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It’s Easter for those who celebrate, and for me, Easter is all about the flowers. Yes, chocolate is nice, and I’m a huge fan of deviled eggs, too, but it’s truly the Easter flowers that fill me with the most joy. In particular, hyacinths and their gorgeous aroma remind me that spring is here and the cold, icy winds of winter have headed back to their Arctic homeland for another year. In fact, I love hyacinths so much that when I bought my house and added a porch, I specifically designed a little garden where I could plant hyacinths. I planted 50 bulbs, and each year I get about 35 to 40 hyacinths in deep purples, pinks, whites and blues that spring up around this time. Walking into my house, the most delicate and delicious aroma greets me the moment I get out of my car and follows me to my front door. Once inside, my tradition, which began in college of buying myself a hyacinth and placing it next to my bed, has morphed into not only a hyacinth for my bedroom but also one for my entry room. I never feel bad about purchasing these because I always plant the bulbs in my garden so they can join the spring-blooming crowd.

So, in our talk of Easter flowers, the first thing that comes to mind, the moment I start to see those hyacinth leaves poke through the ground, is one of my favorite sayings: “April showers bring May flowers.” Now, I’ll be the first to say I’m not sure why this particular saying comes to mind, especially because in May, my beloved hyacinths have headed back underground to grow again for another year. Maybe it comes to mind because I don’t love getting wet during rain showers, yet I coach track. Maybe it’s my coping mechanism to justify why I spend a lot of hours outside in April, soaked to the skin and rethinking my life choices? Possibly. That’s something I’ll need to dive into deeper. However, that saying got me thinking, especially as it storms outside my window (which I love because I’m dry); where in the world did that saying originate, and why?

The saying “April showers bring May flowers” is credited to Thomas Tusser, an author in the mid-16th century, whose book, “A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry,” contained the lines “Sweet April showers / Do spring May flowers.”

While Tusser was a farmer and poet who wrote about the English countryside, his lines of writing have come to mean much more than the simple act of flowers growing. Those who read deeply into his poetry have described rainy April as a time of hardship in life that tests our ability to adapt and cope, versus the beautiful outcomes that will come once the rain has passed. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t really thought that far into it or really used that connotation in my thinking, but it’s apropos.

In teaching and farming, spring is tough, especially early spring. As teachers, it’s testing season, and there are so many standardized tests kids have to take; however, most students are counting down to summer break, and it’s an endless battle with high stakes. In farming, for us as crop farmers, it’s a battle against Mother Nature. Granted, it’s very one-sided, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of looking up at the sky and praying for clear, warm, beautiful days.

As for livestock farmers, early spring can also be rough. Many new lives are being born, and while birth is a beautiful process, it comes with its own share of loss and heartbreak. However, if we can all make it to the next minute, the next hour, the next month, the next season, somehow, things get easier. Normally, by May, life has settled back into its early-summer routine, and everyone is happy.

Thomas Tusser’s book, written in rhyming couplets to make it memorable, wasn’t just another book on farming. It contained practical life advice, such as a farming calendar, crop rotation, livestock care, household management tips, beekeeping, the roles of the husband and wife, and other snippets of day-to-day agrarian life.

Today, his book offers a great look inside Tudor-era practices and real daily scenarios. However, the best point Tusser makes, aside from my favorite quote, is that agriculture and household management should go together. So, this Easter, go buy some flower bulbs; there is a wide variety — hyacinths, daffodils, lilies or tulips — and once they have bloomed, find a perfect spot in your yard and plant them. Heck, even an outdoor container will work. Begin a tradition, and each year, when April rolls around, remind yourself, “April showers bring May flowers,” and know that you, too, can conquer anything life throws at you during the turbulent spring.

Submitted by Christen Clemson, a member of the Trumbull County Farm Bureau who completed her Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State University. She and her family farm in Mecca Township.

OFBF Mission: Working together for Ohio farmers to advance agriculture and strengthen our communities.