Spring is round the corner!

Acer bud
© Teresa Newham

It might seem over-optimistic to start thinking about Spring in January, particularly when snow is forecast!  But the days are now a whole hour longer than they were at the start of the month, and things are starting to happen in the garden:

Sedum just starting to show
© Teresa Newham

A recent sunny morning beckoned me outside with my camera, and almost at once I found signs that Spring will soon be here, whether it was plants pushing up through the earth, or buds starting to show on the shrubs and trees!

forsythia with buds
© Teresa Newham

Last Autumn I hastily shoved a whole host of Spring bulbs haphazardly into a couple of tubs, in the hope that they'd overwinter.  And here they are, promising to bloom in the fullness of time:

Spring bulbs peeping through
© Teresa Newham

The rose bushes are also waking up, highlighted here by the wintry sun.  And that sun has a different quality about it now, compared to a few weeks ago:

rose stems showing signs of life
© Teresa Newham

This hyacinth looks as though it's almost ready to burst forth, in the way that hyacinths do.  In the middle of winter it's good to remember that Spring will always come!

imminent hyacinth
© Teresa Newham