It's the end of February in my home town of El Paso, Texas, and I for one am desperate for any small sign that winter will soon be over . It's not that we have had a bleak winter; the temperature has only registered below freezing for a few nights. But I miss walking around outside in the warm sunshine, and, most of all, I miss my plants that are still in hibernation.
Almost every day, now, if the wind isn't howling, I throw on a jacket and walk around our property, hoping to catch a glance of green or even yellow or pink as I inspect bare branches and seemingly empty flower pots.
My first stop is the half barrel by the kitchen door.
This picture may not look very exciting to you, but we have been monitoring this plant on a daily basis. Several weeks ago, my husband, Wayne, saw a suggestion on Facebook for propagating a rose bush from a cutting. The directions said to cut a short piece off a rose bush, put the stem in a potato (for food), and plant it in the ground. After several weeks, we are delighted to discover new green leaves. Too bad the leaves match those of the potato rather than a rose bush. A failed experiment, but I'll not turn down anything green.
Another plant that gets checked regularly for new growth is the volunteer peach tree in a flower bed in the courtyard. We think it is the result of a peach pit being tossed on the ground because neither of us bought and planted a peach tree. And it now has pink buds!
Two old standby bushes that stay green all year round don't get as much attention as newcomers, but they should. We take for granted a large honeysuckle bush screening three rain barrels. Its moment of glory comes when the first sweet aroma of honeysuckle flowers starts to perfume the courtyard.
Another bush that is somewhat neglected is a pyracantha bush growing against a wall in the back yard. Its leaves are a glossy green all year long, and the red berries add color when the rest of the landscape is a dull gray.
A one-eyed owl who sits in the branches of a dwarf nectarine tree in the garden helps me keep an eye out for early budding. This tree is one of the first to announce that it is still thriving and reminds me of a young girl dressing up in a pink dress for a birthday party.
Desert plants often have yellow flowers. This agarita bush in the front yard surprised me with a profusion of blooms and berries that emit a sweet aroma. I cut some of the branches to display in a vase inside the house.
An enormous cassia bush in the back yard is also an early bloomer that adds a pleasant, sweet smell to the area. We threaten to cut it down every year because it blocks a whole section of the yard, but who would have the heart to destroy a plant that tries this hard to be likable?
Another yellow blooming plant is the desert marigold. This plant found its own home in a part of the yard with desert landscaping that we have named the Tuscan Yard. Far be it from me to chop down any plant that is kind enough to bloom.
So, sparse as the signs of eminent springtime are in the yard at present, these plants give me a surge of hope that in just a few short weeks, my daily reconnaissance trips will yield more and more exciting signs of life. Thank goodness I live in the Desert Southwest, where spring comes early and summer stays late.
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