Winter Wake-Up

Time to wake up!

Well, it's March. A week from today we begin Daylight Savings Time -- admittedly a little early for my tastes. I am not quite ready to crawl out from under the rock we call winter because it's nice to get in my pajamas early and tuck myself into bed for a cozy evening of reading or Netflix viewing. Once spring is here, however, I am among its most robust, bordering on ridiculous, enthusiasts.

The troughs, which have been asleep now since late November, got a little cajoling today. I pulled away the salt marsh hay and looked to see what was left of them. Our New England winter was mild until February, when we bore the brunt of three major storms week-by-week: Nemo, Plato and "Storm Q." It felt as if winter saved all its fury for this single month, and we felt it.

The troughs aren't dead, but they look a little beat up and seem to exude the reluctance I myself have felt when it comes to acknowledging a living existence beyond winter. It will be another few weeks before I move them to the next level of seasonal reintegration. Removing the salt marsh hay is all they can handle right now.

Rheingold Arborvitae! Of course!

What's really troubling is that I have to go back to my notes and remind myself what plants are in which trough.  The miniature Rheingold Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold') was the only one I remembered, conveniently noted by the tag I'd left in it all winter.