Spring is peeking 2013

Nice to see some growth poking thru

some more

Nice, Jen!

Moving to Jersey....cannot even begin to find my gardens much less any plants!

This was taken a few days ago. Narcissus Division 1 Trumpet Rijnveld's Early Sensation in bud. But I don't expect to see it open for a while. In 2011 it opened on March 21, not sure about last year but in late March. Maybe I should set up some mirrors around it to get it to bloom sooner. Patti

Amazing how far ahead you are

Yes, but then we go the other way at the spring equinox (March 30th) until the fall one. We are cooler in between those dates than on the mainland. We will see things like forsythia and lilacs and almost everything else blooming a week to two weeks later here than in Boston. But that means we are warmer in the winter and get an early start with the bulbs. Patti

Warmer in winter is good.....

I've heard Early Sensation is the first narcissus. Got to get it for next year! I'm sure the crocus will appear soon-- once the sugar loaf snowdrifts melt.

Great to see NJ teeny greenies.This means we will be up and running in a couple of weeks.Thanks Jen.
Snow cover here makes it hard to get to the garden.I might check today.There are Reticulatas starting but there is a drift between them and me.

you are not finding any green here.. just white

Do reticulata blooms survive well if there is snow? My only hope is to hightail it to greenhouses and to libraries for gardening books.

BTW, March 3, the Mass Camellia society has a display at Tower Hill and an expert walk around at 2:30. Don't know if I can go, but i am smitten by the blooms this time of year and hope to photo some at lunch time soon. The greenhouses are getting pretty close to peak right now.

Showoffs!!

I'm green with envy!!!!

Oh me too! More snow on the way......at this rate i'll be lucky to see shoots in May!!

There is a town in upstate NY that takes a pole as to when the snow pile will be gone.It has been as late as August for it to completely disappear.

OH NO! I'd move , sure as it's gonna snow tonight!!!!!

I think its a pile where the town dumps snow.It is in an area that gets over 100 inches for a season.

Huh....pretty much what my yard looks like right now!

RosemaryK...ALERT PHOTOGRAPHS NOT FROM THIS YEAR. REPEAT NOT FROM THIS YEAR.!!!!!

Ok, now that you know that these shots were taken on March 23 2011, you will see that the little reticulated Iris are real troopers when it snows. My earliest Narcissus also include Narcissus Division 1 Trumpet Small Talk which is charming little gem that seems to always bloom before the end of March. The Narcissus called February Gold has never bloomed before April 1, but it is an introduction from across the big pond by the de Graaff Bros of the Netherlands before 1923 so it is on European time. Patti

My Reticulatas are just white bloom tips coming up and they are a deep snow wade across the lawn from the house.
We expect snow again this weekend so who knows when I will see them.

I actually had crocus pop through last week! Spring is coming soon, hopefully!

still have a foot of snow on the ground.........

I didn't have the camera with me but saw some hellebores blooming and lots of larkspur seedlings. Seems really early to me.

TA DA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those little reticulated Iris heard me extolling their winter virtue and they have started to bloom. Really. I was out raking and pruning and looked down and there were 5 of them just staring up at me. I dropped the rake and ran for the camera. So here is Iris reticulata Gordon on the east side of the house in a west facing bed that gets a nice bit of sun from the south too. Pretty excited. Patti

yay!!!!

Pretty!!

We are getting another storm with snow on Sunday so the blooming party will be over for a few days. Patti

I'm writing down the names of those early bloomers. So what if they are buried one year. They'll be there the next time to brighten things up.

My reticulated iris bloomed in Feb. last year...this year, it may be April.

Nice Patti!

There are varieties of reticulateds that spread.

The best reticulated one for me that has over time made some nice thick bunches in a couple of spots is Iris histrioides Katherine Hodgkin. It is often the second to bloom after an unnamed cultivar that I got from Bleek at Touch of Nature. However this year I. r. Gordon popped up first. I bought I.r.Gordon from Van Engelen Nov. sale. Did you have any luck with I.r.Natascha? I am thinking mine have failed. Patti

I had Natasha bloom last year....I was disappointed with the color.....very washed out, sort of a dirty off-white....

Robindog, Agree, it is almost transparent, and lasts but a second when it blooms at all. Perhaps, being so frail looking, she is very shy too. I figured with a name like Natasha she would be of sturdier stock. Patti

I had heard that about Natasha.I had it and it was so pathetic I couldnt recognize it as an early iris.It died the first year.Cant say I miss it.

the junco birds are rooting around in my containers I left out there.. looking for seeds.. and wonder why I never get too much that self seeds out there???

glad the dogs are sleeping with Randy.. must be 10 birds on the deck.. Lily would freak out and want to chase em

I just came back from a walk.The cardinals are calling anf woodpeckers are rapping.
We have juncos all year.I will be so thrilled to hear song sparrows and robins in a few weeks.

I saw a flock of robins in town yesterday!