This past weekend, Birmingham got a bit of rain, and with it we got a gust of cooler weather. Generally, my preference is to have cold weather because I HATE to sweat, but I wondered about our delicate new blooms and if they would survive the chill. Each year, the weather is a little different, and I started think about the age-old saying “April showers bring May flowers.”
Our Perennials die off each fall and bloom again in the spring. Down here in Alabama, the new spring growth will bloom as early as March or April. We are lucky to have blooms so early; I know that many people will have to wait until May or after to see their brilliant flowers. This proves to me that it has more to do with the average temperature and sun exposure than how much rain the plants receive. So where does this saying come from?
According to feelingsandflowers.com , this saying can be traced all the way back to the mid-1500s. Apparently, an author named Thomas Tusser included in his writing collection, A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry, a poem that went like this:
‘Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers’
This saying is believed to be a reminder that even the most unpleasant experiences, like heavy rains of April, bring new joys. To this day the saying is used as a lesson in patience, just as we will say things like “Many of life’s greatest things come only to those who wait.” The past few months I have had to learn this lesson again, we have waited for our new home to be finished and now that it is, I have reaped the reward of patience! Perhaps the saying is better used as a way for people to look forward to the warmer, summer months to get them through the cold, rainy days.
Is your garden in bloom?
