Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published March 31, 2004

See you next year, March

Farewell March! I always feel better once that long month of uncertain weather is gone. After we moved to the Plateau, I learned too late that March was not to be trusted. The saucer magnolia and Bradford pear tree had already been planted before I learned that lesson. Year after year they would both be filled with buds about to burst when a late quick frost would scorch them. It took 16 years before they both escaped that fate and finally put on a glorious show of blooms for the first time.

Again this year the magnolia branches were heavy with buds about to open. Each warm day I watched, thinking this would be the day they unfolded. The wait seemed endless, but after more than a week of watching the opening came and it was a grand sight. Daily I took pictures. Even a hard shower didn't dampen the glory. Then the evening weather forecast on March 21 warned of frost and next morning the magnolia blossoms were all brown from the brief freeze.

For well over a month the entire bird population has carried a welcome to spring in their songs. Through snow flurries and bitter cold temperatures they sang a different song filled with the promise of what was to come. For the third year a pair of red polls began building their nest in the ivy just outside our front door. Is this the same pair or did they mark their offspring in some mysterious way so they knew where to return for nesting?

Is it my faulty memory or is the lovely native serviceberry tree late in blooming this year? Usually its white blossoms can be seen scattered through the leafless woods very early. This year the Bradford pears are all in full bloom but the serviceberry is yet to make her debut.
My memory was stirred when I read that March 25 marked the opening of a garden across the ocean. In the Netherlands the Dutch created one of the most beautiful spring gardens anywhere -- Keukenhof. It all began in the mind of the mayor of Lisse. He shared his idea with 10 other bulb growers and they were enthusiastic about an annual permanent open air exhibition.

Nearby was the enormous 15th century estate which had been ruled by Countess of Holland Jacoba van Beiren from 1401 to 1426. Part of the land had been used to grow herbs and vegetables which she personally gathered for her kitchen. Literally translated, Keukenhof means "kitchen garden." In 1840 the estate had been developed into a park, and in 1949 Keukenhof Gardens opened. That first year 236,000 visitors were welcomed.

The numbers soared to over 900,000 visitors enjoying the sight of tens of thousands of tulips painting the landscape with a rainbow of color. Other varieties of spring flowers are also planted across the 70 acres. I will always remember the day in 1973 I spent surrounded by so much beauty. It is as overwhelming all these years later as it was on that day.

Farewell March! I will overlook your not-to-be trusted nature on the Plateau since you smile on those gardens in Holland.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.