Happy March, my friends — we made it through February!  Though it is technically still “late winter,” we’re starting to see small hints that spring is just around the corner.  The Black-capped chickadees have started singing the two-note song that puts a smile on my face,  the daylight stretches into the evening a bit, and KC has seen some beautiful 60-degree days.

I’m starting to see tiny signs of life in my garden– while cleaning up sticks this weekend, I noticed that the Japanese Maples are covered in tiny buds.  Most are 6-12″ saplings, and I only permanently planted three last year–the rest I stuck in the ground, pot and all, hoping that they would overwinter.  It appears they all survived — score one for this newbie gardener!

The patches of “Spring Beauty” crocus bulbs that I planted last fall are also becoming more noticeable — I first saw a tiny bit of green peeking out from under the fallen leaves on January 21st,  and since then they seem to have grown well, preparing to send up little purple blooms in early spring.

I also noticed what appears  to be growth on Columbine “Winky” — which would be really exciting considering that Columbine are generally on the “not tolerant of juglone” list.  (Quick background: I have a number of large black walnut trees that provide a wonderful shade canopy.  Unfortunately, black walnut trees produce a chemical called juglone, which can cause wilt and eventual death in nearby plants that are sensitive to the toxin.  Of course, I learned this after I invested significant time and money in the garden last year.  Sigh.)

The dogs have enjoyed spending extra time outside in the last week or so — early spring weather is cool enough to enjoy a long walk or nap in the sun without overheating.  Blaze is ready to start gardening, as you can see:

But I must say, the most exciting thing to happen in my garden these first few days of March has been the start of my water garden installation — two months ahead of schedule!  I was making myself crazy watching videos of water gardens on YouTube every day (yes, I know, I’m a nerd), so I decided to email the pond contractor to let him know it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if they had a break in their spring clean-out schedule and could start early.  The stars must have aligned, because he responded that they could begin the next day.

Work started Thursday, and the crew thinks they’ll be finished tomorrow.  Pretty crazy how fast these guys can build a water feature!  If all goes as planned, I’ll have some awesome pictures to share next week.  Here’s the progress after two days:

The project consists of a 3-4′ waterfall, 15-20′ stream, and a 10’x15′ pond.  As with anything, the details are what make it extra-special, and this team does not disappoint.  They’ve worked with us to really personalize the water feature, including an easy entrance point for the dogs, a split stream around a Japanese Maple, flat rocks for getting up close to feed the fish, and rock placement that will maximize the sound of the waterfalls.  I’m sure the finished product will be spectacular.

Once the water garden is complete, I can start planning what to plant around it; with another 5 weeks to go before our average last frost date, I’ll have plenty of time to be thoughtful about the design.  If I do it right, the water garden should look like a natural woodland stream and pond with plenty of year-round interest.  Let me know if you have any suggestions for shade plants (tolerant of juglone) that I absolutely must include!

Only 16 days until the official start of spring, and I am going use every single one to prep for a fabulous gardening season. Who’s with me?