March

Quotations for Gardeners, Walkers, and Lovers of the Green Way
Poems, Quotes, Folklore, Myths, Customs, Holidays, Traditions, Verses
Celebrations, Sayings, Poetry, Quips, Lore, Links, Recommended Reading
Gardening Chores for the Month of March 


Compiled by Karen and Mike Garofalo
Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California 

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Quotes


The Month of March
Poetry, Quotations, Sayings, Facts, Information, Quips, Aphorisms

 

 

"The air is like a butterfly
With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky
And sings."
-  Joyce Kilmer, Spring

 

"The afternoon is bright,
with spring in the air,
a mild March afternoon,
with the breath of April stirring,
I am alone in the quiet patio
looking for some old untried illusion -
some shadow on the whiteness of the wall
some memory asleep
on the stone rim of the fountain,
perhaps in the air
the light swish of some trailing gown."
-  Antonio Machado, 1875-1939
   Selected Poems, #3, Translated by Alan S. Trueblood

 

"Each leaf,
each blade of grass
vies for attention.
Even weeds
carry tiny blossoms
to astonish us."
- Marianne Poloskey, Sunday in Spring 

 

"March is a month of considerable frustration - it is so near spring and yet across a great deal of the country the weather is still so violent and changeable that outdoor activity in our yards seems light years away."
-  Thalassa Cruso 

 

"The word 'March' comes from the Roman 'Martius'. This was originally the first month of the Roman calendar and was named after Mars, the god of war.  March was the beginning of our calendar year. We changed to the 'New Style' or 'Gregorian calendar in 1752, and it is only since then when we the year began on 1st January. The Anglo-Saxons called the month Hlyd monath which means Stormy month, or Hraed monath which means Rugged month. All through Lent the traditional games played are marbles and skipping. The games were stopped on the stroke of twelve noon on Good Friday, which in some places was called Marble Day or Long Rope Day.  The game of marbles has been played for hundreds of years and some historians say that it might have been started by rolling eggs. In the past, round stones, hazelnuts, round balls of baked clay and even cherry stones have been used."
Facts About March  

 

 
Seeds and Cuttings
Hydrofarm Hot House Seed Starter 11-by-22-Inch   
Secrets of Plant Propagation: Starting Your Own Flowers, Vegetables, Fruits, Shrubs, and Trees 
Hydrofarm Jump Start Indoor Grow Light System 
Plant Propagation A to Z: Growing Plants for Free  
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners  
Hydrofarm Germination Station with Heat Mat  
American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual    
Burpee Seed Starter: A Guide to Growing Flower, Vegetable, and Herb Seeds Indoors and Outdoors
Plant Propagator's Bible
The New Seed Starter's Handbook
RION MLT3 Mini Lean-To Greenhouse
Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing  
Saving Seeds: The Gardener's Guide to Growing and Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds
Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing More Than 100 Vegetables, Flowers, and Herbs

 

                                    

 

 

“Then you should say what you mean,' the March Hare went on. `I do,' Alice hastily replied; `at least - at least I mean what I say - that's the same thing, you know.'”
-  Lewis Carroll   

 

"The sun is brilliant in the sky but its warmth does not reach my face.
The breeze stirs the trees but leaves my hair unmoved.
The cooling rain will feed the grass but will not slake my thirst.
It is all inches away but further from me than my dreams."
-  M. Romeo LaFlamme, The First of March

 

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
-  William Wordsworth, Daffodils

 

"Last day of Winter,
leafless walnut trees--
form is emptiness.
First day of Spring,
clear sky to Mt. Shasta--
emptiness is form." 
-  Michael P. Garofalo, Cuttings: March   

 

 

      

On the Vernal Equinox, around March 21st, in Sacramento, California, we have around
12 Hours of Daylight and 12 Hours of Darkness. 

 

"Equal dark, equal light
Flow in Circle, deep insight
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!
So it flows, out it goes
Three-fold back it shall be
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!"
-   Night An'Fey, Transformation of Energy 

 

"March is the month of expectation,
The things we do not know,
The Persons of Prognostication
Are coming now.
We try to sham becoming firmness,
But pompous joy
Betrays us, as his first betrothal
Betrays a boy."
-  Emily Dickinson, XLVIII

 

"The first day of spring was once the time for taking the young virgins into the fields, there in dalliance to set an example in fertility for nature to follow.  Now we just set the clocks an hour ahead and change the oil in the crankcase."  
-   E.B. White, "Hot Weather," One Man's Meat, 1944   

 

 

