It’s a cliché to describe spring as the earth waking up from winter sleep, but in many cases things are clichés because they are true. February is when Mother Nature starts to come up from the depths of slumber, vaguely feeling a change, but not fully aware. A sudden warming trend, like an alarm clock, opens her eyes. She hits the “snooze button” and pulls a blanket of frost over her head, but it’s not long before the buzzer goes off again. Then there is a long period of lying in bed, occasional stormy tossing, and then, fully awake, Nature starts to get up and dress herself. Now we gardeners get to see how the “clothes” we’ve laid out with the landscape suit our little part of Mother Nature. Are we hiding her loveliest features? Are we showing too much? While enjoying the first taste of spring, don’t forget to consider how a beautiful garden can be made better.