The Vernal Equinox is the 20th. What does this mean to you?

Whoa! That's a first. Literally.

It seems like the moment the time changed, summer rolled in with a bang.

Just another not-very-special date in the long, slow drag from winter into spring . . . so many ups and downs over the four months it takes, that no named day is notable. Here, it can be warmer in January than it is in April.

Resin

Spring...? You've got to be kidding? More snow arrived last night. It'll be awhile before anyone can get out and dig.

Yea!!!! Spring is here!!!! We've already mowed the lawn and it's ready again.

We were 87* yesterday. It's like summer.

If there had been a choice between 'spring is here' and 'spring is supposed to be here' I would have voted that way. I have the luxury of living on a grain farm. The house and farm buildings use a five acre area. Many years ago the area was crowded with necessary buildings for farming. Twenty years ago we started removing unused buildings rather than maintaining them. As a result we have about three acres to mow or plant flower beds and gardens and to practice my short game in golfing.

We had a couple 60+ degree days a short while back and I walked around checking the beds. What a disappointment that turned out to be. Yesterday and the next couple of days are predicted to be in the upper 60's again. Yesterday I was out practicing my short game and checking beds. Bulbs have burst through showing the tips of their leaves. The ornamental grass is sprouting. The perennials haven't done much yet. I need a lot more practice swinging my golf clubs. Today I'll put pruning shears in my back pocket to remove last year's dead growth while I'm whacking balls around the yard.

The grass isn't ready to mow yet. Most of it is still brown. It hasn't been rolled for a few years so I think we'll get that done before mowing. Last season it was rougher than a cob. Quite a few times I thought I was going to spill my beer in the cup holder. Can't be letting that happen.

Gary

You can tell Spring is almost here because for about 3 days we were almost in the 80's, but the last few days its been in the 40's and raining! Spring here is like that. Especially March and April. You never know what the temps will be like! We've had some of our biggest snow storms in April. I'm REALLY looking forward to June, LOL!!!!

Well, we're down to about 2 feet of snow. The weather report is for 50 degrees and rain, so that should take it down some more. Longer days give such a lift in spirit and hearing songbirds makes for a jumping day! We always expect "poor man's fertilizer" by the 2nd week of April, and that should be just the right time to get a row of spinach planted!
Gail
Mexico, Maine

I voted "Other", as none of the choices quite fit our region.

My situation is similar to that of gk1153.
Today and tomorrow, we'll be near 70 glorious degrees(F.), then its back down below freezing.

No lawn mowing yet, grass still dormant, although I do see a few weeds greening up. I also see peeps of an occasional perennial flower.

The Vernal Equinox simply means that Spring "should" be here, but we know there could be lots of winter left in our area(upper Midwest).

Thank goodness for these few days-"touches of Spring", as we like to call them-giving us hope that Spring will eventually settle in here.
Does anyone else notice the shifting of the seasons?

I hope I didn't guarantee a coming snowstorm, yesterday! I (foolishly?) stored our big snowthrower in it's summer location. ha.

Sashagirl

Spring is here in my area. Most of the trees have leafed out, the Azaleas have been blooming for a month now. We've de-thatched, mowed and fertilized the lawn and I've weeded most of the flower beds. The hot, humid summer weather is just around the corner for us, but right now the low 80º temp's with low humidity makes it very pleasant for working in the garden!

Our lawn could use a mow, parts are getting a bit long.
The daylilies are showing more growth and the daffodils are almost done blooming.
The Yokame cherries and redbuds are starting to bloom around here - so nice to see!
Barb

I voted "other" because nothing else seemed to cover. It's hot one day and practically freezing the next and now it is going to be warmish during the day and cooler at night. Have fertilized my lawn w/a 3-1-2 w/trace minerals and it's looking good. Until the crape myrtles put out those new leaves it won't be warm enough for me regardless of the day/date.

Ann

Although our grass doesn't need mowing yet, Redbud and Shadblow are blooming, the lilac blossoms of redbuds and the white of the shadblows compliment one another so beautifully as painting, next dogwoods blooms are going to be a show stopper. Spring is near, spring is here. I'm so grateful of that!

Other.
The sun's rays begin to intensify because of our angle relative to the sun, enabling plant growth. Animals enter a 'time slot' to multiply, renewing their species before Fall. Easter arrives signaling re-birth. Spring "Clean-up time".

Spring for me means time to get out and begin hybridizing. Most of my plants start blooming in February and March so that keeps me busy those months.

LariAnn
Aroidia Research

Spring. Right. Think I should get out the lawnmower?

Spring is here at the moment with temperatures reaching 25C, but on the 20 they say it will snow here until the 30th. Not looking forward to that.

Time to mow the lawn here. Sorry! But realize that is tempered by a brutally hot summer, when it's as useless to try to garden as it is in winter up there.

Fun note -- on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, you can balance a raw egg on its little end. Try it. It takes some finessing, but it works. It will stand that way for days, too.

LOL Woofie. I celebrate spring on winter solistice when the sun comes back so I'm now looking forward to SUMMER. Greenhouse is full of seedlings and tender bulbs so I'm happy (as long as I don't look outside).

I voted for spring is here, cuz now that most of the snow is gone, I can move stuff around my deck and start to clean up my "back yard" (more like a 'back AREA') from all the tree branches from my neighbour's tree.......

