Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Awakening

Slowly but surely my garden is waking up. The snowdrops are chiming their little white bells: wake up, wake up, Spring is coming! And many of my plants and bulbs have woken up, there was even one early bird who got up before the snowdrops did.
The winter aconite.

But other sleepy heads are rubbing their eyes and are waking up too, such as
Hellebores,

roses,
tulips,
Verbena bonariensis,
Grape hyacinths,
my daffodowndillies,
Bergenia, that caught the sunshine in its leaves,
the fennel in the kitchen garden,
but also Geranium,
Crocuses,
Clematis and
Lady's mantle and many, many more. I find it a bit scary that so many of my plants have already woken up as it is only January and there is still plenty of opportunity for the Ice Queen to wreak havoc in my garden with her icy fingers and cold, cold breath. If you want to hear what destruction the Ice Queen is capable of, scroll up to the pic of the Verbena bonariensis, look to the right and click on the second ( the best version) or the third picture( the live version) of the video bar. Crank your volume up to the max and enjoy.

Within Temptation is my favourite Dutch band and as Bliss is an interactive blog you're in for a spot of headbanging this time. Oh come on, I see Jodi and Mungus of Bloomingwriter are already in the zone as they love Within Temptation too, so this is especially for them. What are you guys waiting for? After all, what is a little headbanging among friends, right? Ready?

Ice Queen - Within Temptation

When leaves have fallen
And skies turned to grey
The night keeps closing in on the day
A Nightingale sings his song of farewell
You better hide before her freezing hell!

On cold wings she is coming
You better keep moving
For warmth, you'll be longing
Cone on, just feel it
Don't you see it?
You better believe it!

When she embraces
Your heart turns to stone
She comes at night when you're all alone
And when she whispers
Your blood shall run cold
You better hide before she finds you!

Whenever she is raging she takes life away,
Haven't you seen?
Haven't you seen?
The ruins of our world!

She covers the earth with a breathtaking cold
The sun awakes and melts it away
The world now opens its eyes and sees
The dawning of a new day.

On cold wings she is coming
You better keep moving
For warmth you'll be longing
Come on, just feel it
Don't you see it?
You better believe

Whenever she is raging she takes life away
Haven't you seen?
Haven't you seen?
The ruins of our world?

Back to our regular schedule: February has been known to be the coldest month of the year, and it is still to come. And there could also be snow and ice in March or April. One year we even had hail in July which destroyed my waterlilies completely. So I'm treading softly in my garden, that those that are still asleep may slumber a bit longer. I've found one person who is still fast asleep, clever fellow that he is. Can you see him too?
copyright 2008 Y.E.W. Heuzen

Garden and gardener, two words that have the power of transformation that helps us recapture memories of childhood and lead us to a future where we can once again interprete the dream of life.
Fernand Caruncho, The Spirit of the Geometrician, 2006

40 people have voted in my little poll and 19 of them wanted more posts on cats, 11 did not, and 10 who didn't mind either way. So there will be more posts on kittycats, but not to worry if that's not to your taste; the majority of posts will still be about gardening. :-)

Here's wishing you all a sunny Sunday!

36 comments:

Entangled said...

I'm very impatient to see these sights in my own garden, but it's lovely to see them in yours! I think we're not going to have any more very cold weather here after this weekend - just a hunch.

Barbara said...

I'm a bit scared too about the awaking of so many plants. Experience shows, as you mentioned, that two hard and difficult months are still to come. However, I'm always pleased to see these heralds of spring...

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Yolanda I can see why you are concerned about your garden awakening too early. Things are looking quite spring-like in your garden. This does give me some hope for spring though. Nothing much is happening in our garden yet. Our tree peony set some buds at one time but they have been frozen off. I hope it sets more buds or we won't have many blooms this year.

Carol Michel said...

YE, I did wonder if it was a bit early to see so many signs of spring, even in your relatively warm climate garden. I sure hope the Ice Queen doesn't come to steal away your pretty spring flowers. Here, the Ice Queen reigns and the garden still sleeps. It has been quite cold, well below freezing most days and nights. Yet still, I optimistically look in a few places where I know the first flowers will be, hoping to see some signs of awakening. Nothing yet, but it won't be long.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Linda said...

How lovely to have your garden waking up. Mine is still buried under a blanket of snow.

Anonymous said...

