Hyacinth in Our Garden on Gabriola Island

In our garden the muscari bloom.  Small patches of deep violet blue.  I love the clusters of flowers, like grapes, hence the common name, grape hyacinth.  Described as an early blooming bulbous perennial with over 40 species of plants in the genus Muscari.  They are easy to grow in well drained soil and will naturalize so be careful only to plant them in an area that you want them.  An added bonus is the fragrance they have. 

Spring

While other parts of the country are still firmly entrenched in winter, we are seeing signs of spring on Gabriola.

I love this time of the year with the sun’s warm energy.  I sit in our garden absorbing the warm rays of sun.  I find myself in nature, watching our plants and flowers grow.  Every day I see new things.  Today the camellias are blooming.  This is a way of opening my-self to new inspiration.  My expression of this lately has been through photography, painting and writing. 

I get so much joy from seeing the flowers appear again.  The colors and shapes of them are amazing.  Each flower is lifting their head up to the sun just like me.  The area on the edge of the lawn where I planted all kinds of bulbs is turning out beautiful.  It is an early pop of color to spring.  Jake loves to lay beside the Buddha here. 

I sit back in the Adirondack chair and soak up the sunshine for a few minutes, too.  I find myself outside every day holding onto the beauty of this time of the year that gives me the inspiration to believe in life.  Fueled by the heat and light from the sun I can now go inside and paint.

Continuous Rain

Rain forecast for everyday for the next two weeks.  So what else is new.  We've had a wet winter and I am ready for spring.

Perhaps I can still get back out into the garden in between the showers and downpours.  Spring means rain one minute, sun the next.

Oh, what is this shining?  I close my eyes and feel the warmth on my face.  I turn my head up towards the sun and smile.  Sunshine!  Jake loves it, too.

Spring on Gabriola Island

Rumors of spring are abounding.  In the meantime I continue my daily tour of our garden to see what is new.  Although it's a cool day today, I am out in our yard looking to see what is starting to bloom and grow.  There are new leaves on the hydrangeas, there are tiny buds of new leaves forming on the minature maple trees and there are huge fat buds on the camellias.  All waiting for the next couple of days of bright sunlight to pop them open. 

There are the first blossoms of the hellebore, the first tulips, crocuses, grape hyacinths and daffodils.

Oh, I now realize that I am hearing the songbirds again.  Once I hear them again I realize that I have missed them so very much this winter.  Spring is definitely in the air.

There are also snowdrops and small clumps of daffodils growing wild in the ditches now.