The first two were taken Feb 26 last year, at 1am and the second about 10:45. We didn't see bare earth in the garden for another couple of weeks.

The next 5 are a few of the things that were blooming today. The first clump of snowdrops were given to me a couple of years back, don't know which ones they are but are quite tall and the flowers are bigger than most.

We've had such a mild winter so far, it was 50 here today so went out and did a bit of cleanup and took these few pix. Seeing a bit of color in the garden tells me spring is not far off. We still could get a dose of winter but so far so good. I bet Libby has a lot flowering now, she's 80 or so miles south of me and about one zone higher.

Annette

Annette

To determine if we'll have an early spring, instead of the groundhog, I usually go by Easter. It's not early this year, so I didn't think we'd get an early spring, but it looks like we might! Keeping my fingers crossed!

Nancy.

Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania has a lovely display of helleborus foetidus. In very early spring when little else is in bloom outdoors, the helleborus foetidus are blooming their heads off and you can hear the sound of happy bees enjoying them. Definitely a plant I'd like to add to my garden someday.

Lynda

Your snowdrops are lovely too. I seem to remember that you have a collection of those. Which are your favorites? A magazine came awhile back that featured different cultivars- I fell in love with some of those double ones!

Same warm temps here. I spied snowdrops blooming down the street, in a raised bed. And a patch of my tulips, by the foundation of house, are poppin' up.
CMK

Cameron

Linda, yes your right, that is H. foetidus "Wester Flisk" the first in the second lot of pics, I meant the first of the two snowdrop pictures I guess I should have said and further down.

Chris I have argutifolius too, once again it is lying flat on the ground, my fault I should have tied it back in the fall. How much sun does yours get, mine gets about 5 hours of sun and it blooms every year. I've got x hybridus seedlings popping up like hairs on a dog's back around one of the Royal Heritage strain, it's planted in gravely soil but not a single seedling around any of the others. A couple of the double flowering ones I bought last year are going to bloom, a pink and a white but my double black isn't :(.
I've had double snowdrops but they seem to die out on me. Might give them one more chance this fall, plant them in a different spot, see if that helps. I only have three different varieties of snowdrops, the one with the shiny green leaves I had for years before they bloomed or multiplied. Then all of a sudden they took off, go figure.

Annette

Well, that is I this year.

k

My own hellebores in the shadier area are not happy. I think having pounds of gravel thrown on them and constant disturbance and then so much cold have worn thin. Replanting to commence as soon as I can. What a lovely groundcover they are.

I can't believe how many things are perky after all that snow. Today I awoke to another very, very heavy frost on everything. It has been a very weird year here. Drought abruptly ended with deluge, and the most cold and frosty weather I've ever encountered here yet. I kick myself for not digging up the dahlias....

Glynis, this is the second H. foetidus I've had, the first one I had for 4 years and then it up and died. This one I've had for about 6 years, I haven't let it set seed maybe that's why I still have it. We'll see I want to collect seed this year, hope I don't lose it.
I have another little odd ball a girlfriend grew from seed she collected, it has small green flowers and blooms a little later, could be a cross or... I moved it last year so don't think it will bloom this year. When it does I'll post a pic on the Hellebore forum, see if I can get an identification.
I said I wasn't going to order any more Hellebore seed but I see Ashwood Nursery is now selling seed of their doubles, I'm weakening LOL.

LOL Kathy, "Some people would complain if you hung them with a new rope" I'm going to remember that one.
As far as winters go Vancouver is having the warmest winter in their recorded history so we on the island probably are too. Right now most years the ground would be frozen.

Thanks all for taking a look, I usually don't have anything to show at this time of year and when I finally do it's just old hat, I'm so far behind everyone else when things bloom.

Annette

I think I have caught your Helleborus fever Annette, lol. Just got a new Heronswood catalog the other day with some real beauties. Uh, oh. ;-)
CMK

Chris, do you feel another addiction coming on :o), most of mine are grown from seed from Ashwood Nursery, I didn't think I liked the doubles but saw one someone had in one of our parlor shows last spring, it was a beautiful dark but bright grape color with white stamens, I believe it was a Heronswood intro but from back before they moved.
Have you seen the new anemone centred ones, I think I like these more than the doubles. In the link below there's some drool worthy pics of hellebores.

Annette

Libby has a lot flowering now, she's 80 or so miles south of me and about one zone higher.

Indeed I do. This includes flowering weeds. ;)
Talk about a mild winter, we've only had a couple of hard frosts.
I have a lots of cornflowers that grew over 'winter' and are now a foot high.

Libby