Spring is here! With all the gloomy skies recently, you may not be feeling the joy of spring yet, but as the old Tony Bennett song says, “Grey skies are gonna clear up. Put on a happy face.”
No matter how many winters you have experienced, the coming of spring always quickens the heart. After a long winter of grey skies, snowfall after snowfall, and slushy parking lots, the thought of a warm spring day is a welcome relief.
The joy of spring isn’t just about the change in weather; it’s about the profound sense of rebirth that touches everything around us.
It is a season that appeals to all our senses. From the blossoming flowers to the songs of birds returning from migration, spring reminds us of the beauty of fresh beginnings.
Growing up on a farm, northwest of Stratford, the thought of spring brings many memories to mind of the things that I enjoy the most about spring. It amazes me how those simple reminders of spring still mean so much.
Of course, the first sign that we all look forward to is the return of the robins. Spotting your first robin of the season has a way of cheering the heart, letting you know that warmer days are ahead. With the robin’s return, you know that the first warm spring rain, the rain that brings the earthworms to the surface, is not too far off. A day that will bring much joy to any robin.
Another sound of spring that transports me back to my childhood is the distinct “conk-la-ree” sound of the red-winged blackbird. As my five siblings and I would stand at the end of the lane, waiting for the school bus to pick us up, we would hear the trill of the returning red-winged blackbird and know that spring had truly arrived.
When it comes to a different sense of spring from childhood, and still is to this day, is the sweet scent of soil being cultivated. It is that same scent you get when you walk into a greenhouse early spring. You wouldn’t think that the smell of the soil would be something that stands out, but it does.
Every spring, we would plant a huge vegetable garden that would provide much of our food each year for my family of eight.
Early spring, we would start preparing the soil for planting. I always enjoyed tilling the soil. I don’t think that I realized at that time that soil had a certain scent in the spring, but every year now, as I start working the soil in my garden, it brings me right back to my childhood.
Then there is the scent of all the spring flowers as they begin to open. That perfume of hyacinths and daffodils that greet you as soon as you step outside. Or, the unmistakable fragrance of primroses, lily-of-the-valley, lilacs and mockorange.
After a dreary winter, what could be more welcoming than brightly coloured flowers? From the bright red of tulips to the brilliant yellow of forsythia to the vivid purple of grape hyacinths. These cheery colours are what help us to shed off the layers of the past season and embrace spring.
What signs get you excited for spring? What do you look for every year to tell you that spring is here? Make sure you make time to get out in your gardens to experience spring.
Joanne Young is a Niagara-on-the-Lake garden expert and coach. See her website at joanneyoung.ca
The Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society is pleased to be hosting a series of Saturday morning gardening classes, available to the public. They will be facilitated by Joanne Young on Saturday mornings, and they will run until May 31 at the NOTL Community Centre. Join us for the classes that interest you. For all the seminar details and to pre-register for the classes, visit notlhortsociety.com/classes.
