Spring is just around the corner....

I was supposed to play in a band concert today. It was postponed because of the snow. Snow is still continuing to blanket everything in white while I sit inside dreaming of spring. You see, besides being a band nerd, I am also a garden nerd. We garden nerds wait all winter for the first sign of spring  and then spring ( pardon the pun) into action as early and  often as we can.

Yesterday, I took the lawn mower into the shop to get serviced. I know it was only March 8th but we like to beat the rush here at 4705. The guys at the  lawn mower shop probably take bets or have an office pool to see who can guess the exact date we show up with  the mower.  Taking your lawn mower in to be serviced early is not only good planning, but I think it helps spring to get here sooner. You skeptics out there should try it.

Also on the list of things to do yesterday was to haul out most of our patio furniture just in case an early 70 degree day might come along in mid-March. Heck, it can sit out on the deck and patio just as easy as it sits in the basement. Besides, the  early putting out of patio furniture, combined with the early servicing of one's lawn mower, increases the odds that spring will arrive sooner.  Again,  try it yourself and see.

Pots of bulbs who want sunshine.

And if that wasn't enough, I was also planning on hauling the 20 pots planted with spring bulbs from the garage put  to our deck. Every December, I plant  pots with tulips, daffodils, crocus and grape hyacinth and leave them in the garage to cook, I mean cool. By the first of March, they are crying to get out into the sunshine and spring  to life, gracing our deck with a splash of spring color. But alas, they too are still in the garage, not because of the snow, but because the temperature is supposed to drop into the teens tonight.

Waiting for Spring

Yesterday, when it was about 50 degrees outside, I did manage to tear down 5 trash cans full of  Sweet Autumn vine that covers our fence. It's one of the tasks on my spring clean-up list.  The 5 cans will go out on the curb this Wednesday for the garbage guys to haul away. I put out  3 cans of garden waste last week after I just had to go out and start cleaning up the flower garden. You see, putting out your yard waste early also helps spring get here sooner. I can hear the garbage guys muttering under their breath wondering what would possess someone to put out garden waste on March 3rd.

To top it off,  we were planning on cooking steaks on the grill for supper tonight, in celebration of the first night of daylight savings time. That too, my friends, has been postponed due to the snow. Dinner will be prepared and consumed indoors where it is warm. At least I will be able to snow blow the driveway after dinner while it is still light outside.

No, this is not an illegal plant.

All was not lost however. I got my seeds started and put under the grow lights in the basement as I am custom to doing this time every year. Zinnias, salvia, rudbeckia, coleus and sweet pea vine that will be transplanted mid-May if all goes to plan.

Spring will get here soon enough, this I have learned. Being a gardener teaches you that Mother Nature runs on her own time.  And on her own terms. Like so  many things in life, the more you try to control it, the less control you realize you have. Mother Nature wins this round. She is undefeated. I keep trying to out wit her. But to no avail.

In the meantime, the lawn mower should be ready by weeks end and the forecast for next Friday shows 60 degrees. Spring is just around the corner.