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.
When I step into the garden each morning, it has changed somehow. Perhaps it is a discrete change – a few more blooms open, fog instead of sunshine, soft summery air instead of a damp chill.
Other times, the rate of change is more dramatic – many plants have bloomed overnight, or the leaves have suddenly transformed the woodland trees into a dense green canopy. It is this continual shift and change in the garden that intrigues me and challenges me to become more aware of each moment as it passes.
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