I, too, love your comments Melissa as I hack my way through grass and try to put on wood chips around roses. We are at the early roses like Teas blooming stage but barely past freezing temps. The lilacs are just finishing. My wisteria buds froze out but the plant is not dead. Same for yellow Lady Banks. My Fortuniana is starting bloom but Russelliana not yet.

It is a really good year for grass and weeds.

My lilacs haven’t even started yet Sheila!

Oursteelers and Sheila, I'm glad you enjoy my comments; I enjoyed writing them. I'm a bit envious of you, that both of you have a lot of spring ahead of you, while we're staring at a fast approaching summer while it isn't even June yet. Oh, well, spring started this year in January, so it isn't as though we haven't had our season. The thought of an extra month of summer isn't a welcoming one, though. I expect to be spending a lot of time down in the woods once it gets hot. Sorry to hear about your freeze losses, Sheila.

Yeah, I'm a bit envious, too-spring is all too brief here-at least it seems so to me,but perhaps that's just because i love it so. And I, too, am NOT looking forward to summer,and sometimes feel down-right depressed and anxious about its' arrival.

Right now my roses are at their peak-by that I mean that most of them are at their best, though the late bloomers have yet to really start. This is the "Grand Finale" of the season.

Sheila, I covered my wisterias with that synthetic white garden "cloth" (of which I never seem to remember the name) and did get flowers this year. But it might've just been luck; i.e. no late ,sudden temperature drops...

Such a beautiful read. Thank you!

Thanks, librarian_gardner. Bart, mine is likely a useless comment, but I'm surprised your wisteria suffers freeze damage. We're further north than you, and our wisteria, planted way back in 2003, has bloomed abundantly every spring since. I don't understand what's going on there. Is it because ours is in a protected position? It grows on a pergola in front of our house, facing south, so with three stories of masonry backing it up, and with two other building on either side and trees to break the force of the wind. Could all that thermal mass make a difference?

My commiserations on the looming arrival of summer, by the way. It's not a great time in the garden. We plant trees diligently, but it's going to be a couple of decades at least before the garden has the shade it needs (which will be enough shade to start shading out the flowers; well, patience).

Tyvek, Bart? This is the first year in 7 I had this problem. There was a warm up then freezes. Something was worse this year.

Melissa, your wisteria is clearly growing in a very protected position, and mine is not. Also, though you are further north, I think my garden is more exposed than is yours, Though facing south-west, it is at about 600 meters above sea level, and is subject to very, very strong wind.

Melissa, you should write a book, like ”A Year in Provence” but in Italy.

As to writing a book: I would buy it! I love your writing -- it always paints a picture for me, and you place the gardener squarely in the garden; garden and gardener intertwined.

Noseometer and rosesmi, thank you! I'm not ambitious enough on my own: I need someone to make me do it. Rosesmi, I that's a nice image.

Chiming in with everyone—another wonderful read! If I lived in Italy, I’d show up and make you write that book!! :-) Carol