The Dry Gardening Handbook: Plants and Practices for a Changing Climate by Oliver Flippi
Drought Resistant Planting by Beth Chatto 
Xeriscape Handbook: A How-to Guide to Natural Resource-Wise Gardening by Gale Weinstein
The Low-Water Flower Gardener by Eric Johnson
Western Landscaping Book by Kathleen Bresnel
All About Dry Climate Gardening by Ortho 
Plants For Dry Climates: How To Select, Grow, And Enjoy  by Mary Duffield 
Landscape Plants For Dry Regions: More Than 600 Species From Around The World by Warren Jones 
Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of the San Francisco Bay Region  

 

                             

 

 

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush." 
-  Doug Larson

 

"The March wind roars
Like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver
As he passes by.
When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here."
-  Author Unknown

 

"Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough."
-   A. E. Houseman, Shropshire Lad

 

"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"
-  Robin Williams

 

"All Nature seems at work.  Slugs leave their lair
The bees are stirring, birds are on the wing,
And Winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of spring."
-   Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

"Ere frost-flower and snow-blossom faded and fell, 
       and the splendor of winter had passed out of sight,
The ways of the woodlands were fairer and stranger 
       than dreams that fulfill us in sleep with delight;
The breath of the mouths of the winds had hardened on tree-tops 
       and branches that glittered and swayed
Such wonders and glories of blossom like snow 
       or of frost that outlightens all flowers till it fade
That the sea was not lovelier than here was the land, 
       nor the night than the day, nor the day than the night,
Nor the winter sublimer with storm than the spring: 
       such mirth had the madness and might in thee made,
March, master of winds, bright minstrel and marshal of storms
        that enkindle the season they smite."
-  Algernon C. Swinburne, March: An Ode

 

"Today is the day when bold kites fly,
When cumulus clouds roar across the sky.
When robins return, when children cheer,
When light rain beckons spring to appear.

Today is the day when daffodils bloom,
Which children pick to fill the room,
Today is the day when grasses green,
When leaves burst forth for spring to be seen."
-  Robert McCracken, Spring 

 

"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees."
-  Robert Frost, A Prayer in Spring

 

 

Writing and Being: Embracing Your Life Through Creative Journaling   
Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You
Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth    
How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook  
Visual Journaling: Going Deeper than Words  
Nature Journaling: Learning to Observe and Connect with the World Around You
Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within  
Mixed-Media Nature Journals: New Techniques for Exploring Nature, Life, and Memories
Creative Wildfire: An Introduction to Art Journaling - Basics and Beyond  
Inner Journeying Through Art-Journaling: Learning to See And Record Your Life As a Work of Art  

 

                             

 

 

"This hill
crossed with broken pines and maples
lumpy with the burial mounds of
uprooted hemlocks (hurricane
of ’38) out of their
rotting hearts generations rise
trying once more to become
the forest

just beyond them 
tall enough to be called trees 
in their youth like aspen a bouquet 
of young beech is gathered

they still wear last summer’s leaves  
the lightest brown almost translucent 
how their stubbornness has decorated  
the winter woods"
-  Grace Paley, A Walk in March

 

"The cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter,
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and youngest
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing,
Their heads never raising;
There are forty feeding like one!   
Like an army defeated
The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill
On the top of the bare hill;
The Plowboy is whooping-anon-anon:
There's joy in the mountains;
There's life in the fountains;
Small clouds are sailing,
The rain is over and gone!"
-   William Wordsworth, March

 

 
The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading: An Encyclopedia of Independent Living by Nichole Faires  
Homesteading: A Back to Basics Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More by Abigail Gehring  
The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! by Carleen Madigan 
Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre by Bret Markham  
Just in Case: How to be Self-Sufficient when the Unexpected Happens by Kathy Harrison 

 

                             

 

 

"Easter, also called Pascha, is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred on the third day after his crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33. Many non-religious cultural elements have become part of the holiday, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike.  Easter also refers to the season of the church year called Eastertide or the Easter Season. Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day but now officially lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter.  Easter is termed a moveable feast because it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the first fourteenth day of the moon (the Paschal Full Moon) that is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastical spring, or vernal, equinox)."
Easter in Wikipedia  

 

"The spring is coming by many a sign;
The trays are up, the hedges broken down
That fenced the haystack, and the remnant shines
Like some old antique fragment weathered brown.
And where suns peep, in every sheltered place,
The little early buttercups unfold
A glittering star or two- till many trace
The edges of the blackthorn clumps in gold.
And then a little lamb bolts up behind
The hill, and ways his tail to meet the yoe;
And then another, sheltered from the wind,
Lies all his length as dead - and lets me go
Close by, and never stirs, but basking lies,
With legs stretched out as though he could not rise."
-  John Clare, Young Lambs

 

"For in spite of the snapdragons and the duty millers and the cherry blossoms, it was always winter."
-  Janet Frame 

 

 

