I covered nothing. I mulched a little, but not much.

So far, I have not lost anything. I cannot believe it, but everything has sprouted, and put on new growth.

The only thing that is disappointing is the lack of blooms on my amaryllis. They should have bloomed by now, but we have seen few blooms. Last year was really a big bloom year, tho, so maybe I am expecting too much.

Janie

Disappointments:

It looks like I lost part of my largest clumps of agastache 'Salmon & Pink' after the 2nd snowfall. Between the two snowfalls, they were big clumps of green basal foliage. They are still alive, but small offshoots -- enough to continue the color.

I lost the agastache 'Tutti Fruitti' but I knew that was marginal here.

I'm not sure if my colocasia made it. I mulched them heavily, but still haven't seen any signs of life. That said, the area has more shade this year due to maturing trees, so I'm not giving up on them yet.

My red salvia greggii had some damage. I've had to cut two back severely this weekend to get down to the green foliage. Still alive, though.

I'm still waiting to see is my cestrum 'Orange Peel' is alive. It still looks like a stick in the ground. I rearranged a section of the garden around it, so I hope it is okay!

I lost two salvia 'Black & Blue' that I transplanted from container plantings into the garden in late fall. All of the 'Black & Blue' that had already gotten established before fall are fine. Plant that one in spring, not fall in my zone!

Surprises:

My allium 'Purple Sensation' bulbs are growing like crazy and forming buds!

I think every Larkspur and poppy seed that was sown directly in the fall germinated! I'm going to have a lot of those two if we don't get too much heat too soon.

My echinacea seeds that I also sowed directly in the fall germinated, too.

The monarda 'Jacob Cline' and 'Raspberry Wine' additions are about 5 times the size they were (4" pots) when I planted them in September.

I'm starting to feel brave with seed sowing! I ordered more annuals seeds yesterday.

Cameron

We lost most of our wisteria, we cut it back to the main trunk. The Nandina and the Leycesteria are gone unless they come from the roots. Ayesha Hydrangea had to be cut down to a stump. The evergreen Clematis planted inside the pool room under a roof has had it unless it comes back from the root. My Akebia vine got hit hard but I think it will survive. The Gaillardia and Rudbeckia I planted last summer look like they've bit the bullet but the surprising thing is all new Echinaceas I planted last year look like they're coming back gangbusters, go figure. I'm sure I've lost a lot more time will tell, other than the perennials and the Clemie I lost the others I've had for donkeys years. This has been one stinker of a winter here on Vancouver Island.

Annette

Cameron, I have been growing that cestrum for 2 years now, and I had to cut it back this year just because it had gotten so big! I love it! I look out there and it is covered in bloom, all summer, and all winter! Even when I cut it down, it was covered in blooms!

Janie

My Blue Spires salvia did not make it. I moved it in November. I took cuttings so I'm happy to report I have three instead of one. My pineapple sage didn't come back either. I pulled it out today to find pillbugs eating what little root mass was left. It was brown and crispy. I took lots of cuttings of that too. I planted out 15 new plants this week.

There's really nothing else that I know I lost. But I am happy to see that most of my hibiscus have new growth on them. The only one I haven't seen anything from is the dark foliage variety with red blooms. I cannot remember the name and have misplaced the tag. Turn of Century is putting out about a dozen new shoots.

CMK: I had to look up Pulsatilla, as I've never heard of that. What a pretty plant! I'm not surprised you're missing it.

My big disappointment is that not many of the poppy seeds I threw out last fall germinated. A few of them grew and bloomed, but it's a pretty poor return when I think of the thousands of seeds I tossed about last Oct. It was a very dry winter here, which probably accounts for it.

One happy surprise is that a couple of ordinary geraniums made it through the winter out in the middle of a flowerbed, and they're blooming now. I didn't expect that.

I also lost Agastaches and Salvias this year. One of my Daturas hasn't shown anything yet. I don't think we had much colder temperatures, but the cold spells seemed to last longer this past winter. I had a few zone 9-10 plants that had been coming back but I was pushing my luck this winter.

