Regardless, tomorrow will come

Much of the country has experienced wild weather these last few months. Other than a few bouts of bitter cold and the first tornados of the season, the weather where l live has been relatively nice.

These last couple of days have been warm and sunny. As a result, two of our flower beds have already had their first weeding. The daffodils are spectacular and not only at my house. I always find it interesting to see the occasional cluster of the sunshine-yellow blossoms marking the place where a house used to be. I wonder about the person who planted them so many years ago. It is a testament to the bulb's hardiness that they have outlived not only the person who planted them but also the home that was once nearby.

I also find it interesting that it is only the daffodils that persist. Crocus, tulips and other common spring flowers tend to disappear when neglected. It helps that deer typically don't like daffodils and leave them alone. Squirrels will willingly take care of the tulips. The other plants will gradually disappear on their own, leaving the sunny yellow daffodils to mark the place where someone planted them.

As always, I have great plans to redo most of the flowerbeds. I want to move some of the plants that have quit blooming because their neighbors are too close. I want to finally find a redbud tree that will withstand the conditions of our yard. The last time we planted a tree, it died. We were told the tree had been beaten. I’m not sure I believe that.

Every spring I make a mental list of the bare spots in the plantings. What do I need more of? What needs to be divided? What is perfect just the way it is? Where can I find that plant that was in one of the gardening magazines that appear in the mailbox?

I have read that planting a tree is an example of believing in tomorrow. I think that planting anything shows faith in tomorrow. There are no guarantees that anything that we plant will grow and thrive. When you think about it, it is a miracle that a teardrop shaped bulb will become a flower with the addition of sunshine, dirt and water.

Flowers are not the only things demanding attention this time of year. With a bit of luck we should be able to finish some of the many projects we have started that for one reason or another didn’t get completed over the winter. This will no doubt reveal other projects to add to the never-ending list of home and garden maintenance.

Still, it is the flowers that make me smile. Some see all the work that goes into getting them to thrive. I see a chance to play in the dirt. I also see a belief that tomorrow will always come and that no matter what, yellow daffodils will still be around to mark where someone once buried a cluster of bulbs.