To my mind, winter was made so that we could more fully experience the exquisite bliss of the awakening of spring.

In fact, in more sentimental moments, I feel downright sorry for my gardening buddies languishing in tropical climes (smile).

OK, so they have non-stop blooms, lush color and the life that gardens bring to your world all year-round. But, hear me out, what they miss is the buildup of longing (sort of like the night before Christmas), the breathless waiting for a transformation — both of landscape and spirit.

This time of year as I revel in the gradual change of season I always find myself humming Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “The Waters of March” and reflecting on its lyrics: “afloat, adrift/a flight, a wing/a hawk, a quail/the promise of spring/and the riverbank talks/of the waters of March/it’s the promise of life/it’s the joy in your heart.”

At a little over two weeks into the season, that promise is high with Chicago’s appetite already whetted by early days of temps in the 70s. And though the last two days were a bit chilly, try as she might, Mother Nature just can’t un-ring the bell…

Spring has arrived, and not just in name only. You can feel it, smell it, sense it in the air; and around here both man and beast are rapt with anticipation of the garden season that will follow in its wake.

Surveying my 5 x 12 balcony, I’ve already started to create a picture in my head of the garden I’ll cultivate over the course of the next weeks. Even my cat seems to be thinking ahead to the time when the dead, brown flat of grass will be replaced with a lush bed of green like last summer.

Other signs of spring: cleaners, out in force, lowered themselves down the sides of our condo building putting spit and polish on our windows onto the season; what appeared to be a downy woodpecker perched on the arm of an electric blue adirondack chair on my balcony (unfortunately, he flew away before I could record his visit for posterity); and, April showers have been our constant companion this past week.

Another thing that marked the passing of a year and the dawn of a new garden season for me was the one-year anniversary of this blog. CityDiggity launched the end of March 2009 and I’m thrilled to be embarking on a new season of adventures in urban gardening.

I’ll leave you with this YouTube video of Filipino bossa stylist Sofia performing Jobim’s “Waters of March,” maybe it’ll become your anthem of the season, too.

[photos: a yellow and orange marigold from last season (top), and my cat gnawing on the dried remains of his grass last month]