signs of spring in the garden and the finished fuchsia painting

It seems that spring has finally sprung. I'd been waiting (impatiently) for signs of the daffodils I planted last fall.

This week they finally showed up.

Other signs of life have been showing up, too.

Tulips! I didn't plant these bulbs. They were here last year, strangely located in clumps by themselves in the grass on the south side of the house. That side is sheltered and sunny and the tulips seem to be ahead of everything else. The peonies growing there surprised me yesterday when I saw how tall they were and that they already have flower buds.

It's almost hard for me to believe that soon I will have flowers to cut and bring inside. But it's true. The lilac is leafing out and forming beautiful buds that will soon be fragrant flowers.

And then there are the roses.

I am so excited to see that the bargain bareroot roses I planted last summer survived and are looking good. The banded roses I overwintered in the shed don't look as vigorous and I'm a little worried about a couple, but that's gardening. Some things survive and others don't. I celebrate those fresh new leaves and let go of the losses.

There's a lot to celebrate. And then there's the planning and the planting. Rethinking plans and ideas from past years. This will be our second summer here. We learned a lot last year about the sunlight in this garden. It was my first time with cinderblock raised beds. They seemed a little trickier than raised beds made from wood (the biggest challenge is that the soil seamed to dry out fast), but even so, my strawberries made it through the winter and are definitely something to celebrate.

It's hard to keep my thoughts from straying outside. There's still so much happening inside. Flowers blooming. Orchids and geraniums. Fuchsias and cyclamen. Jasmines. Hoyas. I finished the fuchsia painting this week and now it's available in my shop.

So many layers, most of which were applied with a tiny brush. It was a long process. My mantra "keep going" helped, but so did Anne Lamott. I thought about her book Bird by Bird and reminded myself that this painting would get done leaf by leaf. And it did.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend filled with many little joys to celebrate.