Saying goodbye to winter

While there is still some snow on the ground and it is still frigid outside, I have officially declared it to be spring in my neck of the woods. We were fortunate to have been spared by the storm that just hit the Mid-Atlantic last night so I am confident that things will only look up from here. The nasty winter is in the rearview and it is time to get down to business.

The photo below is a great representation of how my garden looks right now:

Ornamental grasses ready to be cut to the ground, perennial foliage that has been battered all winter and deciduous shrubs that are just now showing signs of leafing out. In other words, a lot of brown and not much else.      

But we move on. There is garden assessment and work to be done.

Grab a child, put a hedge trimmer in their hands, scream at them incessantly through a megaphone and before you know it, the grasses have been cleaned up.  

And nothing is more exciting than spotting those few blades of green grass emerging on the cool weather ornamental grasses.

There are signs of the daffodils returning.

And the geraniums are showing signs of life.

There are some reminders of the past, like this milkweed seed capsule.

Or this small ornamental grass that never took hold after being planted last fall. RIP whatever grass you are since I’ve already forgotten.  

There is still a lot of work to be done and how awesome is that?