Arnold Promise gets very, very big--give it lots of space when you plant it. Mine is in a tight spot on the south side of the house to encourage early bloom. I hack 3' or 4' off the branches every year to keep the size reasonable. And, please excuse me for noting that it is Arnold Promise, named for the Arnold Arboretum, not Arnold's Promise.

Today I saw my first small clump of nodding snowbells and wanted to kick up my heels. Have also been watching the tips of croci (a deep purple) and daffodils (Ice Follies) poke up through the soil near my back door.

Ginny - you're excused - I am actually somewhat particular about nomenclature, and have learned all the botanical names, native ranges, etc. of every plant I grow or learn about. When it comes to common names and cultivar names, well...a little more lax.

So Arnold Promise gets very very big?? How big exactly? It seems to have somewhat of a spreading habit.

Hi all,
Nice pictures everyone. Well, in my backyard the only sign of spring is daffodil green tips, which are approximately one inch out of the ground. I know because I have been scrounging and avidly searching!! No witch hazel around here or helebores for that matter, I'm jealous of you folks that have them. Lot of snow cover which is very good for shrubs -- a nice little moist blanket for our expen$ive plants..... We should have one heckuva summer display!

Debra

I just came in from the garden and everything is covered with snow. Too soon to spy even one little sign of spring. All of a sudden, it will change.

pm2

Terrene, yes, you are right. Arnold Promise gets very big. It's a fast grower and will reach 12' by 12' in not a very long time. But it's very amenable to pruning. I've got mine in tree form and, as I said, lop off a lot of height and width each year. It never complains and just keeps blooming, as it's doing right now. What a thrill to have so many flowers in February in 5b.

Sheez!
It was a big fat 0 degrees this morning. No wonder I am freezing my butt off! Snow predicted for 2nite (12" in my area, thank you very much) after midnight.....

sigh :-(

Ah, but the light, the light. It makes all the difference. It is the surest of all signs of spring.

You're right about the light - it really looks like Spring out there today! (In spite of last night's 0-degree temp and the snow and the bare branches. . .)

Are you sure? My hellebores are a huge patch of dead, brown leaves sticking up from last night's snow... all 3 of them will have to be cut back. But we have been watching the robins in our yard for the last few weeks, so maybe they know something that I don't. My husband calls them confused critters.
Molie

Well--yes--March 1st is the start of "meteorological" spring. Down here on the south coast, we do have daffodils poking up about 1-2 inches. Because we have had bare ground almost the entire winter down here (it is raining again this morning), I suspect we will get a big head start on spring this year once we get some warmer and sunnier weather later this month, compared to areas to our north that are buried deep in snow--which will take time to melt. Places like Concord NH have over 40 inces of snow on the ground. This could be a bad year for spring floods if the snowmelt is rapid and accompanied by warm heavy rain. And yes, the longer days and brighter light is a welcome!

"Places like Concord NH have over 40 inches of snow on the ground. . . " Yup - that's me! The top of my compost "pile" is actually below the snow, and my poor husband is currently outside on the tractor trying to create places to put this new snow. I really can't see any of my shrubs, except for about 2 feet of the top of a quite large Rhododendron, and the supports for my clematis have pretty much disappeared as well. So much for winter interest - just the maples, oaks, beech, hemlocks and white pines, along with a couple of dogwood trees. Officially, Concord has had over 100" of snow in about 100 days - eesh! We are well on target to set records. I just hope that spring comes slowly without too much rain so that we avoid the worst flooding.

Our only sign of spring is the light level difference which I love. As a winter sports enthusiast, this has been a great winter, and as a gardener, I know that plants appreciate the blanketing layer of snow, so I can't complain too much, but when I hear you southern yankees talking about snowdrops and bare ground I can't help but be a bit jealous. It will be mid-April before we see much bare ground.

nhbabs: To show you're not alone, a friend in Maine emailed me this excerpt from an article in the Portland Press Herald:

"SNOW PROBLEM: 10 REASONS WHY IT'S A GOOD THING

It seems cruel, this snowstorm to begin March. But this endless winter isn't all bad. Who can resist the snowbanks that obscure drivers' views, the salt-encrusted sidewalks, the slush, or the abdominal workout that comes from what feels like nonstop shoveling? So, in grudging acknowledgment that March often brings some of the wettest, heaviest snow of the year, we offer these reasons not to hate winter in Maine:

1. ALL THE SNOW hides junk cars, couches and other rustic landscaping touches.

2. THE CHANCES of a drought this summer are virtually nil.

3. GLOBAL WARMING might be farther away than we thought.

4. THERE'S FINALLY TIME to stay inside and read "War and Peace."

5. WHEN YOUR CO-WORKERS gloat about flying to Florida on vacation, you can gloat right back when their flight's canceled and they're stranded at the airport.