Gardening at the Dragon's Gate: At Work in the Wild and Cultivated Worlds by Wendy Johnson
The Findhorn Garden: Pioneering a New Vision of Man and Nature in Cooperation by the Findhorn Community
One Old Druids Final Journey: Notebooks of the Librarian at Gushen Grove
The Inward Garden: Creating a Place of Beauty and Meaning by Julie Messervy 
A Garden's Promise: Spiritual Reflections on Growing from the Heart by Judith Couchman 
The Soul Garden: Creating Garden Spaces for Inner Growth and Spiritual Renewal by Donald Norfork 
The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth by John Michael Greer
Landscape as Spirit: Creating a Contemplative Garden by Martin Hakubai Mosko
Sacred Circle Garden by Karen and Mike Garofalo
Sacred Gardens by Michel and Judy Marcellot
Spiritual Gardening: Creating Sacred Space Outdoors by Peg Streep
Gardens for the Soul: Designing Outdoor Spaces Using Ancient Symbols and Healing Plants by Pamela Woods 

 

                             

 

 

“Indoors or out, no one relaxes in March, that month of wind and taxes, the wind will presently disappear, the taxes last us all the year.” 
-  Ogden Nash 

 

"Ahh, the wide almond groves in full white flower
Stunning in the morning sun.
Old naked Winter in his garb of grays and browns has run.
Forsythia blooms come and go in the blink of a yellow Eye,
Then, suddenly, mysteriously, Green erupts; and we sigh."
-  Michael P. Garofalo, Cuttings  

 

"It was cold and windy, scarcely the day
to take a walk on that long beach
Everything was withdrawn as far as possible,
indrawn: the tide far out, the ocean shrunken,
seabirds in ones or twos.
The rackety, icy, offshore wind
numbed our faces on one side;
disrupted the formation
of a lone flight of Canada geese;
and blew back the low, inaudible rollers
in upright, steely mist."
-  Elizabeth Bishop, The End of March 

 

Winter Poems Selected by Barbara Rogansky
A Mind of Winter: Poems for a Snowy Season Selected by Robert Atwan
Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season Edited by Gary Schmidt
Poetry for the Winter Season Selected by Christina Hardyment
In Celebration of Winter: A Book of Seasonal Indulgences by Helen Thompson 
The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice Selected by Carolyn Edwards
While the Bear Sleeps: Winter Tales and Traditions by Caitlin Matthews

 

"St. Patrick's Day is here, you see.
We'll pick some shamrocks, one, two, three.
We'll count the leaves and look them over,
And maybe find a four-leafed clover.
I'll sew green buttons on my vest,
Green for St. Patrick is the best.
I'll wear a green hat, very high,
And dance a jig--at least I'll try!"
-  Author Unknown

 

"March said to April,
I see three hogs upon a hill;
And if you'll lend me three days
I'll find a way to make them go.
The first of them was wind and wet
The second of them was snow and sleet,
The third of them was such a freeze
It froze the birds' noses to the trees.
When the three days were past and gone
The three silly hogs cam limping home."

 

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."
-  Charles Dickens 

 

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
-  Hal Borland 

 

"A light exists in Spring
Not present in the year
at any other period
When March is scarcely here."
-  Emily Dickinson 

 

"You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream and is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is not among men."
-  Li Bai 

 

 

Illustrated Guides to Food Plants 
Green Inheritance: Saving the Plants of the World by Anthony Huxley 
Medicinal Plants of the World by Ben Eric van Wyk 
Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World's Food Plants by National Geographic 
Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit: An Illustrated Encyclopedia by Matthew Biggs 
Food Plants of the World: An Illustrated Guide by Ben Eric van Wyk 
The New Oxford Book of Food Plants by John Vaughan 
The New Oxford Book of Food Plants by Elizabeth Schneider  

 

                                           

 

 

"The Jewish Passover usually falls on the first full moon after the Northern Hemisphere vernal equinox, although occasionally (7 times every 19 years) it will occur on the second full moon.  The Christian churches calculate Easter as the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the March equinox. The official church definition for the equinox is March 21; however, as the Eastern Orthodox Churches use the older Julian calendar, while the Western Churches use the Gregorian calendar, both of which designate March 21 as the equinox, the actual date of Easter differs. The earliest possible Easter date in any year is therefore March 22 on each calendar. The latest possible Easter date in any year is April 25."
Vernal (Spring) Equinox

 

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant."
-  Anne Bradstreet

 

"The sun is hotter than the top ledge in a steam bath;
The ravine, crazed, is rampaging below.
Spring -- that corn-fed, husky milkmaid --
Is busy at her chores with never a letup.

The snow is wasting (pernicious anemia --
See those branching veinlets of impotent blue?)
Yet in the cowbarn life is burbling, steaming,
And the tines of pitchforks simply glow with health.

These days -- these days, and these nights also!
With eavesdrop thrumming its tattoos at noon,
With icicles (cachectic!) hanging on to gables,
And with the chattering of rills that never sleep!

