Well it is still a while until we can call the season Spring but the title "late winter" never seems to apply to February in Vancouver. January has been an unusually mild one and I have hardly had a chance to use my new snow tires that were so essential last winter. I can't say that I mind this mild winter at all as I look forward to the advancing gardening year.

Bursts of life are erupting everywhere in my garden. The Iris reticulata and crocus bulbs I have put in a few planters are thrusting themselves out of the dirt promising a display of purple and gold any week now. Many daffodills are showing off 3-4 inches of vibrant green and developing swelling heads that conceal their rich, buttery yellow trumpets. I love looking down the dead stalks of a perennial plant to witness the fresh growth returning from the base: delicate ferny Bronze Fennel fronds, crimson Peony torpedoes and Hosta spears.

I have already gone through my West Coast Seeds catalogue and put hopeful stars next to those plants that I wish to grow - too many for the garden spaces I have. With this season developing quickly I better get my order in so I can start planning and then get ready to start growing!