Thanks for those fantastic pictures! There's nothing more delicious than freshly picked citrus (especially those oranges). You're right though, it is sad to see that orchard going to waste and many of the SoCal suburbian neighborhoods were built on old citrus groves with some of the magnificent trees still standing in peoples' backyards. In some neighborhoods, you can stand by one of the citrus trees and then notice that several trees in adjacent yards are all in a line. Don't worry too much about the lemon tree as I've seen them grow pretty rapidly. I also always liked the nice privacy screen and windbreak provided by those Italian cypress. I hope you did get a chance to cover them tonight! Its pretty cold for SoCal!

Br. Arif, When I look at your gardens I am amazed and in awe. You truley have created a world of beauty around you. When I look at my small sun room with the dreary weather outside, and my plants in pots, they appear like birds in a cage when compared to your gardens. Thank you for the wonderful view into your world. I look forward to the Greening here to be able to share mine with you. Chaz

I wandered around the yard today too. I'm not discouraged yet. I still think it's too early to tell. I did see some things that encouraged me. Daffodil foliage in places where it has been established for awhile is starting to come up. One area where I planted daffodils last fall is showing tips of foliage but not others yet. I can't remember if I put in early or late bulbs there. No sign of 25 Leucojum that I planted in the fall and only one crocus so far. I still have another 9 days before I could consider them actually later than other years. I did see foliage at the base of chrysanthemums and new growth on sedums, buds on lilacs, and on Honeysuckle vines. Can't tell yet about Clematis or the roses. The Viburnums all look like they should. But this is that time of year that everything looks it's worse, before new growth starts showing and there's a lot of clean up. Bottom line, I'm not worried. I will have a lot of work to do this year, but it's like that every year for one reason or another. I always have grand plans and schemes and this year is no different than any other in that regard. I decided to sow seed under lights this year. But I wasn't able to start them as early as I intended to. I just started sowing yesterday, so I'm off to a late start, but it really looks like we will have a late spring. DH suggests we may not have a spring, that it will go right from winter to summer. That will really disappoint me if that's the case, but I guess I wouldn't be surprised. I guess I think that we all have to become as flexible as possible because every year it seems the weather surprises us more and more. And it's not just us in the north, where we are getting cold and snow. I would hate to have moved south to get away from this weather only to get hit with it down there as they have in Washington D.C., Georgia, even Florida this winter. And gardeners in the plains states and in the West are still dealing with record droughts. Even in England this spring, they had record flooding. So we're all in the same boat. I think we have to adjust and find a way to use whatever weather we get for growing something in the garden that we love. I'm looking forward to buying a few annual geraniums this year for a pot, based on photos of all of your geraniums last year! I love the spring season, but, I'm trying to have something for every season so I have something to look forward to, if one season is a dud. I'm looking forward to spring vegetablesâ¦peas and lettuces and greens, broccoli and bok choy. But if it gets hot too early, then I've got peppers, tomatoes and squash to get into the ground earlier than usual. And there's always containers of annuals. And plant shopping!

Ohhh, Kathy! Very, very nice walk! I love Silver Star:) Midnight Blue is terrific, that has to be a difficult one to photograph. Your roses are all very beautiful and your photos are excellent. Take as long as you like:) Leslie