the hidden garden

Our house is a corner lot. Not my favourite, as it chops us the yard. We don't really have a great "backyard", and our deck actually faces one of the streets. However, privacy is not a problem, as we also have high cedar hedges all around the property. So, due to this configuration, we have a side of the house that doesn't get seen a lot, certainly not in winter, as one would have to plod through the snow to get there, and once there, there's not a lot to see. Even at this time of year, I had to walk over very wet grass to get around the house. But once there, I was treated to this:

A patch of purple crocus (croci??) blooming through all the left over mulch and leaves in the garden. Not only that, there are patches of green all over the garden - tulips, daffodils, day lilies and iris, other bulbs whose names are escaping me, as well as the wonderfully named goutweed are all sprouting. Some of you may know goutweed as "snow on the mountain" I think - it's a leafy ground cover of green and white leaves that gets EVERYWHERE. I'd call it invasive, but it is pretty, and it covers the patches that need it. Even my rose bushes are showing signs of green wood, which is always a good thing.

I've got to walk back there more often...