I can feel it. My enthusiasm is growing. On each sunny day, my wandering through the garden has become more focused. As last week’s snow melted, I paused to enjoy flowers of several hellebores (below), lifting buds to check progress on some, and removing a blanket of leaves that covered swelling buds on others. I’m itching to do less contemplating and more work.

Slowly, flowers of the Asian hybrid witch hazels (Hamamelis x intermedia) have unfurled, tardy, but another signal that spring is close. ‘Diane’ and ‘Jelena’ (below) are first to bloom with several smaller newcomers still sheltered beneath overwintering stems of perennials that will be cut back before new growth begins in several weeks. With spring’s growth, the small witch hazels should rise above their neighbors. Two tall ‘Arnold Promise’ are last to flower with bright yellow showing through buds that are cracking open.

Until recent years, when snow amounted only to an occasional dusting, a single substantial snowfall was dependable with infrequent totals over a foot. This winter, to the joy of local school kids (and my wife), two snowfalls have insulated the garden with a third this week scooting just to our south.

And, it’s turned cold again. But not to worry, temperatures will soon rise. After a lengthy drought summer into autumn, there is no doubt the garden will move into spring with saturated soil. The garden’s slow start will be followed by a glorious early spring. More hellebores will flower quickly without the cover of snow, and snowdrops and winter aconites (above) are poised to bloom with a few days’ exposure to the sun.