After a very busy winter growing roses at Suffield High School’s greenhouse for the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show, which officially wrapped up on February 26, we’ve been happily awaiting the beginning of March. Where we live in north-central Connecticut, the bulk of our winter was much warmer than usual. We saw a little bit of snow in December but most of our precipitation this winter season was in the form of rain. I, for one, appreciate a really good snowstorm, but then, I don’t have to venture out into it anymore.

Still, it seems so strange that winter has changed so much. When I was growing up, we had huge snow events! We used to carve igloos into the snowbanks that the plows piled up! We wore rubber boots and snow pants and would slide down hills on our lunch boxes. It was cold out because it was supposed to be! This January, however, we had some days in the mid-60’s. As a matter of fact, January was 10 degrees warmer than normal. Some people were thrilled with that, but all I could think of was the upcoming summer. I sure hope July doesn’t wind up being 110 degrees!

Seasonal Confusion…Where Is Winter?

Early March brought snowdrops and crocus, and daffodils stretching up. The buds on the lilacs are swelling, the forsythia is starting to wake up, and there are buds on the hellebores. Signs of life are beginning to show, and guess what? Now the snow has arrived! We’ve had three or four plowable snow events in the last ten days, and today has been a day-long snow event for us here at home. The nice thing about snow in March is that the days are so much longer and the sun is so much stronger that the white stuff won’t last long. Spring is right around the corner and it is time to get ready for the garden!

Stretch!

I don’t know about you, but I appreciate my winters while my roses are sleeping! Bob and I read a lot of books and enjoy a hot fire in the stove almost every evening. We love our time in the parlor while the wind is whipping outside. Winter for us is a rather sedentary time, so now is the time to start stretching out our muscles before it’s time to jump into the yard and garden. You can start your stretching program before you get up in the morning.

Bed is a great place to do some knee-chest pulls to work your lower back muscles. Alternating leg lifts work well on the mattress, too. When you arise, some toe touching followed by stretching your arms over your head will feel good. All of these little exercises will only take a few minutes, but they will help your body to warm up and wake up for spring. Go for a walk on a nice morning, or on your lunch hour. In a couple of weeks when spring clean-up begins in the garden, you’ll be glad you did a little prep work for your own body.

March Roars Tonight!

Today’s snow is supposed to continue through tonight with 50 mile per hour winds! I suppose the moral of the story is that winter weather always finds us eventually and for us this year, it’s been crammed into these two weeks. But, while I’m listening to the blizzard howl tonight, I’ll be dreaming about waking up the garden. It’s almost time!