How hardy are you?

Today’s very windy, grey, and chilly, and they’re predicting three days of likely snowfall later this week. So to brighten my spirits I decided to post some of the pictures I took a few days ago on the beautiful, sunny, warm days we had before the vernal equinox arrived.

Although folks who live in town have bare yards, I still have plenty of snow in mine.

Despite that, many plants are poking out their heads or sharing their lovely greenness.

Here’s a lenten rose (hellebore) just waiting to show its dusty rose flowers.

And my wintercreeper (euonymous) that stays green all year round.

This is a sweet English primrose (primula) pushing through the dead leaves.

The same is true in the wild — plants are moving to take early advantage of the light through the tree canopy. Mosses…

…ferns…

…buttercups…

…and one of my favorite spring ephemerals, herb robert, a lovely little true geranium.

Spring is absolutely my favorite season. I love to see these little green things, to learn what’s strong enough to wait months under more than a foot of snow cover and come out smiling.

I try to be similarly philosophical about how my less-than-favorite animals make their way through the winter, too, but don’t always succeed. Last year the moles decimated a good sized patch of crocosmia I’d had for well over a decade. This year they attacked a beautiful stand of creeping phlox.

The crocosmia and creeping phlox were on different sides of the same bed. It’s my only bed that’s pretty much all nice, loose, sandy soil that was hauled in as opposed to the thick, heavy clay I’ve spent years building up. No wonder the moles like it!

I have to figure out what I can plant in that bed that the moles can’t hurt so much, and need input from other gardeners out there. Any ideas?