I need to take some pictures tomorrow. Sadly I once again missed the most fantastic days of the turkish tulips. The only tulips I grow are a small number of species tulips from which the beauties we now love grow. I've always been surprised they do well here. I love your little Iris histroides. I have some tiny purple iris which always used to herald spring, but the last two years they have not bloomed...I have heard they do this, and I'm not sure how to remedy...

I'll share!

Crocus ~

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Weird little Daffodils ~

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Snowdrops ~

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Tulips, lots of Iris, and Hyacinth are still on their way, hopefully.

All the gravel in two of the pictures is leftover from when we took out very thick, old concrete last fall. ;(

Hurray for the spring crocus and daffs. I haven't even been to the nurseries yet this spring. I am not sure there is anything out to buy yet violas and pansies should be out at the nurseries soon. That iris is really pretty.

-GGG, I love the little species tulips too. It is neat that they do so well for you- I always thought that, in order to bloom in your zone/location, they had to be chilled first. That is too bad to hear some of the small iris stopped blooming for you after a couple years. Are yours the bulb kind like my histroides, or a mini bearded? If you ever happen to learn more on why they stopped blooming I would be very interested to hear...

Lol! Serenae, I adore your "Weird little Daffodils"! Don't know that I've ever seen ones like that, short with such huge flowers.

-NY Rita, Thanks! I am loving that iris too. Another patch I planted out back is slowing starting to pop up too. I went out and covered it with a turned-over hanging basket just in case that perverse squirrel got to thinking they would make a tasty snack! Lol. Seeing any signs of spring where you are?
CMK

Cold today but so far only a chilly rain and some wintry mix instead of the at least 2 inches of snow they forcasted by this afternoon. Fortunatly no sticking. The daffs look cold out there!

Amazing that you have iris this early, I had no idea!

Love all the crocus, that's why we grow it, isn't it? Because it's so early and it gets the blood pumping to see blooms in March.

Love all those spring shots.

What are those weird little daffodils? I just got some in a trade and they are like that - very short!

CMK- Beautiful pictures! I love all that color and the little iris is so pretty! Thanks for sharing :)

Serena- Very nice pictures...spring bulbs are so cheerful!

No blooms here, yet, but I did see some daffodils poking up through the old grass Sunday...and it looks like hyacinths are popping up around the plum trees. I am so ready for spring!

We have been having unusually warm temps here in Southern Illinois...high 70's for highs and high 50's to low 60's for lows. (that is supposed to end tomorrow, though :-() So there is alot popping up in my beds. No blooms yet, though. I am seeing tulips, daylilies, clemmies, wisteria, iris, star of bethlehem, astilbe, coneflowers, yarrow, ornamental grasses, roses bushes and even a couple of really ambitious hosta all roaring back to life now! Hope the cold snap we are about to get doesn't harm them. But I did go to Lowes today and buy an Azalea bush, some potted creeping phlox, and some lithodora. Put them in our hot tub room until it warms back up!

I'll have to take a look at the bulb package for the daffodils, if I kept it, and see what type they are. I meant to get "normal" ones, but the bulb packages here don't seem to give much info.

They sort of look like they're looking all around them, wondering what the heck happened! LOL!

Serenae, one possibility, do you think your 'weird little daff' might be Quince or Golden Quince?

Annette

Serenae,
You litt6le tulips are magnificent! Look at all the little ones coming up. Yes, I do love the little iris...I don't think I have ever met one I didn't love.

The violets you bought are lovely. I have never seen them for sale here, but the little wild ones are all over my yard, anywhere I don't remove them...they are quite invasive.

Aren't bulbs the harbinger of spring? Your pictures are really pretty.
kay

Hi serenae,
I believe the little daffs are called Tete-a-Tete daffodils. I have several and I love them! They are very hardy for me. We had the warm weather in the 70's and now it is 39 out! If you google daffseek query you will see some pictures.
Ellen

Serenae, how tall are the flower stems on your little daff when it is fully open? I thought the stems in your picture looked a little short for Tete-a-Tete. Tete-a-Tete's flower stems are about 6in. when starting to open and are about 12in. when fully open, where Quince are about 4 in. but, you know how it goes pictures can fool one :).

I just found a picture of Quince and the flower looks to be smaller than yours, in your picture the cup looks a little too wide for Tete-a-Tete but that's just me. I know I have seen yours before but the name just won't come to me. If you bend the petals against the cup, are the petals longer or the cup? that's another thing that might help with identification. I bet Flora will know which one it is.

Annette

-LL, thanks! You should get some of those little iris for your fairy bed! One site mentions they are hardy down to z3, so would be perfect. ;-)

-Kay, we have the wild violets over here too. They do creep, but not invasively for some reason. There is a very large patch in the grass out front that I love- it is a carpet of purple in spring and smells soooo good. Sometimes I go sit out there just to sniff...if the neighbors arn't watching that is, LOL.
CMK

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond! I was out working in the yard for most of the day. :)

The little daffodils look much more upright now. I was just out in the dark measuring them! LOL
I don't have the package - or if I do, I can't find it.

Annette: I *think* that the golden quince have a taller stem than these ones, but I could be wrong. The petals are almost exactly the same size as the cup - the very tips of the petals extend past the cup a tiny bit. Does that help?

Ellen may be correct that they're Tete-a-Tete: their stems are about 6.5" long, from the very base to right underneath the flower.

I think they look extra-wonky in the photo I took, because most of them were very new. Probably adding to the confusion, sorry!

I'm so jealous. We just had 2 inches of sleet followed by a couple of inches of snow. North of us had 18 inches of snow. Come on sun, come on southern breeze bring some warmth to wisconsin.

I love seeing these pictures...I always know Spring has sprung when I see the crocuses out and daffodils working their way up in the yard. So pretty ;)

My favorite is the little iris, so delicate looking. I'll have to see if I can find some in the fall.

Annette