We get rain here. A lot. And frequently. It is rarely torrential, thankfully, but it leaves us feeling soggy a good bit. Because our rain exists as a “state of being” for months at a time, rainbows are fairly uncommon most times of the year. When they do show up, they can be hard to see behind the trees and the hills.

Gold, on the other hand, is abundant this time of year. We have red-gold catkins on the alders, lingering tawny gold grasses from last year’s autumn, a greenish-gold hint of color on the ends of the maples and willows, and wherever humans have settled, mounds of yellow-gold that cascades across lawns and hills.

It’s daffodil season!

A quick run through the garden on Friday yielded an abundance of colorful – and golden – opportunities to see the season changing in the moment.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, another gallery of “what’s in the garden” this weekend.

The end of the blooming season for the witch hazel means delicate waxy, burgundy-colored cups at the ends of the flowering twigs. They catch the rain and glisten when the sun peeks through.

Photo Mar 15, 5 06 21 PM

When the boys were little, Matthew planted ALL of the daffodil bulbs his grandmother gave him in one small area in the orchard. Now, the wisdom of his enthusiasm is apparent. It’s my favorite side trip on my walks in the yard this time of year.

Photo Mar 15, 5 05 00 PM

Daffodils are favorite snack food for slugs. After I saw the buds on the clumps nibbled, I put out more slug bait…

Photo Mar 15, 5 05 30 PM

When these twenty-or-more buds open, the hillside will seem to explode with color!

Photo Mar 15, 5 05 13 PM

Grant, on the other hand, planted his in carefully-planned locations around the rest of the yard. Here are two lovely, frilly blooms under the plum tree.

two frilly daffodils in the lawn

The thorny rugosa sticks (they can hardly be called branches when they are so barren) are beginning to green up again.

rosa rugosa with green leaves

And what is commonly called “coltsfoot” by some, and “butterbur” by others, this rhizome creeps through the lawn, and spreads quickly. We see large stands of it on our drive along the roads locally, but ours is the only yard nearby where it remains in somewhat of a natural state (that I have noticed). At this point, we simply try to keep it contained to the elderberry groves.

under the ferns and the elderberries, petasites palmatum (butterbur) appears again

And yes, Spring is almost upon us. A final pic, of the visitor that wandered indoors and heralds many lovely veggies, jams and desserts in the months to come!

Photo Mar 16, 4 12 37 PM


One Interaction on “Rainbows and pots of gold

  1. Today we had snow, rain, hail, sunshine, and a lovely sunrise. It’s cold now in late afternoon and I’m glad I saw the daffodils up by the snowball and lilac bushes. Thank you for the virtual walk around your yard.

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