The moon, like a flower in heaven’s high bower, With silent delight Sits and smiles on the night. ~William Blake
These past few nights, Pixie and I have wandered through the garden under the light of an almost full April moon. The tiny flashlight I carry stays in my pocket, unneeded, as we travel the light gravel paths, stop to smell the cherry blossoms, and admire the way the lichen on the stone steps reflects the moonlight. I sit for a while in a garden chair and watch Pixie explore the woods; sometimes she sits and looks at the sky as if she admires the stars too. 
Winter has returned again and again these past few weeks, sometimes with mounds of snow and sometimes just with bitter plant-slaying cold. Mark Twain was exactly right when he said “in the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of forty-eight hours.” Pixie didn’t seem to mind the snow 
but the green lady was definitely not amused. 
Fortunately, the snow that covered the patio furniture last month 
has melted into the ground to nourish the flowers. And finally, they have emerged. The hellebores (Helleborus orientalis)are always the first to bloom (click on any photo in the mosaic to see a full size image)
along with the cheerful blue blossoms of Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’. 
Now that the temperatures have warmed and the sun has returned, more flowering bulbs emerge and bloom every day.
The Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) always blooms early 
while the leaves of our native Hydrangea quercifolia (oak leaf hydrangea) are just beginning to emerge in their perfect geometry. 
The promise of more to come is held in the new foliage of Phlox paniculata and purple sedum along with the flower buds of lilac ‘Miss Kim’.
The dawn chorus has been glorious – the birds are here and nesting and the woods are full of their songs. Robins are building a nest on our front porch, they are sociable and don’t seem to mind our comings and goings. In fact, they tap on our front door when they want more water in the birdbath.
One never knows the idyllic charm of our northern woods who has not seen them in April, when it is all a feast of birds and buds and waking life. . . This month belongs to the birds and flowers; but most of all to the robin. ~Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, American writer and ornithologist
Last evening, the April sun slanted through the circle garden to the buzz of hungry bees and wasps feeding on the weeping cherry blossoms. Spring has finally arrived, beautiful and welcome. Tomorrow night, the April moon will be full and I expect that Pixie and I will again walk in the garden under its brilliant light. 
What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished. ~
Did you know that the first full moon after the vernal equinox determines the date of Easter? Read about it here.
This post is a part of the April edition of Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel at May Dreams Gardens. Click on the link to see other gardens blooming around the country!
composerinthegarden 
You have some beautiful daffodils, unusual colors to me.
Thank you, Lisa! I used to be a member of our local Daffodil Society and still have some of the special ones that I bought through them.
So many beautiful blooms. I am full of envy.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
I’m a little late but the pleasure sure doesn’t get old. 😉 Love the Mark Twain quote. It looks like your garden made it through the ups and downs without too much difficulty. Oh, those Iris reticulata!! Is Miss Kim blooming yet? I long to smell lilacs…there aren’t any here but I see them in yards and sometimes the bookstore puts a jar of cut lilacs out. Mmm. The Chromacolor daff is very cool and I love your photo of the Oakleaf hydrangea bud, beautiful! The final quote about the moon is fascinating and so poetic, as are the opening words about walking under that full moon. 🙂
Never too late :-). Miss Kim is still in bud stage due to our ongoing cold weather but I expect she will open in a few days when it warms up. Can’t wait for the scent – heavenly! I’ve discovered that Pixie is a moon child for sure – every full moon makes her very restless at night so we just spend a good part of the night outside, which will be more pleasant at the weather warms!
That’s interesting about Pixie’s sensitivity to moon cycles. I always thought it would be good if we could live more in harmony with them and just being outside more is one way – but yes, moonlight walks on warmer nights should be much nicer. It’s been a very cool spring here, too. The temperatures haven’t changed much, they just haven’t risen to normal levels. Today I spied an old lilac on a roadside in a place where no one lives and was able to cut some small branches – heaven!!!
I like your fine opening and closing photos of moon and late sun shadows. Full of atmosphere. Just right for Earth Day! Easter greetings and best wishes for spring as your garden blossoms.
Thank you Richard. I hope you had a beautiful Easter and that your garden is blooming and happy!
Beautiful!
Happy Easter!
Thank you, Lea – same to you!
Lovely. We’re well along with spring in Western North Carolina, but will be returning to our cottage in Quebec in mid-May, returning to a repeat of spring.
Two springs in one year, that sounds wonderful, Lisa!
It is always a relief when spring finally leaps into life. Your flowers look wonderful.
So true about the relief of spring, tootlepedal! I hope you are enjoying it in your garden.
We had a lovely spring day today and sat out to have afternoon tea in the sunshine.
How wonderful!
I’ve never experienced lichen reflecting moonlight, nor even till now heard anyone mention it. Maybe you should write an essay about it, or a piece of music that expresses it.
The lichen on the rocks are a light blue-green and often seem to glow in low light. Hard to get a photo of them under those conditions, I’ll try. Music would be more fun!
Beautiful, Lynn! We’re so far behind this year. Nothing’s even up, yet. I have a sinking feeling it may happen all at once: blooms, weeds, 90 degrees. Straight into summer. But I’ll be ready!
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy your beautiful spring blooms. Hope you and Pixie will continue to enjoy your Full Moon strolls. It is glorious!
Happy Easter from Full Moon Cottage! 💚🌼💚
We’re late too but not as much as you – you must be yearning for spring! I thought of you as I was researching moon quotes 🙂 I will think of you tomorrow night during the full moon (it drives Pixie wild!) and send you good wishes. Happy Easter!
A beautiful paean to spring, Lynn. Exquisite dappled, mixed light n that final image; and the iris image reminds me of crested dwarf iris, which I’m hoping to see in the Smokies when I journey there next week.
Thank you, Kerry – the spring light has been beautiful. The crested dwarf iris in the garden are greening up but won’t bloom here for a few weeks yet. I can’t wait to see the results of your trip to the Smokies – I’m still catching up on your Alaska trip.