Having been eagerly awaiting and watching for the first daffodils to bloom, my heart fell when I surveyed the aftermath of our April Fool’s snow-squall and found all the blooms lying flat on the ground, victims of a killing night of frigid wind and snow. I hurriedly gathered the fallen stems and brought them indoors, hoping it wasn’t too late for them to eke out a bloom. That’s when I captured these pictures, and they look a little worse for wear, still huddled tightly in bloom except for the one lone flower that was on the brink of opening up but held back in this hooded form, as if afraid to let down its guard.
Spring flowers that start this early run the risk of having their blooms felled by such storms. This was less devastating than the May snowstorm that takes out tree peony buds or stuns tulips in full bloom. That doesn’t make it any less sad, especially after a winter of such barren hope. There are a few more patches of narcissus that I planted last fall just poking through the ground. The first spring after planting is always their latest, and I’ve always appreciated that. No sense in rushing the goodness and risking the danger of a lingering snow squall. Cautious optimism is the gardener’s safest stance.
