Spring is a time of hope and renewal. Flowers are anticipated and flourish; gardens are planted; windows are washed! Walking about the yard, peering into unopened rhododendron buds to gauge the time till opening day, gives me such a sense of happiness. Our yard is in it's 12th year now, the longest I have ever enjoyed a garden I have developed, and is looking quite mature (read "overgrown") in most areas. The Japanese Maple trees are beginning to be the canopy trees I envisioned when they were planted as sprigs of 3 feet in height, the rhodos are filled with blossoms, and the undergrowth of perennial geraniums, columbine, lily of the valley etc are filling in the ground level.

Being able to walk about my garden, snapping photos for reference for paintings is a wonderful experience. In every home I have lived throughout my adult life I have developed gardens and left them behind with each move. Until this garden, the maximum time I have enjoyed my gardens has been 7 years, so this twelfth year is quite a thrill.