I've been looking @ the bulbs at Wally-World, and wondering about getting them for home & church. I'm really looking forward to gardening both gardens. Looking @ garden decor, too. Wish we could get a waterfall and/or firepit (neither are allowed in our trailer park) but it's sure nice looking :-)

-Susan-

Oh yes, dahlianut, my greenhouse has a small supply of seedlings, too (including dahlias, tee hee). Only thing that maintains my sanity! I've been trying to restrain myself from starting too many seeds too soon. Thank goodness for tomatoes! They don't care how early I start them. Last time I started flowers in Feb, I ended up with some VERY tall plants.

Susan, would they let you have one of those solar fountains? They're pretty, too.

I wish it were Spring, but alas! Still a lot of snow and ice . The picture would be most like WOOFIE's! For all that I've already bought some new daylilies and phloxes and planted them in the pots and left in the veranda. I'm looking forward to the moment it'll be possible to do something in the garden :)

Well, it's here, but you better be prepared to jump back in the house before the next rain shower hits you. We just came through a big old wind and rain storm over the week-end, but today it is calm and balmy with intermittent showers. Not really what you would call gardening weather yet.

Well, my crocus and daffodils think it is Spring (crocus have been blooming about a week, first daffs opened today), and the robins returned last week, so I am ignoring the fact that it will probably get cold and icy again. I weeded a couple of beds and liberally sprinkled poppy seeds over a mostly unused bed, as they can handle it if it turns cold again.

Ah, feels so good to get my hands in the dirt again! The little neighbor girl came over to see if my DS could play (but he's sick), so she stayed to talk, and before you knew it, she was down on her knees asking what all the different leaves were. She liked the fuzzy poppies that were coming up from past years, but didn't think much of the iris at this point. Just wait! She thought sprinkling the seeds was the best part, though, and I'd have to agree. . .second only to seeing them bloom!

Angie

I don't think spring will come this year, although not has hard as woolfies. Snowdrops are finally blooming--how they managed to come up with all the extra snow is amazing.

I can't say spring has sprung with this date. So much is going on close to the ground in February on around here. You just have to look closer. Plus, the trees are budding out before then. Many minor bulbs are already blooming and daffodills, and pansies. I have the early spring veggies in the ground. However, it's not time for the tomatoes!
I put "other" because I think it is so neat that we have as much daylight aa darkness. It's a day to celebrate Spring and an excuse to have a party/brunch/coffee.
Happy Spring!!

According to the weather-person on my local TV channel today there is exactly 12 hours of daylight. Sunrise 6:59 AM. Sunset 6:59 PM.

Are many of you feeling better since the amount of daylight is increasing? I know I am. Better weather helps. I feel like being outside since it doesn't require bundling up in a heavy coat with hat and gloves. I see plants greeining up and popping through the soil. Life is fresh and new again. Opportunities for change abound. Instead of thinking about improvement plans as I've done all winter I can begin implementing them and in a couple more weeks check on the improvements made last year to see if they will work, or are still what I want, this season.

Spring is really a month away, here in Ohio, but we have been having very warm temperatures. It will go to 68* this afternoon ! The plants think it is spring. Hosta noses and daylilys are coming up.

I am going to go to the local nursery today and buy some blooming spring flowers. I figure I can bring them in if (when) the weather gets cold again, and plant them in place when spring really comes.

I voted other...I live in the tropics so it is Spring all year around. Temperatures average from 78 to 85 all the time, sometimes a little cooler, sometimes a little warmer.

Autumn is here. The leaves are turning red, and the nights and mornings are noticeably cooler...

Spring is here! We continue to munch the chard and spinach greens we have in the back bales, and will be planting the seedlings that are popping up on our starter table.

Well, I'd like to say that spring is here, but I know better! It's over 70 degrees today, but we'll go back to the reality of high 40s by Thursday. I won't get out to start really planting until mid- to late-April, most likely. Anything much earlier than that would be tempting fate.

I just joined this gardening forum today and I'm glad I did. It's very interesting to see the comments from folks in different parts of the country, and also the world!
I read the remarks about Spring and whether it is here or not - then looked at the states the comments were coming from. I'm in New Jersey - Spring is trying to come here, but not yet. The crocus are blooming, the tulips are up about 2 inches, the hyacinths the same. But the Weather channel says we are still in for freezing nights so the new plants I ordered that have already been shipped must stay in my sunroom for a while before I set them outside.
I envy you folks who have weather that promotes plant growth year round.
I wish I could afford to move somewhere to make that possible, but Jersey has been my home for 25 years and I guess it's going to stay that way.

Welcome to DG skramer ^_^ Looking forward to chatting with you on the NE Forum http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/region_ne/all/

Welcome to the family, skramer! I grew up in southern Jersey which is a little warmer than where I am now. Beautiful state.

I had to vote for "Other". For me the vernal equinox is a time of balance between light and dark. It's a holiday that I've celebrated since I was a kid. My parents even let me take that day off school to celebrate. Back where I grew up, most times we had daffs blooming by the equinox but not where I live now. I have iris reticulata blooming but it's still too cold out for me to feel like spring. I know we'll get another snowfall.

Yeah, the Northeast forum is great! It's one of my favorite forums to lurk on. Lots of fun and knowledgeable folks.

You're a NE alumni like me velnita. Join on in!

I like that--NE alumni. I post, just not very often. I love to read what everyone is doing and the pics are great. I have several plants in my yard just because of the pics and recommendations from that forum. Plus, everyone is so friendly. Makes me homesick a little. I moved away 27 years ago but all of my family is still back east.

I voted other. It's been mild the last few days, but we still have a LOT of snow on the ground. Here and there I'm seeing bare patches, especially close to the house and the back fence, but we won't be gardening for another month.