Spring therapy

Gallery

Posted on by

Being the great cat owner that I am, yesterday I went to our local garden center to pick up cat grass.

Of course they were ecstatic. The four of them were napping on various levels and in different rooms but within 5 minutes they all converged into the kitchen to attack the grass.

I don’t know how they do it but it happens every time. From a sound sleep. From hidey holes in the basement. From under a bed. Out comes a raging mob.

I don’t think there is anything that can make me move that fast. Maybe a screaming fire alarm alerting me that my spectacular dinner has burned to a crisp.

Or the announcement of a shoe sale.

This post isn’t about my cats’ addiction to grass or my love of shoes but the power of beauty and smell and color.

The garden center had 50% off of all the Easter plants. I didn’t do much decorating this year because I wasn’t entertaining. There is a lily on my window sill and that was it.

Some years I have a spring planter for the front porch but the weather has been (and continues to be) so weird. The earliest of the daffodils are starting to bloom but everything is late. Not even the pansies are happy.

Walking into the center was overwhelming. Colors! Smells! Beauty!

There were tulips blooming in all colors with bluebells and daffodils and odoriferous hyacinths. The sale was a good deal as the plants weren’t bloomed out as they are some years.

For me there is something about flowers that lifts the spirits and makes me whole again. Maybe it’s a renewal thing.

When I’m feeling low I visit a garden center just to look at whatever is growing. Doesn’t matter what. I can get as chirpy with a tree or a shrub as I do with beautiful flowers.

It’s cheaper than real therapy most of the time. On occasion, like yesterday, a few stray things end up in my shopping cart. My lily is no longer lonesome. There is a triple blue hyacinth eyeing her up. I think they have a coffee date later today.

My kitchen smells like spring with lilies and hyacinths and oh yes, onions and garlic (the remnants of winter smells which like the weather continue to linger).

Header courtesy of wallpapers111.com

41 thoughts on “Spring therapy”

  4. I feel the same sense of calm and delight when walking through my favorite nurseries and seeing all the beautiful spring colors, but I can only imagine what it must feel like to someone who has been waiting for winter to finally disappear! Your anticipation of spring warmth and color must make it a truly delicious experience when it finally happens! 🙂

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • It is. A long time ago, a gardener told me that the spring flowers are in bold colors because people have been denied so long. The reds and yellows and blues and purples that would be considered gaudy during the summer are welcomed with open arms.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  5. Thanks for the flowers in your header, Kate. I think I need a trip to a garden center soon for some Spring therapy. Sounds like you might live where I live…where it’s been cold, damp and rainy all week! And I miss my cat!

    Like

    Reply ↓

  7. That header is about the happiest and prettiest thing I’ve seen in ages! An explosion of color, and all of it saturated with the beauty of Spring. Very cheerful.

    I spent time outside yesterday, doing yard work, and ended up with a minor case of sunburn. I had to laugh, because I haven’t even properly put up my winter blankets and clothes yet, and now my first sunburn of the season. Texas has a way of stomping right past Spring, and lurching headlong into Summer. Let’s just say our tiny window for Spring has already come and gone. We’re officially marking temperatures in the 80’s already, and my guess is we’ll hit 90 before the end of the month. Remind me again why I live in Texas? 🙂

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Sunburn? *serious envy…sort of* Some years we don’t really have a spring either. It’s cold until a day towards the end of May and then it hits the 90s to kill the tulips. Here’s hoping for a nice long spring. I am not sure why you live in Texas but I’m sure you have a good reason. (Can’t figure out why I live in the snow belt!)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  8. You made me want to eat cat grass and go to a garden center. And I live in SoCal, where my freesias have finished blooming but my roses and gladiolas are just now busting out.

    Every year my guy tries to grow catnip in the greenhouse. Every year, a cat sneaks out of our house, gets into the greenhouse, and eats the catnip before its an inch tall. Catnip ninjas. Addicts.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • I tried raising catnip from small bedding plants. That didn’t work. The neighborhood cats rolled all over it when it was 2″ tall and that was it. I got a large plant and that worked. It comes back every year and even if they break a branch or 3 there is still a lot of bush left. They also reseed themselves so you find them all over. I am the neighborhood drug dealer for cats.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  9. What a good idea — to buy cat grass at a garden center! I used to try to grow it, but we never had enough sun on the deck. And a catnip plant? Dumb city-bred me didn’t even think of that! The only catnip my kitties get is dried and crumbled. They both love it but it scatters all over everything. Hanging around your blog, Kate, is sure a learning experience!

    Like

    Reply ↓

  13. I have to be the obnoxious pet sitter for just a moment and make sure that you know that lilies are seriously toxic to cats. Eating just a little can cause death…just fyi. Please slap my hand and delete this note if you already know that and your cats don’t disturb flowering plants like mine do!!

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • I do know that (but thanks for mentioning it). For some weird reason that I can’t figure out my cats only eat the cat grass and catnip. They don’t eat house plants or flowering plants or my tiny tomato plants that I have started. As I got each cat I was vigilant but no one has interest. I don’t know why. Maybe because I have several cat grass plants (specifically grown for cats so there are no chemicals) around the house. Those they mow down with a vigor. Having said all that one of my cats will chew up (and hopefully not digest) artificial flowers. I can’t have a floral centerpiece on my dining room table. It has to be ceramic or out of her jumping reach.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  14. Love your header. We bought a catnip plant and I’m curious if t-Bob will react. It’s on the back porch. Maybe this weekend I’ll bring it inside to see T’s reaction.
    Grandson has planted corn which is taking off – growing inches every day! It’s fun to watch his excitement. I’ve always wondered if our bluebonnets (lupine) are related to hyacinths. I think they look similar. btw I just read yesterday that taking a sniff of rosemary can improve memory up to 75%. Aren’t plants fun?

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Three of my four cats are crazy for catnip. The other can take it or leave it. Jake, who is allowed out, loves to roll in a big plant in the yard. All you can see of him is his butt. Bluebonnets are awesome and remind me of Lady Bird Johnson. As for the rosemary, I’m not a big fan but if I can remember where my keys are, I’ll take a big sniff! Thanks for stopping by!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

Don't be shy, I'd love to hear what you're thinking!