By Jackie Sledge
Big Country Master Gardener Association
I always get excited about the changing seasons. I look forward to summer with warm to hot temperatures, warm nights, warm water in lakes, ponds, and pools. I love the fall with cooler temperatures, especially if we have had extremely hot summer days with temperatures well over 100 degrees for days and days. I enjoy watching the leaves on our trees change from green to beautiful yellow, orange, and red, but I must enjoy that quickly before the fall winds blow the leaves off our trees into nearby yards. I love winter with cold weather, fire in the fireplace, warm blankets, and yummy soup. Last, but certainly not least, I love spring with warmer weather to allow outdoor activities again when I can enjoy the many signs of new life all around me.
Is spring here? Let’s look at some of the signs of spring:
• The first day of spring is the vernal equinox, and the exact date can vary between March 19, 20, and 21. Vernal is Latin for spring, and equinox is Latin for equal night so daylight and nighttime become more equal in length.
• The days last longer and are warmer. Benjamin Franklin proposed daylight savings time in 1784, but it didn’t startuntil after World War II. (Arizona and Hawaii do not follow daylight savings time.) Since our time changed earlier this month, we have daylight until almost 8:00 so we can be outside longer. The temperature lows have been in the 40s and 50s and the highs in the 60s, 70s, and even the 80s!
• We see more birds and hear them singing and chirping. I always enjoy sitting on the back porch watching the birdsflying around or sitting in trees. Last week I saw a robin hopping in one of our mulched flower beds, and I thought how many old timers say robins and scissortails arrive in our area when spring is here. Another old wives’ tale is that robins are the harbingers of spring, announcing the arrival of the new season. A fun fact is that baby birds are born with the ability to sing, but they learn their specific songs during the spring when many birds are out chirping and singing.
• Animals that hibernate during the cold months are starting to venture out again. Fortunately, we don’t have bears here, but I’m seeing more critters such as racoons, foxes, and opossums. I do know from experience that the snakes will be out again since they are particularly fond of warm weather.
• Plants are budding and blooming, and we can see that all around town. Some of the flowers that signify spring are daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, primroses, and lilacs. Bluebonnets are growing and can be seen blooming in yards and along the roadside. I have been working in the yard and have really enjoyed the white salvias, red salvias, blue and white irises, burgundy irises, purple trailing vinca, Pam’s pink honeysuckle, and yellow Lady Banks roses. Right now, landscapes are covered with lovely purple flowers, but unfortunately, they are henbit weeds! The only good thing about henbit is that it is a nectar and pollen plant for pollinators, especially bees, early in the year before the other flowers are blooming.
• Shrubs and trees are beginning to bud, and some already have leaves. I’m seeing tiny leaves on my red oaks, crape myrtles, vitex, and desert willows, and I can’t wait for the flowering trees to start blooming. The holly shrubs in my yard are covered with bees, and they don’t seem to pay any attention to me when I walk by them.
• The sounds of lawnmowers and other yard equipment have started again. When I was working outside yesterday, four of my neighbors were outside mowing and trimming. Many people enjoy the smell of a freshly mowed yard as well as the flowers and herbs growing in their gardens.
• There are a lot of activities outdoors. Children are playing outside, others are playing baseball, and lots of walkers are taking advantage of the extra daylight and warmer temperatures to stroll around the neighborhoods or parks.
I was very fortunate to have lived with grandparents when I was growing up, and I gained a lot of knowledge from the old wives’ tales I heard from my grandmother. She always planted a large vegetable garden and grew so much that we had fresh vegetableswhile the plants were producing and then canned vegetables for us to enjoy through the winter months. Grandmother had her seeds bought and her tools ready, but she faithfully checked the old mesquite trees in the yard to determine when it was time to plant. The young trees would sometimes bud out and get damaged by a late freeze, but she firmly believed that the old trees would wait until the last freeze was behind us before budding and putting out leaves. I find myself still watching the mesquite trees to determine when it is safe to plant, and they are rarely wrong. Her other garden advice was, “If it thunders in February, there will be a frost on the same day in April.” Well, we had a couple of thunders in February, so I’m expecting a couple of frosts in April. Based on the mesquite tree budding and the thunder in February, I think I will wait another couple of weeks before I plant my vegetables.
I have learned people have differing feelings about spring. Some praise spring because the sunshine and warmth can be uplifting with feelings of happiness, optimism, and positivity. Others have the opposite feeling about spring since people have so much to do that they feel irritable or anxious and also have to deal with the return of sinus issues, allergies, and colds. Is this looking at spring as the glass half full or half empty?
I love quotes, and I want to share some of my favorite quotes about spring.
• “Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.” Lily Pulitzer
• “It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold, when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade.” Charles Dickens
• “The earth laughs in flowers.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” Anne Bradstreet
• “The first blooms of spring always make my heart sing.” S. Brown
• “Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.” Jim Carrey
• “There is one good thing about this world – There are always sure to be more springs.” L. M. Montgomery
• “Where flowers bloom so does hope.” Lady Bird Johnson
• “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn
• “Spring: a reminder of how beautiful change can truly be.” Unknown
• “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Margaret Atwood
• “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” Leo Tolstoy
Since it is spring, that means the BCMGA Spring Plant Sale is coming soon. The online sale will be April 10th through noon on April 12th, and the in-person sale will be on April 13th. Watch for more information on the plants we will have for sale – plants that survive and thrive in our area.
BCMGA offers several education programs each month. There is a program at 6:00 p.m. on the 1st Tuesday of the month at the South Library Branch in the Mall of Abilene, and the same program is offered again at 10:00 a.m. on the 2nd Friday of the month at the Downtown Library. There will not be a Saturday Seminar in March because the last Saturday of the month is during the Easter weekend, but they will start again the last Saturday in April. Information about the topics and dates of these monthly programs can be found on our website and Facebook page.
If you have any questions, call the Taylor County Extension Office at 325-672-6048 or email us at mgardeners@yahoo.com. We hope you visit bcmgtx.org for information on all Big Country Master Gardener events, like us on BCMGA Facebook, and check out training presentations on BCMGA YouTube. We are here to help you.
