Yesterday was a lovely, still, sunny day with a high temp of 39 degrees F. We’ve actually had seven sunny days out of eight, above freezing during the day but freezing at night. A lovely start to March! I headed out to photograph a broken part on a greenhouse vent latch, which we will need to replace and was surprised to see a bit of yellow. The first blooms of 2021, and as usual provided by “Cream Beauty” crocus, arriving on March 2nd. What a very welcome surprise! I’d walked around all the gardens daily since snowmelt, and the best I could find were a few crocus tips pushing through. The “most mature” seemed to be those at the south edge of the Deck Garden so that’s where I anticipated the first blooms, but they were outpaced by these in the Potager’s Exterior Border. I’m thrilled!
Excitedly, I hurried into the potager to look for chives. They are always one of the first “new greens” to appear, and there they were, looking a bit twisted and yellowed once I removed some dead foliage, but they will change radically in only a day or two. Moving on down the south interior border I spied more green.
Another reliable early riser, Lemon Balm was also showing fresh green leaves. They look large in the photo, but are actually about the size of my pinkie fingernail. I tasted a leaf, but there was very little flavor. A few more days of sunshine will change that. Seeing the lemon balm sent me searching for signs of life in the Mandarin Orange balm that I planted further down the border last spring. Did it survive its first winter?
A quick look at its neighbors was disappointing, but they will come. Across the path on the West Interior Border, the roses all had a tinge of green on their lower stems. These hollyhocks have definitely added some leaves since I saw them last.
Lots of nigella seedlings have popped through, and hundreds of chamomile babies cover the northern half of this border (lots of them will be coming out!) but there was no sign of rhubarb yet. That’s okay. I can be more patient now. There’s a new spring in my step, because Spring is definitely on the way!
herbalblessingsblog 
It is so nice starting to see everything growing again too!
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The first spring flowers are such a relief, a confirmation that indeed winter will eventually end!
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Oh yeah thank goodness for it! Looking forward to warmer days too
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Yay! At last!
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So exciting to see all the bits of green and first blooms! We’ve had several sunny days here too—such a welcome pleasure!
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It is amazing how much difference a bit of sunshine makes…to the plants and those who love them!
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What a great feeling! Spring is on the way! We did the same thing over last weekend. I didn’t realize that all of my bee balm and some of the hyssop would come back so soon and with so much vigor. Definitely exciting to see!
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Bee Balm is definitely a spreader, a member of the mint family. I checked my hyssop hedge, and it’s alive but not showing spring greening yet. Herbs are pretty resilient overall, except for those we’ve transplanted from warmer climates.
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I’ve been outside checking for things coming up too. Makes me feel so much better, physically and emotionally. Not a lot happening yet, tulips, daffodils, and a few mystery plants that I don’t know the names of!
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Mystery plants are always a fun project, but mine usually turn out to be weeds!
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That happens to me a lot, but I have a few thati have no idea where they came from! Blown seeds and squirrels are my best guess.
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Bird droppings and blown in are most common here.
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Yeah, but I have 3 bunches of tulips I’m convinced the squirrels planted. I didn’t, there’s never been a house here until ours. I probably have a neighbor wondering what happened to their tulios🤣
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Oh, definitely squirrels in that case. I have crocuses here and there in the lawn, and have never planted them any place but in the borders.
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I don’t know about yours, but my squirrels seem to be excellent landscapers. The spots they “planted” them in are perfect!
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Nothing coming up here yet, but we’re still mostly snow here. 🙂 Spring is coming!
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We are having very cold nights, but just the bit of sunshine helps immensely. I’m sure we’ll have another bout or two or three of winter, and maybe even more snow, but just a break has made such a difference in attitude and outlook.
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Lovely to see the ‘yellow’ appearing. Here we have a little mauve and yellow too, but progress is slowing after a few warmer days, the nights are still cold. Hoping to update my pages soon too! You give me hope and inspiration, thank you!
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Nights are well, well below freezing here, too so I’m being patient. Usually the blue dwarf Dutch iris reticulata are next to bloom here. I did see some new growth hellebore stalks yesterday about 2″ tall, so there’s progress. Best of luck!
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It is always so exciting to see the first plants of spring start poking up above the ground! I need to get out in the yard and see if anything’s up here, yet. I’ve never heard of orange balm, is it as invasive as lemon balm?
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They are similar, but Mandarin orange balm has grayer, slightly fuzzier leaves. I suppose it would be as invasive if one lets it flower & drop seed, but I don’t….
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This is one of the best parts of spring. Getting outside and taking a look to find those first beginnings of the years garden. We were doing the same thing last weekend and have started to see some of our plants coming in. Makes the excitement for getting out in the garden that much higher!
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I planted some “new to me” bulbs last autumn, so that makes this spring even more interesting. Glad you are seeing some growth. Happy Spring.
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It’s always such a thrill to see things coming back to life! I’ve got some bulb leaves popping up now, but no flowers yet. I know within a month this will look like a whole new world, I cant wait to get out into the garden this weekend! Spring always feels like such a miracle!
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Indeed, Spring IS a miracle!
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Beautiful! Spring is just around the corner in your neck of the woods. Cheers! 🌱
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A few more nice days, then rain for 3 or 4, then a return to winter, according to our forecast…(sigh!) spring will have to be postponed a bit, I’m afraid.
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I have bulbs up and the grass is growing….. spring is on the way 😁
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Positive signs are so uplifting, aren’t they?
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