All doors are flung open -- in stable and in cowbarn;
Pigeons peck at oats fallen in the snow;
And the culprit of all this and its life-begetter--
The pile of manure -- is pungent with ozone."
-   Boris Pasternak, March

 

 

Green Way Blog

 

 

"O the green things growing, the green things growing,
The faint sweet smell of the green things growing!
I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve,
Just to watch the happy life of my green things growing."
-  Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, Green Things Growing

 

"The last fling of winter is over ...  The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it.  It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell."
-  Donald Culross Peattie 

 

“With vision there is no room to be frightened., No reason for intimidation. It's time to march forward! Let's be confident and positive!” 
-  Charles R. Swindoll 
   [The energy of the month of march may be related to a second meaning of 'march' as in walking, long trek, walking in a military campagin, marching in a coordinated manner in a group.]

 

"Springtime is the land awakening.  
The March winds are the morning yawn."  
-  Lewis Grizzard and Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

 

"Gone were but the Winter,
Come were but the Spring,
I would go to a covert
Where the birds sing;

Where in the whitethorn
Singeth a thrush,
And a robin sings
In the holly-bush.

Full of fresh scents
Are the budding boughs
Arching high over
A cool green house:

Full of sweet scents,
And whispering air
Which sayeth softly:
We spread no snare;

Here dwell in safety,
Here dwell alone,
With a clear stream
And a mossy stone.

Here the sun shineth
Most shadily;
Here is heard an echo
Of the far sea,
Though far off it be."
-  Christina Rossetti, Spring Quiet 

 

"Through all the frozen winter
My nose has grown most lonely
For lovely, lovely, colored smells
That come in springtime only.

The purple smell of lilacs,
The yellow smell that blows
Across the air of meadows
Where bright forsythia grows.

The tall pink smell of peach trees,
The low white smell of clover,
And everywhere the great green smell
Of grass the whole world over."
-  Kathryn Worth, Smells

 

Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun 
Secrets to Great Soil (Gardening Skills Illustrated) by Elizabeth Stell 
Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels 
Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners by James Nardi 
Soil (True Books: Natural Resources) by Christin Ditchfield 
Soil Science Simplified by Helmut Kohnke 
Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth by William Bryant Logan 

 

                                 

 

 

"A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King."
-  Emily Dickenson, # 103

 

"Autumn arrives in the early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day."
-  Elizabeth Bowen

 

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring." 
-  George Santayana

 

How to Support this Website

 

 

"Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty."
-  William Shakespeare 

 

 

100 Old Roses For The American Garden     
Taylor's Guide to Roses: How to Select and Grow 380 Roses     
Roses: Quotes, Links, Notes
Complete Guide to Roses     
Best Rose Guide: A Comprehensive Selection
Orchid Delirium by Harold Feinstein
The Perennial Care Manual: A Plant-by-Plant Guide: What to Do and When to Do It by Nancy J. Ondra
Indoor Plants: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Houseplants by Grahame Clarke
The Indoor Plant Bible: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Indoor, Greenhouse, and Patio  Plants


                             

 

 

"The name Ostara goes back to Jacob Grimm, who, in his Deutsche Mythologie, speculated about an ancient German goddess Ostara, after whom the Easter festival (German: Ostern) could have been named. Grimm's main source is De temporum ratione by the Venerable Bede.  Bede had put forward the thesis that the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of April, Eostur-monath, was named after a goddess Eostre.  Ostara is one of the four lesser Wiccan holidays or sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Ostara is celebrated on the spring equinox, in the Northern hemisphere around March 21 and in the Southern hemisphere around September 23, depending upon the specific timing of the equinox. Among the Wiccan sabbats, it is preceded by Imbolc and followed by Beltane.  In the book Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar, the festival Ostara is characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death. Other variations include the young God regaining strength in his youth after being born at Yule, and the Goddess returning to her Maiden aspect.  Ostara is the virgin Goddess of spring. This holiday concerns the deity's trip to the underworld, and their struggle to return from the Land of the Dead to Earth. When they accomplish this return, they have a life renewed. It was considered bad luck to wear anything new before Ostara, so the people would work through the winter in secret to make elegant clothes for the Sabbat celebration. The entire community would gather for games, feasting, and religious rituals while showing off their clothing. The modern belief that eggs are delivered by a rabbit known as the Easter Bunny comes from the legend of the Goddess Eostre. So much did a lowly rabbit want to please the Goddess that he laid the sacred eggs in her honor, gaily decorated them, and humbly presented them to her. So pleased was she that she wished all humankind to share in her joy. In honor of her wishes, the rabbit went through the entire world and distributed these little decorated gifts of life"
Ostara in Wikipedia 

 

"Winds of March, we welcome you,
There is work for you to do.
Work and play and blow all day,
Blow the Winter wind away."   