I walked round the allotments this morning and actually saw a few daffodils in full flower!

Lis vom Lindenhof said...

Wenn man deine Fotos anschaut glaubt man gar nicht dass wir erst Januar haben. Bei mir blühen auch schon die Schneeglökchen und einige Helleborus haben ihre Blüten geöffnet. Hoffentlich wird es nicht nochmal so richtig kalt, das wäre sehr schade!
LG Lis

Aiyana said...

Looks like you'll have a beautiful spring if all goes well. I have lots of wildflowers coming up with more to come up since it is raining today. The late ones won't make it to maturity--they'll burn off as the weather warms. Although the wildflowers will be nice, it looks like I only have three varieties coming up this year. Darn!
Aiyana

kate said...

These are refreshing sights for snow-tired eyes. The fennel looks so sweet and curly. I hope that the next few months are mild and your treasures can keep on thriving.

Anonymous said...

Er ontwaakt dagelijks meer groen en de meesten hebben gelukkig maling aan de ijskoningin...;-)) Het is wèl weer erg leuk om te ontdekken :-)

Unknown said...

I hope the Ice Queen does stay away (one of my favourite Within Temptation songs--what a great group!) and that spring unfurls nicely for you. It's a long way off here, that's for sure. But I get to enjoy spring vicariously, what with snowdrops being splashed on a lot of English gardener blogs right now too.

Whyite said...

Hope your spring continues. And February stays spring like.

Anonymous said...

Ja, de goede tijd komt er weer aan, kan niet wachten!
Al mag er van mij ook wel een pakje sneeuw hoor, ook mooi!
Vorige week zag ik een verdwaasde wesp op de stoep, ook al wakker dus.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Some plants are adaptable enough to survive cold after their blooms have opened, specifically, the Hellebores. I'd also be worried about some of the other things sprouting so early.
I love the little late winter bloomers, such as the Snowdrop & the Aconite. I cheated today & dug in the snow for my Snowdrops - they are in blooming position, just waiting for a warm sunny day to open!

Sigrun said...

Der Frühling kann kommen, dein Garten ist soweit! Bei mir sieht es leider noch anders aus, hier ist es kalt und windig.

Sigrun

Anonymous said...

My garden is waking up too, as I posted today. Though like yours, it never really goes to sleep. Maybe it takes a little nap, that's all.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Bliss!

* Entangled: hope you are right about the weather, it would be great if your garden would wake up too!

* Barbara: it is worrying to see so many plants already growing now, especially such tender things like fennel and clematis. Crocus, snowdrops and Bergenia can stand a bit of frost so I'm not worried about them.

* Lisa: this January has been very mild so far with temperatures well above average and that explains the very spring-like way my garden is looking at the mo. I hope your tree peony will set more buds, the flowers are sooooooo gorgeous!

* Carol: I hope the Ice Queen will leave your garden soon so that you also will be able to find some lovely little blooms in sheltered spots in your garden. There's nothing that cheers up a gardener more than the early spring blooms after a cold winter!

* Crafty Gardener: living in Canada has its drawbacks, I know, but spring will come for you too!

* Flighty: Wow, daffodils in flower in January!!!! I noticed today that there are a few dafs in my garden that will start flowering soon too.

* Lis: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Ice Queen will keep away from our gardens from now on!

* Aiyana: you're having rain at the mo? How wonderful! I hope you will take lots of pics of the wildflowers and put them on your blog. Oh what a pity that only 3 varieties are coming up in your garden. Perhaps more will show up in the next few days.

* Kate: it's not fair is it? You have so much snow and we have none. Oh well, that's life!
For the time being you'll have to make do with looking at the spring flowers on other blogs, but your turn will come too!

* Marl1: ik vind het ook altijd weer een feest om de eerste bloemen te ontdekken in de tuin.

* Jodi: this song is one of my favourites too. The climate in England and the Netherlands is very similar so there will be lots of snowdrops found there too now.

* Curtis: I hope so too!

* Jalos; ja heerlijk he, dat de lente er aan komt. Sneeuw is inderdaad ook erg mooi maar helaas hebben we dat hier veel te weinig.
Nu al een wesp? Jeetje!

* MMD: you are right, I'm mostly worried about such tender plants like clematis and fennel sprouting this early. Great that your snowdrops are about to bloom too!

