When I woke up on Wednesday the temperature was 43. The warmest we’ve seen this year. On my morning walk I didn’t need a hat. Chickadees and cardinals sang their delight at the taste of spring in the air.

The next day it was more than 30 degrees colder. And today is even colder.

That’s February for you.

My fingers are itching to get into the garden. There’s not much gardening I can do yet. I’ve ordered my seeds and they’ve all arrived (below are a few of the new ones).

It’s not quite time to start any of them, but I need to get organized and print out my Seed Sowing Plan. I’ve been thinking and dreaming. I arrange and re-arrange my seed packets in their boxes. Group them by when I need to plant them. Group them by where I want to put them in the garden.

Soon.

Soon I want to prune my fruit trees, too. My columnar apples both grew long side branches last year.

From what I’ve read, I need to cut back those branches so they’re not longer than 4 inches or so. I can’t believe they’ve grown so much. I planted them in 2020 and they were tiny! Can you spot them in the bed with the stump?

One is North Pole and the other is Golden Sentinel (I can’t remember which is which). Neither tree has flowered yet. Maybe this year?

I’m more nervous about pruning my peach tree. Every time I’m outside, I think about which branches will need to be cut. I ruthlessly pruned it last year and it grew beautifully. I know I shouldn’t be scared, but I am. It’s such a sweet little tree. Well, not so little anymore.

It was even tinier than the apples when I planted it in 2019. See it below in the light-colored pot?

It, too, has grown so much in a short time. The variety is Contender. It’s supposed to be very hardy. It gave me peaches the second year.

Looking at photos from past years’ gardens brings me such joy.

I forget what spring and summer are like when snow’s covering everything. I forget about the green.

After a day of warmer weather, the snow receded a bit. I searched for tiny glimpses of green. Some moss. A viola.

I discovered green snapdragons, too.

I haven’t seen any bulbs yet; they’re all still covered with snow, but there’s green on some of my thyme.

Inside I have my houseplants. The orchids have started to bloom and are inspiring new paintings.

My herb seedlings continue to grow. Matthias used some of the basil on pizza the other day and I want to use the cilantro in soup. I need to start another batch of sprouts and put my geranium cuttings in some soil.

Each small garden task helps me as I wait for spring.

It’s coming, yes, but winter is far from over. I need all the help I can get. Right now it’s more about dreaming and planning than doing.

And I’m ok with that. Dreaming and planning are some of my favorite things to do.

What’s been happening in your garden? Are you seeing signs of spring? Have you been starting seeds?