We bought a new house and sold my "starter home" this year. When I bought my first home, I'd only planned on being there 3 years. I was there just shy of 15. So, you could say I'm a bit of a procrastinator.
Every year in that house, I thought about getting bulbs in the ground in the fall to bloom in the spring. I'd wanted yellow daffodils, as a nod to my late grandmother. She had a beautiful swath in her house on her farm, as well as the house in town she moved into after selling her farm. She loved the daffodil patch at the farm so much that she said when she died, she wanted to be cremated and have her ashes spread over the patch.
Being the procrastinator I am, I never got daffodil bulbs in the ground at my old house. I did plant a few perennials over the years, and sometimes, even my hydrangea bushes bloomed beautifully. But I never got those bulbs in the ground. Every Spring, I'd see them other places and say, "ah, I'll do it this year."
I said all that to say this- when we were in negotiations to finalize the contract on the house we're living in now, I drove over one day in early April, to see if the previous owner (they'd already moved out of state) had any Spring flowers poking out of the ground.
I sat in the driveway of a vacant house I wasn't sure we'd be buying, in tears for a solid 15 minutes because there were yellow daffodils blooming. I should mention I was also pregnant with our second child at the time, so the waterworks were probably fueled a little by hormones as well. But, if the contract got all sorted out, there would be daffodils.
I was so emboldened by the promise of yellow daffodils the following year, (we didn't move in until the middle of May, so I only got to enjoy them if I drove across town to see them) that I spent a small fortune on other bulbs to accompany them for this year. (I took advantage of some great offerings from HollandBulbFarms.com)
Tulips, Crocus, and other Daffodils would be welcoming us in our first spring. I planted so many, I don't even remember where they all are-- any place I could dig 6 inches deep, I threw in some bulbs and said a prayer.
Since the new year began, I've been out walking the perimeter of the house, checking for signs of life. I pump my fist in the air every time I see something poking above the ground. My neighbors probably think I'm nuts.
I care not- THERE WILL BE DAFFODILS.
