Last Sunday was unseasonably warm here in the Midwestern US. We were just two days into spring, and I was sweating in leggings and a tank top as I raked old leaves out of the garden beds.

My oldest came alongside as I was pulling last year’s leaves away from the irises.

“Are you going to plant some seeds?” she asked.

No, I said, not today. I went on to explain that although it was hot today, it’s still early spring—and where we live, early spring is not the right time to plant most things. The weather is still too unpredictable, and tiny seedlings won’t make it yet.

“Then what are you doing?”

“Well, even though it’s too early for new seeds, it’s not too early for some of these older plants to start growing. So I’m tidying up their space and giving them some room to do that. Look.”

I pushed aside some of last year’s dead stems in a spot where a bushy coreopsis plant comes back year after year. Tiny green leaves were unfurling underneath the old.

And that’s where we are in the rhythm of the year. Maybe it’s because I’m an Aries, but March feels like the true new year to me. It’s when nature starts to wake up, and I do too. It’s not necessarily time to plant just yet, but it is time to clear away the last year, shake off winter, and feel the sun on my face.

Time to unfurl.