Between the drought the last two years and the cold winter, I lost more than I've ever lost before.

I'm not sure about everything yet, but it looks like one Sedum Autumn Joy and two geraniums (nimbus, iirc) didn't make it. My salvia May Night is fine, and at least 2 of the 3 agastache blue fortune are ok.

I haven't seen any seedlings yet outside, but it is early still.

Everything looks fine. Lots of seedlings popping up. A bit of a slow start this year. I'll wait to see if all the dahlias made it.

CMK, your Chaerophyllum hirsutum 'Roseum' will get much larger in the following years.

Libby

I don't seem to have loss anything but I am disappointed that all the poppies I direct sowed in the fall haven't come up. The year before I had lots of them come up and they had bloomed by now. Strange. On the plus side I have a lot of larkspur I scattered around from last years plants and some of those are getting ready to bloom!
~Meghan

I lost my Wine and Roses" Weigelia. :(

The surprise?
My allium 'Purple Sensation' bulbs bloomed - they turned out to be white Hyacinths! SURPRISE!!!! :)

Everything else survived, miraculously. We got much needed rain this weekend. All kinds of flower and veggie seeds sprouted and came up, including the things I sowed last week. If it all gets to full growth, I will have gobs of flowers this year.

~Annie

I have lots of Larkspurs and Lupines! Yippee!!!

I'm trying not to be impatient - and annoyed, yet again, at my failure to keep a garden journal - but, I have a few MIA's too. Hoping at least some will appear in the next ten days or so.

Missing: a gorgeous red oxalis (4 years old and better every year.... until now?); a Blue Chip budleia (new last fall, maybe didn't make it thru); one of a trio of established purple salvia (it's poking thru, but its siblings are huge and it's struggling); a Mexican heather that was a show stopper last year (but of questionable hardiness); a threadleaf, spreading coreopsis (established, but last year little puppy appropriated it as her fave sunning spot, maybe doing it in); a stretch of ajuga border (which the paper delivery person used to drive over until I asked him not to - fear the tire compression did it in).

Also missing, but expectedly so, is the hibiscus - always late to the party - that will show up, I have faith.

On the upside ...... following a near perfect winter/spring/rain weather pattern, everything else is showy (best azaelas in years!) and thriving.

I keep reminding myself that the garden glass is half full!

-treelover, Pulsatilla is such a great flower! I just adore the seed-heads on it!

-Libby, yup thats the plant! I didn't have my notes with me, so I didn't even want to attempt spelling it from memory, lol! Does yours smell like green-apples when bruised? I read somewhere online that it did. It just smells stinky to me. I guess the apples rotted.

Another dissapointment: I think my variegated 'Becky Towe' Phlox reverted to all green leaves! I looked a few days ago for it and I did see something, but not the foliage I had expected! I am unhappily surprised, I have never heard of this happening to phlox before.
CMK

Both of my Butterfly Bushes look dead, but it may be just a tad early yet. I am very happy to see the new Astrantia major "Moulin Rouge" (two plants) coming back and looking healthy and the Coreopsis Moonbeam made it in both places. The Chocolate Joe Pye Weed is nowhere to be seen except for a dead stalk where it should be, but it may be too early for that also and I'm keeping an eye on them.

schoolhouse~I think my eupatoriums are dead every year, both Ol'Joe and Chocolate, and they surprise me (every year)! Still early yet...:)

Suspected disappointments:

- Agapanthus 'Elaine' has not broken ground yet. I'm not sure if this worrisome because it was her first year and my only experience w/ Agapanthus.

- The Bletilla striata plants I put in the Fall have not yet made an appearance. Seeing as how they are a spring-bloomer, you would think I'd have seen them pop up by now.

- I can't decide if my Rosa 'Climbing Pinkie' has RRD or damage from Roundup drift. For two years in a row, it has had strange congested red growth on some canes which I have cut out. None of my other roses seems to be affected,and it doesn't look like it is affecting the vigor of the plant, plus the congested red growth doesn't seem to have any thorns. I have asked DH to be careful when he sprays near the plant (we have a gravel drive that must be sprayed routinely for weeds), but who knows. I will probably get the county extension agent here to give me a verdict. If she has to go, she has to go.

