In the Garden: March

“And in the spring I shed my skin
And it blows away with the changing wind”

— "Rabbit Heart (raise it up)," Florence + the Machine,

March arrived with lovely weather and then it seemed like everything popped all at once! As the days warmed, the nights stayed frosty, taking out the pink blooms I cherish on our tulip magnolia after just a week of blooming.

Irises put on beautiful fresh growth, perennials began to peek through the dirt. Our narcissus garden shifted from early varieties to the ones we have categorized as mid-season bloomers.

The tulips produced buds and then their color arrived quickly! Almost as if it was overnight. The first to arrive were are Candy Princes and the purple parrot tulips—with stems so short I had no choice but to harvest them with the bulbs on. This is our first year doing so, and while I’ve quite enjoyed knowing they are at the ready for any orders, it was quite a muddy process! And I’m running out of cooler space for them.

The Exotic Emperors blew open when we were gone for a few days. When we went to check out the garden upon our return, there they were—huge and shining in the glorious sunshine! After that it felt like a mad dash trying to play catch up with garden tasks and gathering all the flowers we possibly could for our early April wedding.