I love gardening and I love the spring. I always think it’s worth battling through the winters to watch life returning in such an abundance of shapes, sizes and colors. I wait patiently guessing when the crab trees are going to bloom; watch carefully for the first sign of pink in the buds of the tree peonies knowing that they will burst overnight and produce a flower so exotic it takes your breath away, and I look anxiously for the first sign of the white narcissi I bought on the day my father died. I planted them under a tree so I could always say hello to him in the spring – a season he loved, too.

There’s such an enormous sense of satisfaction when I see the Monarch butterflies feasting on the flowers. I feel truly honored that they think my flowers are good enough for them. I don’t feel the same way about some of the other creepy crawlies but when I see how many birds there are in the garden, I know they’re there because we’re offering them a truly varied and tasty menu. When things get a bit hot and heavy with work, I walk in the garden and see what’s new, what needs dividing, what needs moving to a better spot. It’s always a work in progress. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t and sometimes there are fabulous surprises. Nature takes over and does something incredible. You learn patience and trust as a gardener.

I’ve always marveled how in nature colors never clash. I suppose it’s because nothing is ever just one color but a blend of many shades of intensity. A good lesson for makeup!

Spring is such a busy time of the year for me that I usually forget to do one very important thing which is to remember my friend Daisy’s birthday. She lives in England and reads my blog. So I’m saying Happy Birthday to her now and hoping that she’s winning lots of riding ribbons and doing well at school. Perhaps I should plant something in the garden to remind me when it’s time to look for a birthday card!