* Sigrun: spring will come to your garden too, never fear!

* Pam: like you, I have flowers all year round but in the winter months just a few. Most of my plants will wake up in 1 or 2 months' time so a big part of my garden does go into a deep slumber in the winter months (November til March).

Thank you all for all your lovely comments, I enjoyed reading them!

Tracy said...

These signs of spring are a true wonder! I can't wait to see some in my own garden. Oddly we are snow-free here in southern Norway--very strange for this time of year. But I'm not complaining, it means spring comes all the sooner--LOL! Happy week, my friend ((HUGS))

Frances, said...

Seeing your spring arriving is like a preview of coming attractions at the movie theatre, keep them coming! Your garden is so well maintained, envy, envy envy!

Frances at Faire Garden

Libbys Blog said...

We have just had a most glorious weekend of weather and everything is popping there heads out, although I wish they would wait a little bit longer, cos like you Feb can be very bitter!!

Anonymous said...

handenwrijvend sta ik te wachten , maar hier komt er nog niet zoveel op hoor ....het noorden zal wel kouder zijn.
Terwijl de zang van de vogels duidelijk aan het veranderen is ....en wij al een lammetje hebben , dus die tuin moet écht eens toegesproken worden !

Karin said...

It will soon be spring in your garden! Your pictures are full of hope. You asked me about snowdrops in my garden. I actually have no idea if there are any bulbs yet. I'm working in Stockholm for some time. And really miss the garden. But I'm going home over the weekend and will do a garden up-date. Until then I really enjoy your pics and your garden! Take care and have a nice week...

Kram :)

Felicia said...

Yes, I so do need those awaking pictures :)

Betty said...

Yolanda,
I'm happy to see signs of life in your garden....not much to report in mine..

Thanks for visiting...please drop back by to pick up an award...nothing to do....Betty

Cathy said...

Hi, I came over from Betty's. How I love seeing those little flowers coming up! Can't wait til Spring. :o)

Reflection Through The Seasons said...

Hello Yolanda.....

How appropriately you have named this post ‘The Awakening’... Yes, its such a thrill to see these first signs of Mother Nature stirring after her long winter sleep. I spent an enjoyable few hours in the garden on Sunday clearing away winter debris and, like you, was delighted to see signs of new life.

Wishing you a sunny Tuesday. Marion

Linda Lunda said...

Ohh.. I whish for spring here to.
You have a wery nice blogg.
Linda

stadtgarten said...

Yolanda, there are already grape hyazinths in your garden? That's really very very early, I expect them normally at the end of february. I hope that you are not right with february being the coldest month. I am so waiting for spring now (even if I know that it is too early)
Groetjes, Monika

stadtgarten said...

Yolanda, there are already grape hyazinths in your garden? That's really very very early, I expect them normally at the end of february. I hope that you are not right with february being the coldest month. I am so waiting for spring now (even if I know that it is too early)
Groetjes, Monika

Kylee Baumle said...

No signs of spring here, yet, but that's not surprising. It's a long way off yet. Maybe in another month.

Am I the only one who sees a smiley face on that aconite?

Bob said...

Isn't great to see everything starting to sprout. Spring will not be to far away.
All the best, Bob

Ewa said...

This is great to see plants waking up, but scary on the other side, when timing is WRONG.
As you maybe remember I red somewhere the 6 months weather forecast and subconsciously I stick to it: NO WINTER - ha ha ha - and 20 degrees here in Poland in March - second ha ha ha :)
I don't know...

Connie said...

It was refreshing to see all the signs of life in your garden! Everything here is silent under a blanket of snow. The winter has been long....but it makes bright the hope of spring!

Shady Gardener said...

Hope everything works out alright what with such early Spring beginnings. It's a long time until Spring around here... especially, it seems, with this year's weather!
My first visit. I hope to return, soon. :-)

Anonymous said...

'k Ben wel erg ongeduldig, maar wil ook niet dat alles gaat bevriezen straks... Die verbena bij jou is al helemaal opnieuw gestart, tjonge!!
Hier staat er een anjertje in de knop, idioot, toch?

Kerri said...

It does seem awfully early for these signs of awakening, as lovely as they are. I hope all will be well and that they'll survive the Ice Queen.
We'll have to wait a while here for similar signs. The Ice Queen visited us with a fury yesterday! Snow is more welcome.