It must be spring. The day before yesterday, Sarah and I had our first official Walk Around the Garden with a Cup of Tea. This puts the 2008 season at least two weeks behind schedule in Toronto. Usually, this first walk happens in mid-March.

Typically, it involves gently prying apart the mat of maple leaves to see what’s happening underneath. Our conversation usually goes like this:

Sarah: I wonder if I should take off the leaves.

Me (with irritating older sister assurance): Don’t do it, Sarah. Not yet.

Two weeks behind schedule, though, there’s a sudden explosion of growth happening under there. Cozied under the blanket of snow and leaves, the shoots of bulbs like Tulipa tarda, Crocus and Muscari, and even delicate-looking white bleeding hearts have been sneaking up on us. So, after this year’s eternal winter, we’re probably going to see a sudden spring. A positive recoil!

None too soon. My postage-stamp garden always looks embarrassingly bleak at this time of year. Last fall’s maple leaves trample it to nothing.

Putting this picture online is the gardener’s confessional equivalent of being caught in an accident with ratty underwear. It’s here to prove, if ever proof was required, that the Toronto Gardens blog truly is about “real gardens by real people.”

What’s under all those leaves? Something good, I hope. Soon, crocuses and tulips that I hope to enjoy… before the squirrels get them. Tune in and see.