In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

Or, In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion.  I have been told this my entire life that this is how March will arrive and leave.  It was also on a bulletin board my class made when I was in 5th grade.  We had a lion going into a cave and a lamb coming out the other side.  Funny the things you remember.  

March.  That word stirs the promise of spring in everyone who has sat inside for months and watched it snow, rain, ice or all three!  We are ready to bid farewell to another winter and get outside again!  

As I write I am watching Robins in my yard - about a hundred.  This is Spring signal #1!  They are busy looking for food and flipping grass and pine straw away as they do so.  It makes you want to run to the nursery and buy plants.  But, here's the kicker about March, it is a fickle month.  Like I said it holds the promise of spring, but it is so unpredictable.  Today the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are budding and it could be freezing and snowing tomorrow.  It is difficult to wait it out, but wait it out we must. 

There is some gratification from those hardy little daffodils and narcissus that pop through the cold dirt to give us that first glimpse of what is to come.  The forsythia with the tiny yellow blooms that line my driveway.  The beautiful camellia blooming beside the house. These are photos of these flowers taken this morning after a rain.

So what do you do as you bide your time and wait for spring?  One thing is to do the maintenance on your garden tools and pots.


For clay pots that were not cleaned in the fall, you should do this before planting in them this spring.  They can harbor bacteria that will cause your plants to die or not grow as they should.  It is an easy task. 

First, using a stiff brush like a bottle brush you should clean the dry, empty pots.  After you have brushed off loose dirt you can soak the pots in a mixture of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.  Soak the pots up to an hour, brush them again and then let them soak in clean water (no bleach).  Once this is done sit them in the sun to dry.  This should ensure your pots are ready for the new flowers your will plant.  

Clean and sharpen your garden tools.  Steel wool will remove rust.  
Get out those seed catalogs or head to the website and order!  Just browsing is good therapy for what ails you...Spring Fever.

March.  Glad it is here, will enjoy the sunny days and soak up some Vitamin D and plan my garden (but not plant!)