April — The Promise of Peonies

Meta description: April means Easter, renewal and the first little red nubs of peonies pushing up through the mulch. It is the month I stop holding on and start leaning in.

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” — William Shakespeare

Shakespeare understood April.

There is a spirit to this month that March does not quite have. March is the in-between, the reluctant letting go. April is the arrival. The world has made up its mind and everything — the garden, the light, the air itself — feels fresh, clean and more alive. Even I, who love winter dearly, cannot help but feel it. It’s hard to let go but it is the nature of time.

April is easier for me to welcome than March. By the time it arrives the weather has shifted, it’s warmer, there are buds on the trees, and color is popping up everywhere, there is nothing left to do but open the door and let spring in.

What I Am Looking Forward To in April

The peonies. I have been watching for them since the first warm day in February. It starts as a tiny red nub pushing up through the layers of mulch and pine needles, barely visible, easy to miss if you are not paying attention. Sometimes I even go out and move the pine needles aside just to see if they are still there. I am always paying attention. From that first little nub to the fat bud to the glorious full bloom is one of the great pleasures of my gardening year. Thankfully the deer have never been interested in them.

All of my peonies are pink and fuchsia — big beautiful blooms that last just long enough to make you treasure them completely and miss them the moment they are gone. They are worth every minute of the wait.

Easter. I host Easter at our home and it is one of my favorite days of the year. The table, the food, the flowers, the family gathered around — there is something about Easter that feels like the world exhaling after a long winter. It is renewal in the most literal sense. New life, new beginnings, the reminder that after every winter there is a spring.

Warmer days and open windows. April gives you those days — not too warm, not too cool — when you can throw open every door and window in the house and let the fresh air in. Those days are few and far between here, because between Spring and Summer is the fifth season, pollen season. Nevertheless on the days that we can we open the house and it takes a breath, breaths out the stale air of winter and breaths in the fresh clean air of the new season.

Spring cleaning and refreshing the house. There is something satisfying about the April edit. Moving things around, putting things away, storing the few strangling Christmas tchoskies, bringing in a little something and a little color that feels of the season. A bunch of peonies on the kitchen table. A lighter throw on the chair. A new cup and saucer for my morning chocolate.The house shifts and so does my mood, we are both lighter and brighter.

On The Blog This Month

This month I am sharing two posts that I have been thinking about for a while. The first is about identity — not reinvention, but remembering. Who you have always been underneath all the roles, responsibilities and expectations of yourself, your family and even the world. The second is about home — my decorating philosophy, why I will never be a minimalist and what it means to decorate like a bower bird. I hope you will settle in, stay a while and enjoy the posts. Then share your thoughts about both.

What I Am Wearing This Month

April means putting away the heavy sweaters and reaching for something lighter. Dresses and skirts, soft colors and fabrics. My April wardrobe is classic — a floral dress, a light trench for the cool mornings, silk scarves, simple jewelry and a good flat or slingback sandle. Nothing trendy, nothing that will only last one season. Just clothes that feel right for the season and right for me. Dress for yourself, wear the pieces that you enjoy and that make you feel good. That is the only rule worth following in my fashion book.

What To Cook This Month

On my April table — Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans and Poppy Seed Dressing — the first real strawberries of the season deserve to be celebrated, if I am lucky I will make it to the strawberry patch to pick my own. Just as I did when I was a child, it was actually my first job. And Roasted Carrot and Leek Soup with a Swirl of Cream — elegant enough for an Easter table, comforting enough for a cool April evening. For dessert the showstopper — a Coconut Layer Cake — tall and beautiful and exactly right for an Easter celebration or any April occasion that deserves something special.

What To Read This Month

On my April reading list — two books for two very different moods.

If you want something that asks you to slow down and pay attention — pick up The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. A woman alone in nature through the seasons, noticing everything with a precision and a wonder that will change the way you look at the world. She won the Pulitzer Prize for this book. It is the perfect April book — a meditation on renewal, on the natural world waking up and on what it means to truly see what is right in front of you.

If you want something escapist — and who among us does not dream of packing up and moving to France— A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. I have read all of his books and this one started it all. A man and his wife buy a farmhouse in Provence on a whim and spend a year discovering the food, the wine, the eccentric neighbors and the beauty of a life lived more slowly and more deliciously. It is funny and warm and full of the kind of detail that makes you feel you are sitting at the table with them. The perfect antidote to a grey April day.

One for the soul. One for the wanderer in you. You cannot go wrong with either.

A Small Joy

The morning you walk out to the garden with your coffee, tea or chocolate and find the first peony nub. Just a small red tip pushing up through the mulch. Nothing to look at really. And yet everything.

What does April mean to you? Are you a peony person? Tell me in the comments — I would love to know what you are looking forward to this month.

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