I Came From Cold Climate Conditions
I hope you enjoy this… it was waiting in the “saved” file and I forgot to publish it!
Not only frigid winters, prolonged gray days inside, and blasting winds without, but slushy thaws, and muddy months that forbade anything outdoors except dreams of garden endeavors. That describes most of my late winter and early spring Midwestern experience.
Spring began with deceptive March sunshine. The outside would appear so inviting from the window. Pale, but steady sun, blue skies, enthusiastic greening of the trees promised that I might sit in a sheltered corner. But if I believed it, the chilly temperatures with biting winds would soon send me back to the warmth of the living room wood stove.
Often, April was little better, but with less powerful winds.
Albeit bundled, I did brave the weather to do what gardening might be done. Even if sitting in the sun had to wait for more promising conditions.
March is When the South Unfolds
In comparison, by the month of March in my Georgia woodland, the breezes blow gently, the days have warmth in the sunshine, often under happy blue skies. Trees flower, seldom spoiled by frost even when cold snaps occasionally appear. Not that there are guarantees! It is just that the odds are greater for full blown blooms here in the South.
Up North, I had to resign to flowering trees blasted by hard late frosts more often than not, and even an occasional blizzard! It was the odd year that the Magnolia stellata could be photographed in full, glorious bloom.
How often, here in the mild conditions of Atlanta Piedmont region, I sit on the porch to watch birds, chipmunks, and squirrels. Since the beginning of spring I have been enjoying these sessions almost daily, coffee in hand, while sitting on my covered porch.
The quiet breezes allow for birdlife to take their leisure. Not battered and bullied by barreling Southwesterly winds or alarmed by sudden cold snaps. Bluebirds swoop from tree to tree, and wrens sing full throated from the fence.
I, myself, enjoy soaking up the sun, along with the chipmunk who seems to doze while standing at the flowerbed’s edge.
Everything Seems Gentler Here
The rains, the wind, even the thunderstorms seem more gentle. Although oftentimes, the storms can be powerful enough to topple large trees and break off huge branches. But on the whole, there is a gentility to nature, here.
Lest I Seem Bewitched
Of course, the Midwest had its features which the South could not compete with:
The soil is deeper and more fertile than the thin sandy soils of these wooded hills north of Atlanta
Mild springs which are slow to heat up in the States above the Mason-Dixon appeared to grow kitchen garden delights such as spring greens, chard, spinach, and beets with greater production. (I have yet to master southern conditions)
Certain bulbs were much more prolific, like the bright swathes of tulips which grow so easily after the cold winter’s sleep.
Yet Every Place Has Its Beauty
I am convinced of this. The rapture I might feel in the warmth and fragrance of a Southern spring might suit my time of life, right now. But it doesn’t negate the attractions that are idiosyncratic to the corresponding season of the Midwest.
And some are repeated, only at different times:
The spring flowering shrubs and trees
The planting of food gardens
The greening of the earth, the sightings of migrating birds, the appearance of butterflies. Each of the processions move forward in their own time.
This underlines the one thing that I have learned in a lifetime of appreciating nature and in gardening: “Each place has its own beauty”. It only takes willingness to discover the character and rhythms of a place to come to an understanding of that particular form of beauty.
What makes your favorite places special to you?