The February Garden – 2023
Near the end of the month I woke up to birds chirping. This must be the sweetest sound to hear after the height of winter and in February no less. The birdsong is sweet and felt in the soul.
Spring is coming. It whispers in the morning birdsong. It peeks through the grocery stores selling young roses and raspberry plants. It sings the softest lullaby with the light of the sun tip-toeing past five o’ clock dusk.
But the forecasted snow teases spring. For us the snow probably won’t last longer than a day, but winter needs its last happy flurry, so we let it have its cake and eat it too!
We rest a little longer, dream a little more, catch every short and cheerful birdsong and anticipate. Spring always does come!
February found us in the garden preparing for spring. Not full-on spring planting though my husband is chomping at the bit, but clearing out the sunflower bed, tidying flower bushes, pulling out some winter weeds, and most notably planting young fruit trees we’ve been talking about for years.
Our soil is very clay-like so this is our best window of time to dig holes for trees without needing an excavator. It’s still a ton of work, but the ground is soft enough from all the rain to get through it with a shovel (and a lot of dedication).
It will be a handful of years yet, but soon enough we will benefit from apple, peach, and plum trees. For now it just feels very satisfying to put the trees in the ground like we’ve wanted to do forever and start the years-long wait.
But the news of all news is we finally named our garden! I share the full story here. Garden of Green Fables. We love it. It just feels so right.
I think I’ll leave you with a poem as we head into March and hold our breath for spring. May this bring a smile and an extra burst of patience for the last vestiges of winter. Spring is about to surprise us all.
Where to find spring whispering? In the grocery stores where potted plants are sold too soon hoping for garden plots and story plots nurtured by a gardener.
Where to Find Spring
(I think I’ll risk the frost to make their dreams come true.)
Where to find spring whispering? In sun rays tip-toeing past five o’ clock. Shhh!! It’s about to pull the wool right over winter’s head.
(I think I like the sun better than a scarf.)
Where to find spring whispering? In morning birdsong short, and sweet, and to the point. If only the forever cold was that straightforward instead of ongoing, ongoing, never gone!
(I think it would be nice if spring felt as long as winter did.)
Where to find spring whispering? Almost anywhere. If not out than in yourself where you somehow feel the season changing before it has the chance itself.
(I think that’s the magic in being human.)
-S.V.F.
Sierra V. Fedorko 