I don't know what it is about spring that makes one want to put things in the earth. Here in Southern California we can plant pretty much year-round but, as you can see from this photo of my garden taken in February, I have to admit I got a little neglectful this winter. Part of it was the watermelons grew through January so after I took them out there was a big question as to what to put in.
In the meantime, I continued tending the overgrown mass of sweetpeas against the wall, the two dormant rose bushes, the leftover herbs from the previous summer (lavender and Italian parsley and the catnip that won't stop -- anyone got a horde of cats that needs a little nip?) and the olive trees in their tubs (you can't plant trees in the ground at the community garden, although the trees were transplanted into bigger tubs and one of them looks to be growing an immense amount of little olive flowers).
So although, yes, this looks like a sad dormant little garden, there was some growing going on. But is was just maintenance. Nothing like what happened the minute it start to feel like spring. Again, in Southern California, it's not as much a matter of degrees as in length of days. I guess that's it. All I know is the time changed, the days got longer and I became obsessed with adding to my garden, building a bed, getting some new marigolds and basil and cucumbers and peppers and culminating in ... yes, TOMATOMANIA.