Winter’s Cold and Heaven’s Joy

Every year, as winter turns to spring, I begin to look to our garden. On the first day when the sun shines with warmth, and the temperature rises at least a few degrees above freezing, I go outside and look for them—the little yellow flowers that are always the first to bloom. The crocuses and daffodils show up in April, the tulips in May, and the irises in June. But these are March flowers or, in an especially warm year, even February.They must be hardy little things, for they bloom at a time o