We’re almost to May, so most of the spring flowers have bloomed; and Old Man Winter is about to sneak off for good. He might have one or two more windy grumbles left, but that’s it. Flowers now rule the day.
Some people prefer the surprise of crocus or the yellow of daffodils. But not me. My favorite spring flower is the tulip. So last fall I planted almost 200 of them and am now marveling at their hardiness, gracefulness, and color.
I think part of their charm comes from first grade where Sister Mary What-Was-Her-Name taught the class a simple way to draw a tulip for our Moms for Mother’s Day. “Draw a giant letter U,” she said. Once we all complied, she gave the next instruction. “Now draw a W at the top of the U,” and she demonstrated on the blackboard. (I understand they don’t use blackboards anymore.) All we had to do was add a squiggly line for the stem, and we were done. I went home and drew tulips for days.
Granted, once the real ones have bloomed you must wait until the stems and leaves turn brown and soggy before cutting them off. Granted, spent tulips get in the way of mulching and other planting. And, granted, that was never a problem with the paper kind.
Still, I wouldn’t trade today.
Leave a Reply