6. IT'S A GOOD TIME to practice the power of positive thinking, especially when the city plow dumps huge chunks of ice back into your just-shoveled driveway.

7. NO TOURISTS.

8. PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY to hone your winter driving technique.

9. YOU CAN MAKE small talk about the weather with anyone.

10. PLENTY OF SNOW for Bethel to make the world's largest snowwoman."

Relentless Maine winter slogs into March

They've had no problem this year with getting enough snow to build a BIG snowwoman.

Claire

There you go, Claire. That's the spirit. And there's a lot of truth there.

For Christmas, I got the DVD of the 30th anniversary edition of "The World at War", my second-favorite documentary of all time. In January and February, I have had the leisure to watch it more thoughtfully and with more continuity than I ever did before.

The "stinking" hellebores (H. foetidus) have been blooming since before Christmas here - they're the earliest to flower, and although the blooms are not as wonderful as the H. orientalis or H. niger, they're worth growing for that reason alone. The foliage is nice, too.

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One of my H. niger is in bloom, and the orientals are budding up well. I agree with Claire, the flowers can last for months.

Arnold, Jelena and Diane witch hazels are blooming, along with the wonderful winter heaths. Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) and Dawn viburnum (V x bodnantense) are just starting to show some color - not enough to write home about yet.

I just decided to go check my street-side garden, and lo and behold - there are winter aconite and (this is soooo exciting, I can't wait to get my camera out) Cyclamen coum in full bloom! Yay! I've been waiting for years for that Cyclamen to do something, and it was worth the wait.

And then there's the sign of spring we'd rather not see - today I received my first Allergy/Pollen Alert email.

Allergy Allert email

Claire

I get a little jealous of Rockman, Claire, and Digging with their bare ground, but then feel better when I hear about 120 inches of snow in Northern New England. We're somewhere in between here - there's been about 6-12 inches on the ground, sometimes more, sometimes less, all winter. Three months of nearly continuous snow cover! I'm tired of seeing the white stuff everywhere and tired of the cold.

Regardless, the days are getting longer, the sun feels warmer, and the birds are going nuts lately! Pairs are courting, males are staking territory and chasing off other males, there's lots of singing, and general chirpiness. I even watched a female Bluebird chase another female off the Suet log today. These are probably females who hung around together all winter.

So regardless of what it still looks like out there (winter), all signs are pointing towards =====> SPRING!!

We've had snow cover since about Thanksgiving here. No major blizzards but non-stop smaller storms. Actually, that's good news because it protects the plants.

My latest sign of spring is that I have to pull the window shade down half-way in my office because the sun is too strong on the monitor screen. It's all good.

I saw another "official" sign of spring this morning--the street cleaners were out working! Seems a bit early, and towns don't seem to dump sand on the roads like they did a few years ago. Lots of salt, but not as much sand.

Also, I have attached a link to a great snowfall and snowcover web site. If you click on the "snow depth" map, you will get a larger image that shows the bare ground line rather nicely far southern New England. This has been the pattern for almost the entire winter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Snowcover

Nice site, rockman50 - I bookmarked it.

terrene: Just because we can see bare ground doesn't mean anything is growing in it! You're tired of seeing white stuff; I'm tired of seeing brown mulch and dead leaves everywhere. And I have plants permanently bent from the NW winds, or with stakes on one side.

Claire

And one thing I am NOT seeing so far this spring is damage to broad-leaved evergreens, even the most tender ones in my yard. Normally, such damage becomes readily apparent by March, as was the case last year. This winter has been rather mild overall with few very cold windy days, at least down here on the south coast. So even though the ground has been bare all winter (not usually a good thing), the frequent rains and mild temperatures have made for an easy winter overall.

