March came in so quietly this year that I forgot to remind you all that March 1 is the start of meteorological and climatological spring. Atmospheric scientists use the period from March 1 through May 31 to represent spring rather than the astronomical season because it matches up better with the climate on earth than the astronomical period does. Here in Athens, spring has definitely come, and the new green leaves are starting to appear on the bushes around my house. Edwin Way Teale, the naturalist who wrote The American Seasons, described this as the “green wave” that moves north (in the Northern Hemisphere) with warmer temperatures and longer days. You can read more about this at my recent blog post at The Garden Professors blog.
