Spring drew on…and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps. ~Jane Eyre
On this first day of May, I look out the window and see green – green! – on the tree branches. Flowers have been blooming since February – snowdrops, crocus, daffodils, tulips – and their color is so welcome. Yet when the woods light up in delicate green, it feels as if spring is complete.
The ostrich ferns have completely unfurled, refracting light through their intricate fronds 
while the sunlight pouring through white daffodil ‘Bella Coola’ turns its petals translucent. 
The weather has had several wild swings this spring, hot summer temperatures for days in early spring followed by deep drops into bitter cold, the process repeated again and again. Yet the plants have survived somehow, resilient and beautiful.
Parts of the garden have come fully into bloom – the grape and lemonade bed is always its showiest this time of year.
After years of tolerating our makeshift garden gate built of fence parts, I found a beautifully crafted gate to create a dramatic entrance into the garden.
Green isn’t the only foliage color in the garden now – the red Japanese maples have fully unfurled their leaves
as has the purple smokebush entwined with Clematis ‘Sweet Sugar Blues’. 
Our wild violets (Viola sororia) have been blooming for weeks
and are now joined by the soft blue and white blossoms of hardy geraniums.
My latest garden video traces the gradual emergence of spring and the light that shines through the garden at this bewitching time of year.
Wherever you are in the world, and in whatever season you find yourself, may you see the light shining through the beautiful things around us.
composerinthegarden 
That was an exceptionally relaxing 4 1/2 minutes; so pleasant that I watched the video a second time…and chuckled each time Pixie made one of her grand entrances.
Thanks Kerry! I’m so glad you enjoyed it – Pixie does like to make an appearance in the garden! 🙂
Beautiful! Captured so perfectly in your video (with Pixie, of course, playing such an important role!)
Thank you, Mary! Pixie has become the star of my garden, she wants to be out there as much as I do so it is easy to capture her explorations.
What a beautiful garden, and I love your observations and interpretation of all the spring beauty. I wrote down some of your cultivars, and I’m jealous that you have that new purple flame iris. So any wonderful details to discover. And Pixie is adorable, too!
Amy, so delighted to meet you on this page! I love your writing in your blog as well as the spirit behind it. I’m very happy so far with the purple flame iris, I’m hoping it blooms this year so I can see the flower but the foliage has been amazing. And it’s a nativar – win win. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Thank you! I look forward to reading more of your beautiful and thoughtful posts as well. I’m always happy to connect with a kindred gardening spirit!
Ah, the beauties of spring bursting forth. Simply wonderful. I know that this garden means a lot to you … yet, probably more than I realize. I love the video. Yes, the videography is great, but for me, your words wrapped it all together into a wonderful package. Thank you!
What a delightful comment, Frank. Yes, the garden is my delight and endless partner in creating beauty. Thank you back!
Your gardens are beautiful, and your new gate is spectacular. Great choice.
Thank you Judy – I’m not surprised that the gate caught your eye! Happy spring.
It’s been amazing to watch the transformation.
I love that about spring Bernadette, how it starts with a few flowers in brown beds and then a flood of green and color – it feels like magic!
Balm for the eyes and spirit! Thank you so much.
Thank you Kitty, I hope spring has come to your part of the world and is singing to you.
YES!Everyday I take a stroll around the gardens,enjoying and making to do lists. My Northern Lights azaleas were in tight bud only a few days ago, tomorrow they will be out! May 15 is the day I have recorded all the blooms…for decades now! Your gardens are lovely! Happy May Day,Beltane!
Aren’t strolls around the garden the best? It is the first thing that Pixie and I do in the morning, and the last thing in the evening. This time of year everything changes so quickly! Enjoy your azaleas – I have some here that were planted by a previous owner and I love their bright colors and easy ways.
I enjoyed the video. You seem to have come through your changeable weather very well indeed. Your garden looks lovely.
We have had so much rain that the world turned green very quickly, helped along by periods of uncommonly hot weather. So glad that you enjoyed the video!
A lovely visit, thank you, Lynn!
Thank you, Eliza!
Happy continuing spring. It’s still surprising in retrospect to read about flowers already blooming in February as far north as Pennsylvania.
That’s another high-quality video you’ve put together.
Thanks, Steve. the snowdrops actually started blooming in late January, a first for me. I’ve kept records of “first flower open” dates on almost every plant in the garden for decades and spring has over the past 23 years slowly crept up to now arriving consistently 2 weeks earlier than the previous 20 years. Our weather is also far more erratic, we just had a week of temps in the mid to high 80’s in late April/early May, which would be high even for June, so I’m keeping track of which plants handle these changes and prove to be resilient. A few native shrubs are suffering from the early heat but otherwise everything just blooms earlier and the birds either migrate here earlier or stay all winter like the robins now do.