 

"March bustles in on windy feet
And sweeps my doorstep and my street.
She washes and cleans with pounding rains,
Scrubbing the earth of winter stains.
She shakes the grime from carpet green
Till naught but fresh new blades are seen.
Then, house in order, all neat as a pin,
She ushers gentle springtime in."
-  Susan Reiner, Spring Cleaning 

 

"Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of his instruments, not the composer."
-  Geoffrey Charlesworth

 

Winter: Recipes Inspired by Nature's Bounty (Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration) 
Complete Seasons Cookbook by Joanne Weir.  Delicious recipes and party ideas for seasonal celebrations. 
Crafts to Make in the Winter by Kathy Ross  
Spring: Recipes Inspired by Nature's Bounty (Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration) by Joanne Weir
In Celebration of Winter: A Book of Seasonal Indulgences by Helen Thompson 
Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations: Special Recipes for Family and Friends 
Celebrate the Earth: A Year of Holidays by Laurie Cabot 
Winter Day Play!: Activities, Crafts, and Games for Indoors and Out by Nancy Castaldo 

 

"Buttercups and daisies,
Oh, the pretty flowers;
Coming ere the spring time,
To tell of sunny hours.
When the trees are leafless;
When the fields are bare;
Buttercups and daisies
Spring up here and there."
-  Mary Howitt

 

"March! March! March! They are coming
In troops to the tune of the wind.
Redheaded woodpeckers drumming,
Gold - crested thrushes behind;
Sparrows in brown jackets, hopping
Past every gateway and door;
Finches, with crimson caps, stopping
Just where they stopped before.
March! March! March! They are slipping
Into their places at last. . .
Literature white lily buds, dripping
Under the showers that fall fast;
Buttercups, violets, roses;
Snowdrop and bluebell and pink,
Throng upon throng of sweet posies
Bending the dewdrops to drink.
March! March! March! They will hurry
Forth at the wild bugle sound,
Blossoms and birds in a flurry,
Fluttering all over the ground.
Shake out your flags, birch and willow!
Shake out your red tassels, larch!
Grass blades, up from your earth - pillow.
Hear who is calling you. . . March."
-  Lucy Larcom, March  

     

 

   
 

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March."
-  Robert Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time 

 

"For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins."
-  Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon 

 

"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"
-  Percy Bysshe Shelley 

 

 

In Nature's Honor: Myths And Rituals Celebrating The Earth by Patricia Montley
The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth by John Michael Greer
Celebrate the Earth: A Year of Holidays by Laurie Cabot 
Earth Bound: Daily Meditations for All Seasons by Brian Nelson
Sacred Fire, Holy Well: A Druid's Grimoire by Ian Corrigan
The Sacred Depths of Nature by Urusla Goodenough
Time and the Art of Living by Robert Grudin
A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year by Ellen Evert Hopman 
Complete Seasons Cookbook by Joanne Weir
Paths in the Valley Blog   
The Best of Holidays and Seasonal Celebrations Magazine for Children, Grades 1-3
Creating Circles & Ceremonies: Rituals for All Seasons And Reasons by Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart     

 

                                

 

"And then the rain began, the tonic, greening, transforming rain that comes only once a year.  At gray daylight, silver drops still clung to the undersides of peach limbs; but the rain had stopped, and now every living blade and stalk whose destiny it is to be green was astonishingly green."
-  Rachel Peden 

 

"I have said that there was great pleasure in watching the ways in which different plants come through the ground, and February and March are the months in which that can best be seen."
-  Henry N. Ellacombe

 

"When it' too cold for comfort, the sun-filled garden promises that winter will be brief."
-  Norman Kent Johnson

 

"Gwyl Canol GwenWynol or Eostre: (pronounced E-ostra, also known as Ostara, Spring Equinox etc.), March 21-23. Time of equal day and equal night. This is often celebrated with eggs (beginnings) and rabbits (fertiity) ... see the theme? It is now time to lay the seeds of new projects and new directions that you have meditated on throughout the cold months. Now is the time to start taking action. (A lot of traditions use this particular sabbat for initiations. New roads, a new breath.) Colours for this sabbat: Purple and Yellow. The Spring Equinox defines the season where Spring reaches it's apex, halfway through its journey from Candlemas to Beltane.   Night and day are in perfect balance, with the powers of light on the ascendancy.   The god of light now wins a victory over his twin, the god of darkness.  In the Welsh Mabinogion, this is the day on which the restored Llew takes his vengeance on Goronwy by piercing him with the sunlight spear.  For Llew was restored/reborn at the Winter Solstice and is now well/old enough to vanquish his rival/twin and mate with his lover/mother.  And the great Mother Goddess, who has returned to her Virgin aspect at Candlemas, welcomes the young sun god's embraces and conceives a child. The child will be born nine months from now, at the next Winter Solstice. And so the cycle closes at last to begin anew.  The customs surrounding the celebration of the spring equinox were imported from Mediterranean lands, although there can be no doubt that the first inhabitants of the British Isles observed it, as evidence from megalithic sites shows. But it was certainly more popular to the south, where people celebrated the holiday as New Year's Day, and claimed it as the first day of the first sign of the Zodiac, Aries. However you look at it, it is certainly a time of new beginnings, as a simple glance at Nature will prove."
Spring Equinox  

