Up north, spring just kicked in, the vernal equinox, when day and night finally balance out, it starts warming up, and everything begins to grow again.

Spring break in the States? Yeah... I’m not even getting into that.

One of the things that I love about Costa Rica is that you can have a spring day any time of year. I woke up this morning with a freshly scented spring breeze blowing through the window and the sound of happy birds singing in the trees. So relaxing. I stretched and opened my eyes to look at the clock.

5:17 a.m.?!? I rolled out of bed, slammed the window, closed the blackout curtains and went back to bed. 5:17 a.m., nonsense!

When I woke up again,  at a decent hour, the spring day was still there. I thought it had been a mirage. It seems that calendar pages fall off the refrigerator (maybe I need new magnets) and it keeps raining or the sun keeps shining. There isn’t a lot to mark the change of seasons, especially where we live.

You see, we live at the junction of 5 or 6 microclimates. We have a rainy season and a rainier season. We are inland by Lake Arenal, but we get Caribbean storms. It’s enough to drive you mad. What to plant? When to plant? I always want to see what my neighbors are planting, but they just keep planting field corn...

Enter the greenhouse. Yes, it is primarily for growing orchids, but I can start any seeds I want in there and control at least some of the weather.

Plant the seeds in a greenhouse,  and they go crazy. Let the plants get some height and they can be transplanted to a spot with sun and some cover from the rain. Then it’s just a waiting game.

After many years in Costa Rica and I still don’t have the knack for some things. My friend Mike has melon vines and they grow like crazy. Mine tend to die.   Cathy grows huge cucumbers, mine hate me.   Theo grew beautiful, sweet corn from seeds and  I ordered from Hawaii, and the cows ate all my plants when they were only three feet tall. I don’t even want to think about the caterpillars and the leaf-cutter ants.

Anyway, here it is, another beautiful spring day. Maybe I will forget about gardening for a day, go to a nice hot spring and just relax. Sounds like a plan.

Plant for the week. Shade gardens are a delight but now and then they need something to brighten them up and these delightful plants are just the thing to do that. This is Calathea ornata and also comes with a tinge of red.

All the Calatheas are great in bright shade (no direct sun) and do well as potted plants on the deck or patio. They prefer temperatures in the 65-75 F range and don’t like temperatures below 60 F. Feed lightly during the growing season – April to October - and, if your pot is planted, let the top dry out between waterings.