Spring!

We celebrated spring a bit early at our March 17 meeting.  The weather was balmy with a blue sky giving hope and promise after the deep snows of a month ago.  Our plants are showing signs of spring growth which is always exciting.  Many members are actively engaged in re-potting, propagating cuttings, and starting plants from seed.

There is nothing more exciting to me as a gardener than planting a seed and seeing an amazing plant grow from it.  Two weeks ago I planted 16 different seed packets and the results have been beyond my dreams.  Most exciting is the packet marked “unknown”.  Right now the tiny green nubs look like all the other tiny green nubs.

At our March meeting the brag plants overflowed with a variety of bulbs and orchids in bloom.  Even a rather harried looking Albuca was putting on a show.

The Frailea presentation for Cactus of the Month elicited many delighted remarks and an interest in acquiring this little dynamo.  Fortunately one of our members has a stash in the back corner of his greenhouse in serious need of re-potting.  These were donated to the club 5 or 6 years ago and when no one took them he took them and stuffed them in a corner.  Being small they lend themselves to that.  Now they have multiplied to the point of overflowing their pots.  We are eagerly looking forward to potting up and selling these at our next meeting as well as our fall sale.

Our monthly program was on Gardens of England and having wanted to see the Chelsea Garden show for many years I savored the colorful slides presented.  While England,  like Washington state, isn’t know for its cactus and succulents, the climate lends itself to stunningly floral landscapes.  The succulents become an accent point.

Spring is a time of change, reunion, and hope.  We are all looking forward to what grows this year.