A Sight For Sore Eyes

The older I get the longer winter seems. I'm sure it's about the same length as it was when I was a child, but for some reason I get less tolerant of snow, cold, bitter winds, and the lack of anything pretty to look at out the window. Sure, I'll grant you that snow is pretty while it's falling down. But give it a couple hours and it'll be brown from the dirt it hits.

About 11 years ago in the cold winter of January we moved into our current home. I looked forward to spring to see what might come out of the earth....to see what the former owners may have planted. Boy, was I disappointed. Not one tulip nor daffidil. Nuthin'. So that fall I bought 4 tulip bulbs and a handful of crocus bulbs from a local nursery, stuck them in the ground near our entry way out the front, and hoped for the best. I was very pleased the following spring with what came out of the ground....and every spring since. The crocus are the first to burst out of the ground, but unfortunately this year they flopped over after the single digit evening temps and being pummeled with a couple of snow falls. So I turned my attention to the tulips.

I was a little worried they might not make it. Last year we pretty much ripped out almost all the bushes from the front of our house, including the boxwood (which were half dead) near the entry way. I had planted those tulips and crocus in between the bushes, so I lifted them out last summer before Mike dug out the stumps and moved the bulbs to my garden out back. I was hoping they would survive. What a pleasant surprise to see that they did.

I'm not sure what it is about these tulips in particular that I really like. Maybe their vibrant color, their unique shape.....or maybe it's just they were the first thing I ever planted after we moved into our home. All I know is that I was very happy to see them bloom again.