We think spring begins when the first flower blooms. But biologically, it starts right now—in the freezing cold.
If you’ve spent this winter in New York City like me, you’ve likely been dreaming of the arrival of spring during the freezing, snowy, and gray days. You also probably shook your fists at the sky when the groundhogs saw their shadow on February 2nd.
“When will this end?” you thought.
But if you ask a sugar maple or a wildflower seed, they will tell you that spring started while the snow was falling.
We tend to measure the season by what we can see—the green bud, the crocus, the robin. But nature does her most important preparation underground, long before the visuals arrive. In fact, she uses the harshness of late winter to fuel the growth of spring. Without the present cold, there is no future warmth—literally and figuratively, for nature and for us.
Here is how nature is prepping for spring right now in this last month of winter, and what we can learn from her and translate into our own lives.
1. The Cold Is the Key (Stratification)
We often complain about the bitter cold, gray skies, and damp days of February, wishing them away. But for many native plants, this weather in this season is non-negotiable. It’s the foundation of their flourishing future.
This process is called stratification. Seeds like milkweed, coneflower, and lavender have tough outer shells that keep them dormant. They literally cannot grow until they have gone through a period of intense cold and moisture. The freeze acts as a signal, softening the shell and telling the embryo inside that it is safe to wake up.
Without the hard winter, there is no spring bloom. The obstacle is also the key that turns the lock.
2. Use the Pressure and Change (Sap Flow)
Right now, maple syrup farmers are busy. Why? Because the sap is running.
But sap doesn’t run just because it gets warm. It runs because of the fluctuation. While the shifts in transitions may drive us crazy, it’s the alternation between freezing nights and thawing days that creates pressure changes inside the sugar maple trees, acting as a natural pump to move sugar from the roots up to the branches.
The tree uses the instability of the season to fuel its growth. Being off-balance all the time helps the tree find their secure center.
The Togetherhood Takeaway
We often want to jump straight from winter rest to full-bloom success. We want the project to launch, the book to sell, or the answer to appear.
But right now, today, nature is in the stratification phase. We are, too.
If you feel like nothing is happening right now, that you’re stuck and that the world is off-kilter, or if things feel cold and hard and impossible right now in your local community and our global community, remember the seed. You aren’t stuck. You’re just softening your shell so you can break through in the days ahead as the light and warmth return.
Use this time, today, tomorrow, and the rest of this month before spring, to prepare your roots. Organizing, planning, and laying the groundwork for our future—collectively and individually—is active growth, even if no one else can see it yet.
Spring is coming. But the work starts now.
Christa Avampato 