Bright shoots of everlastingness

Seen on my walk with the dog: Forsythias just starting to send out their buds.

And magnolia blooms just starting to burst their sheaths. 

In my own garden, the Veronica Miffy Brute I planted last year as a ground cover seems to be coming back. I hope it spreads more. I want a carpet of it on the sand steps on the west side of the house. Last year I had patches of it, but not complete coverage. It's probably good that it's a slow grower, so it won't become invasive, but now that I know it's a perennial, maybe I'll buy some more this year to supplement what I have.

And the iris bulbs I received in November, kept in my car trunk for three months, and planted on a cold, wet February day are sending up shoots.

The word "shoots" triggered the memory of the phrase "bright shoots of everlastingness." That was the title of a great seminar I went to in college on 17th Century poets, and particularly the Metaphysical School of poetry--Donne and Herbert being the two greatest greats. The phrase comes from a poem by Henry Vaughan. Having found the poem, "The Retreat," I'm not that crazy about the poem as a whole, just the one phrase. It's a popular phrase; when I googled it, a number of books and essays came up and Vaughan's poem was almost lost in the crowd.