Usually by this time of year we still have a solid base of snow covering our yard and obscuring its features, but with the up and down temperatures we’ve had this Winter (and I use that term loosely), any snow we have gotten hasn’t stuck around for more than a week, and more often than not is gone in only a few days, allowing me to see the grass and, by extension, my garden. I’m not really good with house plants (we do have a few, but they have certainly suffered ever since we dropped our cleaning lady) but for some reason I do like to garden.

And right now my garden is naked and is definitely feeling over exposed.

When we installed our fence a few years ago most of the garden was destroyed, which at first upset me, but eventually I realized also gave me a chance to start anew without feeling guilty about killing plants I didn’t like. So now our garden is a bit of a work in progress: our backyard is very shady, so I’m limited in what will grow, and while I love the plants we do have I haven’t had much free time in the last two years so there’s still quite a few places to fill in.

And yet, it is still “full”. In place of the plants that have yet to mature, I guess I’ve embraced my sense of whimsy, adding garden gnomes and other statues, along with a bird bath (or two).

Last summer I built a small pond in one corner near the house where nothing would grow anyway and where our gutters were overflowing and washing away the soil. Since we couldn’t stop the overflow, the pond at least catches it and prevents any more erosion. Secretly I hoped that a frog would take up residence there, but it remained vacant. Perhaps this will be the year the pond gets a special visitor.

What I don’t miss is these lovely visitors, who popped up in larger numbers for the first time last year. I hope this year they decide to take up residence elsewhere.