Spring is finally here. I can tell because the daffodils are desperately trying to raise their stems through the hard winter soil.  It is a magical time of year.  Everything that looks dry and dead begins to come to life again.  It is the time of the year when a hard circle of a thing called a bulb sprouts something   beautiful in vibrant colors and is literally a gift that will multiply and sprout for   you every year.  Yes, take the time to smell the flowers better yet watch them grow for you.

After a cold winter when   way back in September you were already cuddling and smuggling with your woman under the covers and spending the winter watching the magic of her body growing till   a beautiful baby pops out of her too just in time for spring.  It is the time of the year when you can   get out and feel the warmth of the sun on your face, stand in front of your flower garden and show off that beautiful baby you made.  It all sounds pretty perfect and not   really far beyond our reach.

Spring is a religious time of the year where   people   celebrate Easter or Passover.  They celebrate the story of their God overcoming oppression to a happy ending.  I prefer to celebrate nature and the here and now because that is what I am experiencing.  By planting a bulb in the fall or a flowering tree or a bush I am gifted by beauty beyond belief in the spring.  But paying more attention to you a woman in the winter, it is possible you will be gifted a   beautiful child in the spring.  Everything takes care and planning.  Everything good   in life need special attention.  It is worth the trouble.

In Philadelphia there is an event called flower week where the Philadelphia flower show is in full bloom.  It is one of the few shows where they encourage you to take as many pictures as you like.  This year   they  put  culture back into horticulture.  From the moment you enter this show, art surrounds you. Alexander Calder was their inspiration since he is known for his mobile work and a local artist from Philadelphia. They recreated art work this time made up from thousands of flowers finding the right   shades of color found in nature. To me that is a religion finding all the colors   nature provides especially at springtime.

10 acres of the Pennsylvania convention center has been transformed into a springtime wonderland.  These are professional exhibits jt  in the typical small garden.  I don’t care if you live in an apartment building, you can still have a window box that can thrive on the same sunlight and water that the big beautiful gardens have at their disposal.  It all started in 1829 by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.  The Philadelphia flower show is the oldest in the world.  Today it attracts thousands and earns about a million dollars.  The show also holds a national competition.

This year the show’s designers paired up with museums from all over the country.  They looked at famous paintings and then transformed and created an inspired garden.  Entries competed in a number of categories.  It is like the Olympics of horticulture.  You are competing against the best in the industry and when you win here, you   become one of the best in the country.  During the competition judges are kept separate from visitors and noise is kept to a minimum something similar to a tennis match.  It is actually very serious business and some exhibits even come with   birds chirping and singing their songs for the total   actual effect.

Jamie Wyeth is a painter from Pennsylvania known for wildlife scenes.  The Wyeth family was known to emphasize the natural terrain of the area.  The judges judge on how many of your   senses are activated in the exhibits.  Yes they want to be able to smell the trees and flowers.  Designers, judges and visitors alike are   all amazed by the commitment creativity and craftsmanship on display.  But most of all it is all a tribute to the beauty of the ugly bulb that turns into an amazing flower in the spring.  Perhaps it is the bloom that helps us all to blossom in the spring.  It is  time to dust winter off our shoulders and have a renewed commitment to the land our  philosophy and to our families.