March is the month when the Equinox arrives and day and night will have the same number of hours on that day. Despite the equality of day and night, March is a month of contrasts. An old saying is “If March roars in like a lion, it will leave like a lamb.” March either roars in like a lion and leaves like a lamb, or comes in as meek as a lamb and roars out like a lion.
March in the Southwest Garden
The March contrasts are not only in the weather but also in the plants of our Southwestern gardens. A look around the garden on the first of March and I could see that many plants were recovering from the winter cold while other plants were suffering from the unseasonable heat. Such different reactions! This underscores one of the great things about our wonderful region – we are living in a place where the plants from radically different climates can be grown.
Plants from Around the World
From northern Europe we have the carrot family herbs that love the cool of winter. Parsley, cilantro and dill – all planted in October – were wilting in the drying wind and unseasonably warm sun, getting ready to flower and finish their life cycle. Usually they last into late April, but I believe that this year they have two, maybe three weeks before they are done for the year. Also from Europe, but southern Europe, arugula is handling the heat better.
From tropical Asia, we have heat-loving basil, normally dead due to cold sometime back in November. This winter it did not get hit by the frost and has been adding some leaves for about a month. It is now ready to be harvested for (an admittedly small) pot of pesto.
Sonoran desert natives are are breaking dormancy earlier than normal, leafing out, and growing. In some cases, they may have never gone fully dormant, like two out of the six mesquite trees we planted. The snapdragon vine (Maurandya antirrhiniflora) an accidental (and welcome) hitch-hiker from our old house never went fully dormant and is already flowering, muvh to the delight of a small native bee.
Native perennials like brittle bush and paperflower have been flowering for months. Penstemons are in FGB* as well. FGB is a plant nerd abbreviation for Full Glorious Bloom, because FB is just not descriptive enough.
Word Nerd Reports
The first time the phrase “comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb” in reference to March pops up in a compendium called “Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British”. This work was written in 1732 Thomas Fuller, and contains one of the earliest printed mentions of the saying.
And I am disappointed, because I thought for sure some Shakespearean actor would have declaimed it from the stage, after all we have “The Tempest.” As you may recall, the story starts with grumpy sailors complaining about their porridge and then an epic storm gives them something to really complain about.
Why the Phrase?
Lions are known for their roar. They are also strong and ravenous creatures – so very much like the often unforgiving climate of early March, with winds that can suck the life right out of tender garden seedlings. Meanwhile, lambs are calm and docile, a welcome anodyne to all the roaring and teeth gnashing, although lambs would also decimate a garden so perhaps the analogy fails a bit.
And then the science nerd wandered down the rabbit hole.
A lions roar is loud, but how loud is it?
The interweb says that the roar of a lion is capable of reaching 115 decibels, That is much louder than a chainsaw, but quieter than a jet engine. It can be heard as far as five miles (8 kilometers) away on a quiet night. This makes lions one of the loudest terrestrial animals known. I know that Kinja with his Siamese voice sometimes sounded that loud (in my face, at 3:30 am), but most members of the cat family rarely advertise their presence with noise. Lions are the exception because they are social creatures. Most other species of cats only make faces at each other. Really. It’s how they communicate.
Meanwhile, in case you are wondering, coyote howls are also recorded at 115 decibels, but are only heard at a maximum of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in most instances. Something to do with the timbre of the sound, which is a rabbit hole for another day.
March Lions & Lambs
The night sky may be part of the reason for the saying. The constellation Leo (the lion) rises in the east at nightfall at the start of March. It’s out there as I write this according to the star app on my phone. Meanwhile, the constellation Aries (the ram) is getting ready to set in the west at nightfall towards the end of March. I am not buying this explanation. Aries is a ram, not a lamb, and rams can be very rambunctious indeed.
How about the Pascal lamb you may wonder? Easter occurs the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring (vernal) equinox. This means that the lamb brought in so it’s blood may mark the doorposts will come in at the end of March. So while lambs may be part of the end of March, the orthodox symbology of the lion and the lamb does not work in this instance.
Why is March Weather so Unpredictable?
March is a transition month. And face it, transitions are volatile. As the days get longer in the northern hemisphere, the sun warms the atmosphere more, and things get stirred around.
As winter leaves and spring arrives we can get snow and freezing temperatures one week, then hot dry days in the 80’s the very next week. March 2, 2023, we had snow on the ground in Tucson. It melted by noon, but we did have snow in March in very recent history. Tucson had snow in mid-April several times in the 1960’s.
Wishful Thinking
It may come down to this. Back when you had to plant crops to feed your family for entire the coming year, a month that started out with roaring winds, pounding storms, and perhaps a brief thaw with flooding all looked very bleak indeed. “In like a lion, out like a lamb” would be a mantra to help console the anxious household members intent on the survival of their family.
Thank A Farmer
I have been quoted as saying that hot showers are the best part of the modern age. In reality, the modern ability to live our lives not having to worry about the weather might be a bigger blessing. If you ate food today, or if all you did was drink a cup of coffee or tea today – remember to thank a farmer. They still have to worry about the weather.
Thanks for reading!
Jacqueline
More March Tips in my book
The Month By Month Guide offers tips for your landscape (yes even lawns and roses) in every month of the year. I have a few copies left and am offering them to you – my loyal readers. When you buy from me you get a signed copy!
From the review:
“A great reference book is key to successful gardening in the region where you live. Arizona, Nevada & New Mexico Month-by-Month Gardening takes the guesswork out of gardening for anyone residing in the Southwest. With this book, you’ll know what to do each month to enjoy a thriving garden all year, from January to December. Chronologically organized, this guide is full of critical gardening when-to and how-to advice, along with illustrated step-by-step instructions.
The book’s author is Jacqueline Soule, a Tucson-based gardening expert. She knows this arid region inside and out, and she’s written several articles and books packed with her gardening advice. Arizona, Nevada & New Mexico Month-by-Month Gardening showcases Soule’s expertise in one easy-to-read guide.”
Profits from the sale of this book go to the Horticulture Therapy non-profit Tierra del Sol Institute.
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