Saw my first crocus bloom today! A little late, but I'll take it!

:)
Dee

First I heard them, then I saw them. Red-wing blackbirds! They have the most distinctive cheeeeeeeeep. (And no, they are not insulting my purchasing methods!!! LOL)

RW blackbirds are a SURE sign of spring on its way.

Ooh, great, Debra! No RWBBs here yet - I love to see them arriving along the shore road; I agree that that's a real sign that winter's over.

I distinctly heard a cardinal singing! Wooohooo!

Sunday we have Daylight savings!

Welcome back spring! We missed you!

The snow in parts of my garden melted because of all that rain today and I see the snowdrops in bud. They were waiting under the snow. A few green tips in the warmest spot.

1. The pussy-willow tree is beginning to get fuzzy buds!

2. The blackbird invasion is underway - Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds are all in my yard. The RWB chorus resounded this morning.

3. And the Hellebore buds are incrementally larger, if you look really hard.

Claire

Yes, the peepers! How I love that sound!

Another sign is seeing the tops of my bulbs peeking up through last year's mulch.

I love to walk all around the yard looking for things... hoping nothing has been burned by the cold. Rockman's right. No winter burn this year. Good sign.

The red leaf buds forming on my roses is a welcome sign. Then there's the opening of my favorite garden centers, though this time of year even the stuff in the grocery stores temps me.

And, of course, yes! when the clocks change!

Ahhh, Spring!

Molie

Wait a minute! Am I getting senile or what? Didn't I just post that my hellebores got burned this winter!

Confused Molie here.

Woooo, things are sprouting in my yard!

Obedient plant:

Garlic:

And my bearberry has little pink buds!

Beautiful - I have never been able to get bearberry to grow here, for some reason. It's such a great plant...

Isn't it fun to see these little sprouts, knowing what they'll look like in a few months. Makes life worth living, even on a windy, wet day like today was. My yard's a swamp, but I got out my camera to finally get a photo of winter aconite in bloom. First time I've seen it in flower - it's a cheerful little thing!

Finally!

Coastal RI Zone 6

Isn't it exciting that Spring is underway, even though it's not officially here according to the calendar for another week!

I took some photos of a couple of early bloomers today.

Crocuses, on the south side of the house -

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Witch Hazel, Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise' -

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These flowers are very interesing - also, I think they're a bit fragrant, but it hasn't really been warm enough to tell.
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The whitlow grass is blooming!

I was so mesmerized by the many tiny weeds blooming in the grass around the dumpsters that I took one home with me - in a tea spoon.

Whitlow grass is new to me and I did some interesting reading on Google. Thanks for sharing your report and photo, Stoloniferous.

And my witch hazel is still in full bloom tho today it is covered with snow. That's another great thing about this shrub--it blooms for weeks.

Great photos, all. Love the close-ups of sprouting perennials, and the teaspoon of whitlow grass. Who takes spoons to the dumpster, and who but a gardener would bring home weeds in a spoon? LOL, that sure sounds like something I'd do!

The bittercress has been blooming here all winter - I wish I had a better photo of its tiny flowers, this one's mostly gone by:

Who takes spoons to a dumpster, indeed! Haha! That's a good question. :) I walk laps around the building every afternoon - three laps is a tidy mile. Between laps I ducked back in for the spoon. And darn, I forgot to bring a replacement, so I had to stir my coffee with a knife!

The really funny part was holding the spoon upright during the drive home. Thank goodness it wasn't my turn to drive!

Ooh, bittercress - that one is new to me!

I'd never heard of Whitlow Grass either, I'll keep an eye out for it.

The pussywillow has nice fuzzy buds on the top, far above the reach of the forcing marauders.

The Rijnveld's Early Sensation daffodils are very, very close to bloom - I don't even have scillas out yet. Just a few snowdrops.

Claire

I was just listening to the Cape and Islands radio station, and there was a segment on skunk cabbage, The Stink of Spring by Robert Finch.

Anybody for Skunk Cabbage Pancakes?

