Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn. - Lewis Grizzard, American writer
The month of March brings a renewal to the winter landscape in Western North Carolina. There are many changes, which can be subtle, such as buds swelling on trees, emerging insects and early blooming flowers, like daffodils. Other changes include the sounds of birds and frogs.
A considerable change this month is the extra daylight as the calendar approaches the Vernal Equinox. The sun is higher in the sky, giving more warmth and setting later each day. The additional light is the cue for all plants, insects, birds, amphibians and other animals to emerge from their winter dormancy.
A Month of Changes
By mid-March, lawns begin to turn bright green as the grass grows. Dandelions suddenly bloom everywhere. The usual weeds appear in the garden beds, which is a signal for me to get busy. But cold fronts usually blow in at the beginning of March with strong winds, sometimes with snow, creating the impression that winter will last for months. Yet, a few days later, it can be 70 degrees with a strong sun. March is a month of contradictions!
Birdsong begins to fill the air in March, especially towards the end of the month, as birds prepare to attract mates and defend their territory. As the weather warms, robins, blackbirds and phoebes engage in a raucous chorus. Carolina wrens, chickadees and sparrows add to the melody, especially early in the morning.
One March day, I noticed dozens of robins in my yard when the temperature was mild. I hadn't seen them all winter because they spend the cold months in forests looking for berries on hollies, sumac and juniper. When the weather is warmer, they begin to forage for earthworms on lawns and become more visible.
Spring peepers, the tiny frogs of spring, come out of hibernation and begin their mating songs on warm, wet nights. Their loud trilling in the evening is a comforting sign of the transition to spring. I always look forward to their chorus.
The Plants Wake Up
Just as the birds and frogs start vocalizing, the plant world is waking up and showing signs of life. The buds on macrophylla hydrangeas, which have been there all winter, begin to swell. Red maple tree buds swell early in March, along with pink magnolia buds. By late March, the magnolias produce hundreds of exquisite blooms.
In my garden, I notice that tiny autumn sedum and catnip buds emerge in March. The Lenten rose hellebore, always a pretty flower in winter, starts to bloom with yellow and rose-colored flowers among its evergreen foliage. Daffodils, snowdrops, crocuses and tulips also bloom at this time with many colorful blooms. They are a captivating sight against the bare landscape, good for our spirits, and good for early pollinators.
The contradictory month of March produces wintry days, strong winds and sometimes snow, but it also produces warm, sunny days that propel the growing season forward. As Henry David Thoreau says, the month produces "some calm and pleasant days, reminding us of summer."
Judith Canty Graves is an award-winning columnist with a home garden in Asheville. Follow @TheObservantGardener on Instagram to see new garden photos daily. This article appears in The Laurel of Asheville magazine.