Spring Is In the Air

Spring is arriving a little more each day. The trees here are covered with bulging buds ready to pop. Magnolias are almost in bloom. Today I spent time in the sun enjoying the work of readying my herb garden for this years growth. I trimmed the oregano and lemon balm -both of which love to spread and take over my garden. I cut back the marjoram - that one seems to try to escape the herb bed by growing over my edging stones. The chives are already over a foot tall and will be ready for my soup this week. Sage and lavender grace the back of the garden making a beautiful wall along the bricks.

The squirrels have graced my garden with flowering bulbs I never planted, and again this year I have purple and blue bells sprouting between the herbs. They are lovely, so I leave them. At the edges of my herb garden I have daffodills blossoming and enjoyed the snow drops last month. The New York weather is too harsh for the rosemary to survive winter so I will replant again this year along with two types of basil for salads.

Since New York is crowded, there are no open areas nearby for me to safely harvest dandelion greens which are delicious now when they are small. I buy them at the local green grocers to add to salads. They are great for cleansing the toxins left from winters gloomy days. Soon I will be able to pick blackberries from the trees nearby along the bay. I look forward to getting a few, usually the birds beat me to most of them. The days are longer now and with daylight savings time in effect it is light out until almost 7:30pm. The neighbors bar-b-ques are going in the evening and the sweet scent of the herbs mixes with the heady odors from the grilles. This is my favorite time of the year. Happy spring everyone!!!