Welcome Friends

Ah, one of my two favorite times of year! The green shoots of dormant perennials are bursting through winter's gray mantel in greater and greater numbers. Just this morning I saw the first yellow blossoms on those tiny wood's violets that hide under the twigs and leaves until spring. The serviceberry trees (pronounced locally as "saarvacebury") are now in their full glory, appearing throughout the woods as ghostly white harbingers of tree leaves soon to appear. And, to my surprise, the first bloom of the bleeding hearts (dicentra) has arrived to begin this species long-running show.


Even though the reappearance of perennials are expected each spring, their resurrection always comes with a hint of both surprise and relief. Indeed, it's always a great feeling to meet anew old friends you haven't seen since fall, my other favorite time of year.