![\"The](\"http:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/first-flower-of-spring-028.jpg\")
<\/a>The linden tree is framed between two old maple trees, planted over 100 years ago on the big lawn at Glen Villa.<\/p><\/div>\n
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Despite this, not much is happening yet to the tree I’m ‘following’ this year, a linden or basswood, or (to give the tree its proper name) my\u00a0Tilia americana<\/em>.<\/p>\n On a warm day I can fool myself into thinking I see buds forming. And maybe I do. \u00a0Spring doesn’t linger in Quebec. Some years, the season\u00a0jumps from winter to summer in so short a time that a sleepy-eyeed city dweller misses spring altogether.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Are those really buds? I have to use my imagination — and a magnifying glass.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Today I was able to walk across the big lawn\u00a0without slogging through piles of melting snow. As you can see in the photo below, the snow has almost disappeared, lurking now only in shady spots. The lawn is nowhere near green; instead it is a soggy mess. With the earth still frozen, the melt-off has nowhere to go, creating perfect conditions for mud and water that pools on the surface.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There is a hint of green in the grass on the right-hand side of this photo. Or so I tell myself.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Underneath the tree a wire mesh cover is protecting the muscari bulbs planted last fall against marauding squirrels. It’s pinned into the ground at the edges and held in place with strips of wood.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Squirrels in the fall dug up most of the bulbs we planted the first year we tried this.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n I\u00a0first planted bulbs under the tree some eight\u00a0or nine\u00a0years ago. My idea was to have a circle of blue that matched the shadow line of the tree, a bit like a blue bruise on the ground to mark the end of winter and the arrival of spring. The first year I\u00a0planted scilla, but for some reason the following year I changed my mind and planted muscari, or grape hyacinth, instead.<\/p>\n I added\u00a0muscari annually for three more years. After dividing the space into quadrants,\u00a0I\u00a0planted one quadrant each fall, leaving a path between the\u00a0sections to allow easy access\u00a0to the bench that circles the tree.<\/p>\n That was a mistake — leaving a space lessened the impact. \u00a0Last fall I decided to complete\u00a0the circle by filling in the empty bits. \u00a0I also added more bulbs to the quadrant already planted\u00a0since the muscari has\u00a0not multiplied as quickly as I thought it\u00a0would. I’ll do the same this fall and the next two years as well. That means a lot more\u00a0bulbs and a lot more hours, but I think the end result will be worth it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>