Primroses

I feel badly complaining that I have the winter blues. Some parts of the country are blanketed with snow, while we on the Central Coast are not even waterlogged with rain. But I feel them anyway, perhaps because of the short days. This is normal for me, and I find that getting a daily dose of natural light and fresh air helps a lot.

In anticipation of Spring, I am usually one of the first people buying tulip, daffodil and hyacinth bulbs in September. Though they don't even need to be planted for months around here, simply having them brings me a sense of security and anticipation. I've even purchased them when I didn't have a place to plant them. I'm a little less sorry to see the holiday season pass when I know that January brings with it a new start in the garden. Once I've recycled my holiday wreath, I turn to those carefully stored bulbs and spend a happy weekend afternoon re-filling pots with soil and pressing them into their chilly new homes. It's good for me and everyone around me.

Except for this year. I completely forgot to buy bulbs this year. I can't even remember why I was too busy or distracted, I'm just sure that I was.

Like a student who has suddenly realized she has an important homework assignment due, I considered quick solutions: Drive to local gardening centers and nurseries hoping to scrounge a few together? Pay a premium price for bulbs already forced in pots? Sneak into a neighbor's yard and hijack a few? The second two possibilities seemed a little too unsavory, so I went with the first. My attempts were deeply disappointing. Finally, I conceded that it was too late for tulips.

Happily, January gardening holds an alternative for those of us starved for blooms: primroses. Neither prim nor a rose, these happy plants brighten the gloomiest of days with their bold colors and are tough enough to take the coldest temperatures we have on the Central Coast. They even re-bloom through out the Winter if you pinch off the spent blossoms and protect them from snails. As an added bonus, they attract hummingbirds with their shape.

On one of my recent trips to a local garden shop, a small sign reading "In the midst of chaos lies creativity" caught my eye. Perhaps I missed the tulips due to chaos, but I haven't lost my creativity. Primroses are not as sexy or elegant as tulips, but they get the job done if a hint of Spring is what you're after.