- My Salvia 'Diane' looks like it was heaved out of the ground over the winter, and I don't see any growth yet. I suspect it didn't make it.

- My Salvia chamedroides also looks like it didn't make it. This is my second try for this plant. One more and your out!

- The Chameacyparis thyoides 'Red Star' is so damaged by winter burn, I don't think it's going to be worth it to nurse it back to health.

- Last Spring, I planted 3 Lonicera 'Lemon Beauty' as a companion for a purple smoke tree. It doesn't look like any of them made it despite their being touted as hardy through zone 7.

Surprises:

- The Baptisia 'Purple Smoke' I transplanted in the Fall came back even though it looked like it gave up its ghost after I moved it.

- Coreopsis 'Redshift' sailed through the winter. Finally! The streak of finicky non-hardy new Coreopsis introductions has been broken.

- I was positive that I had killed my Thermopsis chinensis plant that I divided last Fall because I was forced to really butcher the woody base. But, it's back and with some T. chinensis seedlings around it.

-schoolhouse, Eupatoriums are infamous for being late risers! My beloved E. maculatum 'Atropurpureum' sometimes doesn't even show signs of life until the begining of May! Don't worry, they are pretty tough!

-spazzycat, I have had the same bad luck with my Bletilla striata (mine was a variegated leaf cultivar). I bought one two years ago and planted it in the moist, shady area. Suspecting that I had planted it in too shady of a location I moved it to a sunnier site. That little bugger just didn't want to come up! It was May and I thought the squirrel might have eaten it (they don't with other bulbs though), but they were still there! Then, a month later, it still didn't put out leaves! But, oddly enough, the corms were still there and looked surprisingly heathy (green and very firm). It didn't bloom, but it did put out a leaf or two last year. I don't see any signs of life now, so it might have died. If it is that fussy I don't think I want it anyway!
CMK

I have had so many surprises so far this spring.

My current biggest surprise is that my rose 'La Ville de Bruxelles' has got a lot of flowers on their way! I wasn't expecting any this year : )

My poppies, scabiosa, and sweet pea seeds are growing (despite having been trampled my the neighbor's dog).

the hyacinths and daffodils that I had in my basement and planted in March are blooming right now!

My lilac that had it's main stems ruined by a horrendous worm has done wonderful depite it's messed-up branches

My bleeding hearts have been blooming SO well for several weeks now.

We have had SOOO much wonderful rain! Also, the temperatures have been great. We have had several late freezes, (one night was about 27 degrees), and NONE of my plants were harmed.

My disappointments:

My sweet violets have not done well as all. Two died and two are just barely holding on.

one of my most special peonies (one of my 'Mammoth Rose' plants) has lush, thick growth, but no flower buds

My flowering cherry trees did not have as many flowers as I hoped for

My freesia hasn't come up

way to early here to tell yet....just a few things begining to awaken....still mostly only in the forties or very low fifties mostly. Frosts every few days or so

Without even checking under our current snowfall, I can say with certainty that the bindweed has survived.

In the good news, I called Bluestone, and they are sending me replacements for my geraniums and my sedum! Yay! This is the first time I've asked, after a bunch of orders - they were very nice about it.

Some plants are being slow - esp my shasta daisies. I just saw shoots on one yesterday, so I'm hoping they are just slow. My baptisia haven't done anything yet, but I think they started late last year, too. I'm hoping to finally get blooms from them this year.

And I saw my first larkspur seedlings yesterday, too! Plus 4 decent sized centaurea montana - I've already moved them to new spots.

My boxwood borders took a beating over the winter. I didn't realize how bad until I sheared the brown and dead foliage off the tops, a normal thing to do each Spring; but this time there is real damage. Tonight I started to cut away what I assume to be dead branches, but then decided to stop and just see if they rejuvenate given some more time. I may have to wait all summer. If they do not, I'll replace them.

But isn't that the way of a garden? Everything falls into place finally and then you turn around and have to begin all over again.