Signs of Spring! Finally!!!

The first spring flowers are in bloom.  Finally!!!

I can't believe that I have been watching this flowerbed for almost 3 weeks now.... trying to catch a glimpse of an actual spring flower. 

About 3 weeks ago, I was starting to get my hopes up.

The daffodils were clearly working on it.

The tulips were poking their heads through the old leaves that I left on the bed for protection.  I could not wait until they were all in bloom.

Every time I thought that it would finally get warm - and STAY WARM around here - it would get cold.... 

By the beginning of March, there was a lot of teasing going on my flower bed.  I was watching the daffodils like a hawk, when suddenly, a crocus got in on the action...

I had completely forgotten about planting the little crocus in the bed.  When I originally planted crocuses, I planted them in the back of my yard - for naturalizing... I had visions of a beautiful lawn made from daffodils and crocuses in my yard, when I discovered that my crocuses were not making it. 

They would poke their little heads out of the ground - for a day - and suddenly, there would just be stalks in the yard.  What was happening to my crocuses?  

Turns out, the chipmunks were eating them.... (Since we don't have chipmunks where I come from, that is not something I considered as a potential problem...)  

A few years ago, I made another attempt at growing crocuses - in the FRONT yard this time.  Maybe the chipmunks would stay in the back of the yard and leave the crocuses in peace.  It apparently worked. 

Now I was watching the daffodil - crocus race... who would be the winner?  Again, in typical Kentucky manner, we had warm days and cool days - and suddenly - it snowed!

Seriously, snow? Was it ever going to be spring? And was this sorry looking daffodil all I was going to get? 

Maybe these daffodils were telling me that I finally needed to split them this year?   

They were rescues when I got them years ago.  They came to me by the way of a good friend, who moved into a new house.  Her new yard had tons of daffodils and she hates daffodils. When I heard that she was going to dig them up and throw them out, I asked her, if I could have them.  They've brightened my spring ever since.  I was still hoping that they would be brightening my spring again this year. 

The tulips were also going to be discarded when I rescued them.  They had already been dug up by the university since it's apparently more practical to throw them out rather than storing them until the next year.  I don't know, if they still do it that way, but that's how it was done years ago.  

The tulips are pretty flowers, but they are not my favorite.  As a matter of fact,  neither are daffodils - or crocuses for that matter. 

My favorite spring flowers are snow drops (Galanthus). Too bad I don't have any of those.  Maybe next year, if I find them in the fall....