 

"The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven -
All's right with the world!"
-  Robert Browning

 

"It is in this unearthly first hour of spring twilight that earth's almost agonized livingness is most felt.  This hour is so dreadful to some people that they hurry indoors and turn on the lights."
-  Elizabeth Bowen

 

The Indoor Plant Bible: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Indoor, Greenhouse, and Patio  Plants by Dorte Nielson
The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible: The A-to-Z Guide To Feeders, Seed Mixes, Projects, And Treats by Sally Roth
Months of the Year: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Celebrations, Gardening Chores.  The Best on the Web! 
Paths in the Valley Blog   Follow the seasons in the California garden of Karen and Mike with notes, resources, poetry, links, and photos.

 

"Springtime is the land awakening.  The March winds are the morning yawn."
-   Lewis Grizzard

 

"Harshness vanished. A sudden softness
has replaced the meadows' wintry grey.
Little rivulets of water changed
their singing accents. Tendernesses,

hesitantly, reach toward the earth
from space, and country lanes are showing
these unexpected subtle risings
that find expression in the empty trees."
-  Rainer Marie Rilke, Early Spring  

 

"When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park we saw a few daffodils close to the waterside.  But as we went along there were more and yet more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a county turnpike toad.  I never saw daffodils so beautiful.  They grew about the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake."
-  Dorothy Wordsworth 

 

 

The Art of Happiness by the Dali Lama
Time and the Art of Living by Robert Grudin
Loving Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg 
The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth by John Michael Greer
Simple Taoism: A Guide to Living in Balance by Alexander Simkins
The Tao of Daily Life: The Mysteries of the Orient Revealed by Derek Lin
Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony by Ming-Dao Deng 
Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices by Mike Garofalo
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff 
Scholar Warrior: An Introduction to the Tao in Everyday Life by Ming-Dao Deng
Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook by Thomas Cleary

 

                             

 

 

"Higan, or Higan-e, is a week of Buddhist services observed in Japan during both the spring and autumn equinoxes when day and night are equal at length. Both equinoxes have been national holidays since the Meiji period (1868-1912). Before World War II, they were known as koreisai, or festivals of the Imperial ancestors. After the war, when the national holidays were renamed, they became simply spring and autumn equinoxes. Higan is a one-week period surrounding the spring and autumn equinoxes. It means the “other shore” and refers to the spirits of the dead reaching Nirvana after crossing the river of existence. It celebrates the spiritual move from the world of suffering to the world of enlightenment and is a time to remember the dead by visiting, cleaning and decorating their graves and reciting sutras. Buddhist prayers, rice balls and sushi are offered. This is a time for the Japanese to worship their imperial ancestors and to welcome spring."
March Customs and Holidays

 

Astrological Signs:  Pisces,  February 19 - March 20

Astrological Signs:  Aries,  March 21 -  April 20

February  Birthstones:  Aquamarine

The Spring Equinox is associated with, or known as: Alban Eilir, Eostar, Eostre, Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Festival of Trees, Lady Day, NawRuz, No Ruz, Ostara, Ostra, Rites of Spring, and the Vernal Equinox.

 

"Where did Gabriel get a lily,
In the month of March,
When the green
Is hardly seen
On the early larch?"  
-  Grace James

 

Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring By Edain McCoy
Easter, Passover, and Other Spring Festivals by Ann Morrill 
Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore and Celebration by Raven Grimassi
In Celebration of Spring: A Book of Seasonal Indulgences by Helen Thompson 
Spring: Recipes Inspired by Nature's Bounty (Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration) by Joanne Weir
The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth by Ellen Jackson

 

"I wonder if the sap is stirring yet,
If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate,
If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun
And crocus fires are kindling one by one:
Sing robin, sing:
I still am sore in doubt concerning Spring."
-  Christina Rossetti 

 

"One of the flowers most associated with March is the narcissus (Wild daffodil). Named after the boy in Greek mythology, who was changed into a flower. Narciccus is also known as Lent Lily because it blooms in early spring and the blooms usually dropping before Easter. It is the main daffodil species of Britain.  The daffodil became a popular Welsh symbol in the 19th Century. Lloyd George used it to symbolise Wales at the 1911 Investiture and in official publications.  In England the daffodil inspired amongst others William Wordsworth to write his famous poem Daffodils."
Facts About March 

