The Miracles of Mother Nature

It is a cold, dreary day here in beautiful Missouri. It is the kind of day that makes me want to curl up with a good book in front of the dancing flames of a fire place with a cup of hot tea or cocoa or maybe a glass of wine.

Outside all of my beautiful flowers and bushes look dead. But are they? Every February I start to get the itch to work in the yard. And I despair when I look around at the work that is waiting for me. The oak trees loose some of their leaves in the Fall but the ornrey things hang on to a major number of the leaves until new leaves show up in the Spring. Raking leaves is a way of life in my corner of the world. The last few years we have resorted to blowing the leaves off the drive and walkways in the Fall so people can see where to drive and walk, and have saved the raking of the leaves for Spring.

Is it really possible that all of this brown will explode with color in a few months?


This is one of my herb gardens. This dead looking mess of thyme still releases wonderful scents when I run my hand across the twigs.

This garden bed is such a mess. The ground cover is a combination of perriwinkle and ivy. The perriwinkle is proving to be the stronger of the two and over the years it has slowly taken the ivy over. The miniature roses (the dry twigs you see) have become a "thorn" in my side. They have taken over where I don't want them and yet they are so pretty when they bloom that I haven't the heart to get rid of them. Hmmmm maybe I will try to transplant them this year. What a job that will be! Underneath this mess are my sweet daffodils. I will know the warm days will soon be here when they and the crocuses start peeking out.

Here are some pictures of my gardens that I took last year. Is it really possible that all the dreariness I am looking at right now can explode into all the colors? Amazingly, the answer is YES! And I'll have to admit I am so ready for the beauty of Spring.