Claire

Well, one of the hellebore buds FINALLY opened; I posted a photo of the unopened buds on February 25. Hellebores don't seem to share the human sense of the urgency of spring.

Otherwise, I just have a few snowdrops in bloom.

This is the time when the coastal people spin their wheels while the colder zone interior gardens leap ahead of us. Oh well, back to watching birds...

Claire

Skunk Cabbage Pancakes?? Really?!

Can you share the recipe? :D

The recipe was from Euell Gibbons (see link):

" Euell relates, "I peeled the roots and cut the starchy cores in thin slices and put them to dry on clean papers in my attic. At the same time, I decided to see if the cabbage leaves improved by drying, so cut a number of the cones of tightly rolled leaves into thin slices and put them to dry on separate papers. While working with these products I was acutely aware of the skunky odor which seems to permeate every part of the plant. After a few weeks of drying the odor disappeared, and as with other arums, it seems that drying and aging dispels the biting pungency and acridity which makes them inedible in the fresh state".
He goes on to relate that he ground some of the root chips and mixed the meal half and half with wheat flour for pancakes. When the familiar burning occurred, he dried the remaining chips for a total of six months for further aging! Again, Euell notes that he ground the chips to a fine meal, mixed it half and half with wheat flour. This time there was no burning sensation at all and the flavor was pronounced, but very pleasant, a bit like cocoa. By adding butter and maple syrup, the pancakes were "unusually good"."

Claire

Here is a link that might be useful: STALKING THE SPRING HARBINGER, SKUNK CABBAGE

Here's an image of snow cover on cyclamen coum that began blooming in my garden earlier this week.

Love the cyclamen - I keep saying I'm going to try them, but haven't yet.

Today the temperature is in the 50's, and in the afternoon as the sun sank lower I noticed some kind of tiny insects flying, backlit by the sun! I have no idea what they are, but a swarm kind of flitted (flot?) around looking harmless. This is the kind of thing you don't pay much attention to during the growing season, but that is an event when waiting for spring.

Naturally, I tried to photograph them, but with dismal success.

Claire

Claire - I saw those flying bugs today, too! The sun lit them up beautifully. I imagine they've been hard at work pollinating the skunk cabbage.

I also saw a number of lightning bugs on the bark of a tree, near the ground. Not flashing, just hanging out.

Thanks for the skunk cabbage recipe link. I must say: *boggle*. I finally got a whif of crushed s.c. today and I am quite sure the stuff isn't food!

My sedums are quietly sprouting!

Here is a link that might be useful: . . .and I have updated my blog!

Love the cyclamen! It was on my "must have" list for a long time, and I finally ordered a big batch of tiny ones from one of the inexpensive catalogs - Parks or something like that. I think I picked up a dozen or so, very small, for small money, and it has not disappointed me.

It took a couple of years for the plants to get big enough for any kind of show, but it DOES stop passers-by on a daily basis, blooming away in late February and through March out near the street. It's a really lovely plant - the foliage is nice enough that I'd grow it for that (though it disappears in summer) and the flowers are hard to beat in late winter.

Great shot of the sedum, too! I think I like the sprouts as much as the flowers - so cool looking.

My Rijnveld's Early Sensation daffodil FINALLY opened! I posted a pic on tom8olvr's My first Daf thread.

The first hellebore bud is now seriously open, and the second bud is awake.

And I found an unexpected crocus clump! I didn't plant it - maybe the squirrels put it there, or maybe some bulblets were carried in the soil from before construction and are now big enough to bloom. Whatever - I'm very grateful for it.

All this and peepers too!
Claire

fritillaria pallidiflora: blooming! gorgeous! no doubt warmed from being next to the house.
other frits & alliums: up, chugging along, not budded
narcissus poeticus: barely emerging
hellebore ivory prince: budded

dtd, that winter aconite is beautiful.

I checked my hellebore again today, the hellebore that is opening in its own time frame, at its own very, very slow pace.

I took a few shots, using the zoom so I wouldn't have to get down on the wet ground. Went inside and downloaded the photos, and realized something didn't look right (the LCD display isn't so good outdoors).

Looks like a baby slug in there!

I went back out ready to rip the slug off the bloom, but it was gone.

It's too early for slugs! ... or is it?

Claire