 

 

  
Months and Seasons
Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays
Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations
Information, Weather, Gardening Chores
Compiled by Karen and Mike Garofalo
 
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March June September December 

 

 

"O Love-star of the unbeloved March,
When cold and shrill,
Forth flows beneath a low, dim-lighted arch
The wind that beats sharp crag and barren hill,
And keeps unfilmed the lately torpid rill!"
-  Aubrey De Vere, Ode to the Daffodil 

 

"To what can our life on earth be likened?
To a flock of geese,
alighting on the snow.
Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage."
-  Su Shi

 

"March is a tomboy with tousled hair, a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes and a laugh in her voice."
-  Hal Borland

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March

Recommended Reading and Links


Ancient Ways by Pauline Campanelli.  Wonderful folk celebrations for the seasons. 

April: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Gardening Chores  

The Art of Ritual by Renee Beck

Autumnal Equinox Celebrations  

Celebrate the Earth: A Year of Holidays by Laurie Cabot and Jean Mills. 

Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Beltane to Mabon by Ashleen O'Gaea.  A good study of four spring and summer celebrations that is rich in details and ideas. 

Cloud Hands Blog by Mike Garofalo

Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for all Seasons and Reasons by Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart. This is a valuable collection of information, poetry, rituals, songs, and craft activities for seasonal celebrations.     

Dionysus (Greek) or Bacchus (Roman)   

A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Year by Ellen Evert Hopman.  Thorough research on the uses and lore of herbs.   

Exploring the Northern Tradition by Galina Drasskova

March - Links from Yahoo

March - Mystical World Wide Web

Cuttings - March.   Haiku and short poems by Michael P. Garofalo.  

Earth Calendar - Seasonal Holidays 

Earth Day (March 21st) Links - Open Directory 

Easter Lily

Easter Lore   

Easter Traditions

Easter - Wikipedia

February: Quotes, Poems, Links, Lore 

Facts About March 

Folklore Calendar 

The Green Man (Personification of the Powers of Spring and Summer): Lore, Quotes, Bibliography, Customs

Holiday Insights

Holiday Links - Yahoo 

Hounen Matsuri Festival, Japan.  Celebration of the male aspect of fertility. 

In Nature's Honor: Myths And Rituals Celebrating The Earth by Patricia Montley

The Magickal Year: A Pagan Perspective on the Natural World by Diana Ferguson 

March Equinox Explained

March: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Gardening Chores 

March - Roman Holidays

Martius Calendar, Societas Via Roma  By M. Moravius Horatius Piscinus. 

Months of the Year  Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Gardening Chores

Nature Spirits: Fairies, Elves, Alfs, Wights, Didhe, Devas, Little Folk

One Old Druid's Final Journey: The Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove 

Ostara by Herne

Ostara in Wikipedia  

Ostara, Spring Equinox Celebration

Pagan Prayers by Ceisiwr Serith.  A wonderful collection of thoughtful prayers and reflections. 

Pathways in the Green Valley Blog 

Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo   

Quinquatria, Roman Festival in honour of Minerva, March 19 - March 23.  Minerva is the Roman Goddess, and the Greek Goddess with similar attributes is Athena, Patron of Athens.  This ancient Goddess is associated with civilization, wisdom, strength, strategy, poetry, weaving, magic, music, crafts, justice, and skills.  Her totem is the owl.  She is a virgin goddess, Pallas Athena, where she is one of three virgin goddesses along with Artemis and Hestia, known by the Romans as Diana and Vesta.  Minerva/Athna is featured on the great seal of the State of California.

 

                                      
   Minerva By Susan S. Boulet                                 Athena by Gustav Klimt                                                 Athena 

 


Quotes for Gardeners.   Over 3,800 quotes arranged by over 250 topics. 

Red Bluff, California. Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens.  By Karen and Mike Garofalo.

The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways by Edain McCoy.  Practical suggestions for seasonal holiday celebrations. 

Sacred Circles  

Sacred Fire, Holy Well by Ian Corrigan.  Thoughtful poems and rituals for seasonal holidays by a true Bard.  

Saint Patrick's Day - Yahoo Links  

Seasonal Celebrations 

The Solitary Druid by Robert Ellison  Includes information on eight seasonal celebrations. 

The Solitary Witch by Silver Ravenwolf 

The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess by Starhawk

The Spirit of Gardening

Spring Equinox Celebrations by Mike Garofalo

Spring and Easter Poetry

Spring Equinox Celebrations 

Spring Equinox Wiccan Overview

Spring: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, and Lore

Spring: Links and Ideas for Teachers   

Spring Poetry 

Vernal (Spring) Equinox   Science, facts, lore. 

