A spring in their step and gardening gloves on their hands

Winter wasn’t fun, was it?

It seemed as if there was one weather record broken after another — the darkest day ever (Dec. 20) and tying for the record for most rainy days in January, the same month in which we didn’t see the sun.

It’s no wonder gardeners are making early season migrations to local nurseries, even though it’s a little too soon to begin shopping for some plants.

“People are just starved for color other than gray,” said Steve Smith, owner of Marysville’s Sunnyside Nursery. “We hear that in the nursery — they want bright reds or oranges.”

Smith said that when he walks out into his yard, it’s like a big family reunion.

“I look to see who’s there, who’s coming back in the garden,” he said. “Everybody is waking up from their winter slumber. “I say ‘Hi there, welcome back.’”

EagleSong-Gardener, who runs RavenCroft Garden in Monroe, just picked up her leek starts on Thursday.

She said she knows spring really is imminent when she hears tree frogs singing around her home.

“I have a wild plum tree in my backyard. The buds are swelling on the plums and the daffodils had color for the first time,” she said.

Terry Macaulay, co-chair of the annual Snohomish Garden Tour with her husband Steve Macaulay, said on recent drives they’ve seen rhododendrons and early-flowering fruit trees starting to bloom.

“Oh, and hellebores are blooming, and in the nurseries you can find primroses,” she said.

Renee Greenleaf, marketing coordinator for Evergreen Arboretum and Gardens in Everett, said the thing she most looks forward to about spring is “those new shoots and that beautiful spring green that’s so much lighter and brighter than any other time of year.

“Think about ferns,” she said. “It just uncurls right in front of you with all that spring green. I love it.”

Judith Jones, owner of Fancy Fronds in Gold Bar, said watching ferns unfurl their leaves “is one of the most exciting times for me.”

“It’s like the leaves come out, but I find ferns much more eloquent,” she said. “They have this character.”

Renown gardening expert Ciscoe Morris, whose “Gardening with Ciscoe” is broadcast on KIRO FM, said he can’t wait to have time to work in his garden.

He’s just returned from a trip to Morocco and France and said he’s ready to start cleaning things up.

“I always leave things so the birds can eat the seeds,” he said.

Morris said he has 70 plants sitting in his garage waiting to be planted. And garden fountains that need to be readied.

“It’s been so wet you couldn’t work in the vegetable garden,” he said. “Now I know my chances are coming. I can feel it in the air. I’m excited.”

Pattye Snyder, former president of the Mukilteo Way Garden Club, said she just picked up a mason bee barn for the yard.

She attended the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, this year with the theme “Spring Fever,” which runs through March 1 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. That’s where she gathered ideas and inspiration for her garden.

One idea from the show? Keep mason bees.

Snyder learned at a seminar that our native mason bees are better at pollinating flowers than bumble and honey bees.

“Mason bees, mainly because they don’t have good eyesight, they look for color and crash into a flower and get covered in pollen, then they go look for another color and go crashing into that,” she said. “So they’re covered in pollen, rather than just have it on their knees and wings.”

Her recommendation: If you haven’t already, go to a mason bee talk by Ciscoe Morris. She said he tells the mason bee story so well, you can’t help but laugh.

Features editor Sara Bruestle contributed to this report.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or ssalyer@heraldnet.com.

If you go

The Northwest Flower & Garden Festival runs through March 1 at the Washington State Convention Center, 705 Pike St., downtown Seattle. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $36 for two days, $10 for youth 13-23 and free for children. Half-day passes are $17 each. Call 206-231-0140 or go to www.gardenshow.com for more information.