“March comes in like a lion, leaves like a lamb.”
But if it comes in like a lamb does it go out like a lion?
At May Dreams Gardens, March came in like a lamb today if you consider mostly sunny skies and temperatures “almost” reaching 50 F as “lamb-like”.
What does this mean for the end of the month?
The research department at May Dreams Gardens did a study to see if indeed the weather at the beginning of the month predicts that weather at the end of the month.
Using the May Dreams Gardens garden journal, the research department compared March 1st to March 31st for the last seven years
2001 in like a lamb, out like a lamb
2002 in like a lamb, out like a lamb
2003 in like a lamb, out like a lamb
2004 in like a lamb, out like a lamb
2005 in like a lion, out like a lamb
2006 in like a lamb, out like a lamb
2007 in like a lion, out like a lamb
The research department decided that any day with a high temperature above freezing was a “lamb” day. However, March 31, 2007 was designated a “lion” day even though the daytime temperature got to 74 F because there were thunderstorms in the morning.
According to the garden journal, those morning thunderstorms didn’t keep me from mowing the lawn on March 31st for the first time that year. I also mowed the lawn for the first time on March 31st in 2006.
Since I was looking at my garden journal anyway, I noted that the earliest I’ve mowed the lawn was March 28th, in both 2003 and 2004.
So I assume I’ll be mowing the lawn and gathering enough green plant material to fill my compost tumbler before the end of the month.
March is also when I sow seeds indoors for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc. and then start my early spring vegetables outside around St. Patrick’s Day. I’ll also be cleaning up the perennial beds and, weather permitting, I might try to remove some sod for some new flower beds on the east side of the back yard.
And for sure by the end of the month, the hellebores will be blooming and I will have trimmed back all that old foliage.
There is indeed much that happens in my garden in March.
There is work for you to do.
Work and play and blow all day,
Blow the Winter wind away.”
Anonymous
To see other posts for Garden Bloggers Muse Day, visit Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.
Well, here in Western Mass it snowed a lot so I am hoping it is in like a Lion out like a Lamb for us! I don’t have a complete March log to look back at (what a great idea!) but I do recall that many years we have been “tricked” into thinking we would have the lamb:lamb scenario and winter has come back with a fury by the end of March. :-/
Enjoy your lamb like weather and may it be here to stay!
Carol
Hi Carol – you made that deadline with 10 minutes to spare!
I hope the March wind blows away your winter wind and that you’ll soon be on the way to spring. I’ll bet MSS from Zanthan could make a similar chart for Austin!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Hello there! Annie at the Transplantable Rose left me a note on my GBMD post saying I should come over and check out your hoe collection. I landed on your GBMD post. I’m off to check out those hoes!
I almost put my garden lights away today…the white patio lights I have strung around my citrus, ready to turn on in case of a freeze. But although it was a lamb day here, too, I’m not going to jinx myself by assuming winter is over just yet!
here in the UK its definetly coming in like a Lion.. gales yesterday, we’ve still got fairly high winds. In fact OH had to travel to the Netherlands yesterday, his flight was cancelled and he spent most of the day at the airport hoping to get onto a flight that evening, supposed to leave at 5.15pm, it eventually took of at 7.48pm!!
hope this year it goes out like a lamb..
keth
xx
Hi Carol,
I came back to Chicago because you said that it’s nice here. You were right. We’re also expecting 50 today so I think I’ll get out my pruners and catch up with my garden chores.
Thanks for your great muse post. Kudos to the MDG research department.
Cabs (Carol)… I have no doubt that there are still some lions out there, even into March. I just hope there aren’t that many!
Annie in Austin… I bet MSS at Zanthan Garden could make a much better chart than mine. She is an amazing garden journaler.
Weed Whackin’ Adventures… Welcome, and I hope you enjoyed the hoe collection!
Leslie… I agree, keep the lights out a little longer. You just never know when it comes to the weather.
Kethry… Welcome and hopefully your lion like weather means you have many lamb like days ahead!
Carolyn Gail… I’m happy to hear the weather is good in Chicago and thanks again for hosting muse day. Welcome home!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Carol – what Carolyn Gail failed to mention is that today is the warmest of the next 7, 4 of which have snow in the forecast. March came in like a lion yesterday – today’s warmth is merely a brief respite from the winter that seems like it will never end. Of course, it might be in the 80s in a couple of weeks.
You already know from my blog post–er, tantrum–what March has rumbled in like. However, I remind myself that it’s going to get better; when the clocks go ahead in another week or so, my mood will definitely improve, even though we might be besieged with many more snowdumps before Spring actually arrives here. It’s all okay though. It is…:-)
I’m just catching up on my reading after being offline for ten days. I love this kind of post because I love looking over past records and trying to glean patterns. Thomas Jefferson’s garden journals are my inspiration. He kept such good records…and he had to do it all in long hand.
Thanks for the kind remarks from you and Annie…I think I appear more organized than I actually am. Wait to see my house, then you’ll know the horrible truth.