The weather this week is not the warm beautiful weather it was last week. Wind, and rain with the large gloomy Dutch clouds has made me a bit of a recluse. I knew today I needed to get out of the house.
I headed to check on my volunteer job at the Historic Garden in Aalsmeer. When I could start to help out with the preparation of the new season?
You can read about my past seasons volunteering at this wonderful location.
There is always something to do at the garden, weeds to pull, flowers to deadhead, tree limbs to pick up, raking pathways, planting. Being early Spring there is even more work and if the weather cooperates I will be there donating my time in the next couple of weeks.
The gardens are open to the public from 6 April until end of October.
Waiting for Spring at the Historic Garden
In early March, the volunteers are busy preparing the gardens/ greenhouses for the season. As I walked through the gardens today, I saw all the work that needed to be completed. Mounds of dirt that needed to be moved, nursery plants waiting to be planted, piles of branches and limbs that had been moved from where someone trimmed or pruned trees, roses, and lilacs. Each task important to the continued life cycle that exists from season to season in this special garden.
The rose garden waiting for pruning
I did find the few blooming sprigs. An Almond tree and a Buttercup Winterhazel.
Almond Tree – Prunus dulcis
Buttercup Winterhazel – Corylopsis pauciflora
Now I wait… see what the weather will do, then help prepare the garden for it’s summer splender.
© The Cedar Journal, 2019, all rights reserved.
The Cedar Journal 
That almond blossom is gorgeous.
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Beautiful
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What a fantastic volunteer gig! And the almond blossoms – lovely. That you give back to the community at the same time as you do something so good for your own psyche and body is a win-win.
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Thanks for words of encouragement about my volunteer efforts. It started as an effort to get out of the house and practice my Dutch more. I wasn’t working a normal job and I can’t kayak and hike 365 days a year. Sometimes I do wonder why I still continue with it. It is a bit far from the house but I always feel better for contributing to such a wonderful garden and learning from the other volunteers.
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The community you find when volunteering is definitely a perk!
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Volunteering at the garden sounds like the perfect way to lighten your mood!
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It is a great experience.
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Oh, those almond blossoms. I’ll take a few springs of those in a vase.
Thank you for volunteering. That gardening seems a great fit for you.
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I would love to bring a few of those sprigs. But- I might get caught at TSA/Customs.😬
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