Walkers Between the Worlds by Caitlin Matthews.  A practical guide to the mystical path. 

Ways of Walking 

Wheel of the Year, High Days, Seasonal Celebrations, NeoPagan Holidays

Wicca and Paganism 

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Winter - Quotes, Poems, Sayings, and Lore 

Wisdom of the Elements: The Sacred Wheel of Earth, Air, Fire and Water by Margie McArthur

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March Weather Lore


Typical Weather for Our Area   Normally, in March, we have daytime high temperatures of 64ºF, nighttime low temperatures of 42ºF, and we get 2.7 inches of rain.

Our Paths in the Valley Blog   Follow the seasons in the Northern California garden of Karen and Mike with their notes, links, resources, quotes, poems, and photos.

Clichés for Gardeners

Weather Lore    More Weather Lore     Naturalist's Almanac


March weather sayings:

When March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb.

So many mists in March, so many frosts in May. 

April borrows three days from March and their all ill. 

A wet March, a wet Spring.

As it rains in March so it rains in June.

March winds and April showers
Bring forth May flowers.

A dry March and a wet May
Fill barns and bays with corn and hay.

When your bones hurt a storm is coming. 

If it rains on Easter Sunday, it will rain every Sunday for seven weeks. 

When bees stay close to the hive rain is close by.

Count the cricket chirps to tell the temperature. 

Moss dry, sunny sky; moss wet, rain you'll get. 

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March Gardening Chores

Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA

USDA Zone 9

Typical Weather for Our Area   Normally, in March, we have daytime high temperatures of 64ºF, nighttime low temperatures of 42ºF, and we get 2.7 inches of rain.

Red Bluff Gardening Notebooks of Karen and Mike Garofalo

Cloud Hands Blog   Follow the seasons in the Northern California garden of Karen and Mike with their notes, links, resources, quotes, poems, and photos.

 

March Gardening Chores in Red Bluff

Browsing and ordering from seed and garden catalogs.  
Planting potted trees and shrubs.  
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
Pruning and mulching dormant trees and vines. 
Repairing and sharpening tools.
Fertilizing with 16-16-16 or manure. 
Planting seeds in containers in the greenhouse.  
Planting some vegetable starts in the ground.
Watering as needed. 
Removing deadwood from trees and shrubs. 
Moving bulbs.   
Raking up fallen twigs and branches.
Weeding around the base of small trees and shrubs.
Mowing and weeding as needed.
Cleaning and repairing drip irrigation lines. 
Making up To Do lists. 
Spring Cleaning inside the house. 
Spraying dormant trees and shrubs. 
Painting fences and art objects as needed. 
Bringing spring flowers indoors to enjoy. 
Developing Spring Resolutions for personal improvements. 
Fixing up lawn mowers and other power tools for outdoor work.   
Sharpening and oiling hand tools. 
Home improvement projects. 
Roto-tilling and double digging as needed. 
Updating March and Spring webpages. 
Reading, reading, reading. 

 

March Gardening Chores and Tips for Other Garding Zones

Earth Wise Creations March Tips - Zone 9

Seasonal Garden Chores - Links

Top Garden Projects for March in the Pacific Northwest by Ed Hume

52 Weeks in the California Garden by Richard Smaus

March Gardening Tips from Ortho

The Garden Helper Tips for March - Northern U.S.

Gardening Tips - March - New York Botanical Garden

Master Gardeners Tips

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Photographs in March


Karen and Mike Garofalo
Red Bluff, Rural Northern California

Photographs by Karen and Mike Garofalo from Red Bluff, California

Red Bluff Gardens -  Comparison from 1998 - 2007

Red Bluff Gardening Notebooks of Karen and Mike Garofalo

Cloud Hands Blog   Follow the seasons in the Northern California garden of Karen and Mike with their notes, links, resources, quotes, poems, and photos.

All photographs below were taken by Karen Garofalo. 

 

      

 

      

 

       

    

 

Perennials for Every Purpose: Choose the Right Plants for Your Conditions, Your Garden, and Your Taste by Larry Hodgson
Grasses: Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design Nancy J. Ondra
Designer Plant Combinations: 105 Stunning Gardens Using Six Plants or Fewer by Scott Calhoun
The Perennial Care Manual: A Plant-by-Plant Guide: What to Do and When to Do It by Nancy J. Ondra
Perennial Combinations: Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right from the Start by C. Colston Burrell
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques by Tracy DiSabato-Aust 

 

                      

 

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The Spirit of Gardening Website

Over 3,800 Quotations, Poems, Sayings, Quips, One-Liners, Clichés, Quotes, and Insights
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       From January 1, 1999 through March 1, 2011
This webpage has been online since January 1999
Compiled by Karen Garofalo and Mike Garofalo from Red Bluff, California
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