Ahh, a cool and rainy spring morning

Growing up, there was the fragrance of rain on asphalt that sang in an odd way, of spring. I have no asphalt near my door, but this morning awoke to the sight of rain on my brick welcoming path. The Cranesbill geraniums are waking to it, too.
May has been unpredictable this year. And I appreciate this greatly. I love the cool and the crisp of a somewhat rainy morning. Especially in the midst of warm, hinting of summer, days.

In Search of Spring ~ A rose by any other name

Tomorrow will be the first day of spring. This year because of Mary @ the Yellow Door Paperie, I've noticed it advancing. For these last two weeks my eyes and ears have been open to the sights and sounds of spring. The Western Redbuds budding out front, The Forest Pansy Redbud in profuse budding in the backyard, outdoor music on the campus, dogs outside barking a greeting and a generally lighter tone in the neighborhood. Thank you Mary! I'm completely satisfied with this awakened adventure toward spring.

The big gift is this lovely rose. I live in Southern California and love the garden. I've learned lots of garden lessons - especially, "if you're not killing plants your not really gardening." I don't suppose I completely understand this idea, but I take it to mean that as a gardener I want to stretch and try new things. I've killed plenty on my road so, I guess I'm gardening. 
In the last few years I've fallen in love with Annie's Annuals, a catalog, a webstore, a nursery in Northern California. Almost everything I've purchased from Annie's has come in a 4" pot and has done really well in my garden. And by this I mean, better than things I've purchased from most local nurseries (except my VERY favorite, Brita's Old Town Garden in Seal Beach, but that's a whole other story). Annie's collections are varied and wild, beautiful and unexpected. 
This rose is one of two (I admit, I've forgotten which one) I bought mid-summer. It's either Rosa Russelina or Grandmother's Hat. I believe it to be the former. We'll see as it grows. In either case, these babies bloom early. Russel's Cottage Rose was found growing on Alcatraz. It's cold on Alcatraz. So my coastal weather and clay (though amended) soil didn't hamper this charmer a bit. And Grandmother's Hat is a noted February bloomer. I'll update when I have a better idea and when she blooms.
But there you are. A rose in winter, blooming into spring, by a name known today only as rose. 

In Search of Spring - Lavendar - Otto Quash

In spring, or any other time of blooming, I love the beginning of the frilly tips of lavender.

I can't wait until they beckon the bees and my garden begins the spring activity.

And, tomorrow: you won't believe it, but there's a rose that grew through winter and is just about to bloom.

A sign of spring? Crafty Coffee Jackets

My girlie and her friend sat at the dining room table with me making coffee jackets.

Ooohh, a theme. And felt and beads. 

 

What scrumptious fun.

And now for a trip to that coffee store!

In Search of Spring: Spring Fever?

To my Midwest pals, accept my apologies, but really? Nearly 90 degrees in March? This doesn't push the search for prettier weather, less gloom. It cries for summer's afternoon naps - air conditioning even.
Southern California can have strange weather and this would be it. In a few days we'll be back to the low 70's but for today, it is like summer. 

And me in my cable-knit.

Still searching, but only for spring.

Quotable Sunday & In Search of Spring

The artist cannot do anything slovenly -- Jane Austen

There it is, the dipping art of the Western Redbud tree. Random beauty from the Artist who delights my eye and my soul.

And these ~ In Search of Spring

See the little blueberry buds in the forest of peppermint geraniums? 

These are the only other fruit plantings in my yard. 
Judging by the sweet spring beauty, I might need to add a few.

The search continues.

Found some! In Search of Spring

Spring is singing quietly in my backyard in the form of nectarine blossoms on my dwarf tree.

Poetry itself.

e.e. cummings -- Spring is like a perhaps hand ~ In Search of Spring

III

Spring is like a perhaps hand 
(which comes carefully 
out of Nowhere)arranging 
a window,into which people look(while 
people stare
arranging and changing placing 
carefully there a strange 
thing and a known thing here)and

changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps 
Hand in a window 
(carefully to 
and fro moving New and 
Old things,while 
people stare carefully 
moving a perhaps 
fraction of flower here placing 
an inch of air there)and

without breaking anything.

The Fragrant Freesia - In Search of Spring

Freesia probably changed my life. The beautifully, delicate and fragrant flower entered when I was the VP of a marketing team in a big corporation. The creative director in my group would stealthily place a handmade, sky blue, pottery vase on my desk or table filled with Freesia at the first bloom each February. They were so pretty. But then their fragrance became more engaging even than their appearance.
I would notice the faint beckoning of tea topped with the Freesia's sweet finish. Coffee drinker that I am, I'd often find myself strolling for a cup of Earl Grey in the blooming winter months.
A couple of years into this, I decided to plant a few of my own Freesia. They are simple to grow and bloom prolifically. They also are more than willing to share summer space with carrots or broccoli in the big clay pot in the garden.
So today, I share them with you and encourage you to plant a few. The whites (don't you love white flowers?) are particularly fragrant. You'll find them at the nursery, but I found some specialties at Annie's Annuals.
Here's my favorite: Freesia
As to how they changed my life, you have to stop to smell the flowers and to brew the tea. The change is in the stop.