discovered a safe way of eliminating the beetle bugs. June bugs were attracted to Wilhelmina’s cat litter where they were desiccated only to have a new bunch join us during a brief spring rain with lightning and pea size hail. Along with June bugs, hummingbirds, hail and thunderstorms are most common during the spring season. By morning the earth had been washed. June bugs were gone; flowers flourished.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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