I second the sentiment "Pixie Lou we miss you!" I hope all is well with you and your family.

I've started cutting back the ornamental grasses so that the pierises can bloom in peace. Suddenly my view looks much more orderly (if you ignore the fact that I chopped up the grass cuttings and left them nearby for mulch). At some point I'll do some raking - after I've cut back some more grasses.

Crocus t. species

Claire

I continued the cutting of the ornamental grasses and while I was at it I checked a few peonies and sedums for signs of growth.

A Peony 'Festiva Maxima' has red eyes (I didn't check all of the peonies)

and a few sedums have rosettes (I didn't check all of the sedums either).

I've taken the last of the protection off of both of my tender tree/shrubs, the 'Hopi' crape myrtle and the variegated hydrangea, since there's supposed to be a cloudy, reasonably warm and rainy few days ahead. They both seem to have survived the winter although I won't know for sure for a month or two.

Claire

Yesterday morning I wandered around the garden enjoying new sprouts and flowers from some of the early bulbs.

Today this is what we woke to. I hope that this is the last time I have the opportunity(?) to post this type of photo this season!

Now that's scary, NHBabs! Enough to make you afraid to go to sleep at night....

Claire

My landscape looks the same as yours, NHBabs. I fear it won't ever melt.

And yet hope springs anew! Today the snow is gone and green shoots are peeking up. I hope that was winter's last gasp. I have hundreds of pussywillows, although they don't photograph well.

And our brook is full of snow melt water.

My veggie patch is ready for tilling and planting. (Compost barrel will hopefully be ready this fall.)

At least when Spring finally comes it will come fast! I was walking around today photographing tiny little flowers in fields of dead leaves and thinking of how such supposedly insignificant little things give so much pleasure.

The perspective is so different from later on in the season when it's wall-to-wall green stuff and flowers.

Claire

Despite Wednesday night's heavy wet 3 inches of snow, the iris and crocus in the front garden seem totally unfazed.

First Crocus Flowers and Tulip Leaves

Crocuses and Snowdrops all over. Didn't it feel great to get out in the garden these past two days. I took some photos late this afternoon.

This is a streaked Hosta seedling that wintered over in my garage. They tend to start early so it's on the deck where it can be covered during the inevitable frosts.

Galanthus S, Arnott

These crocuses have been nibbled on by bunnies, but enough have survived so that there were a lot of pollinators on them earlier today.

Yes this is from today. It's a Tete a Tete Narcissus.

Hellebores are up and going strong.

And one late Amaryllis blooming in a sunny window. Hippeastrum 'Charisma'

Steve

Just crocuses and snowdrops here, although the larger, later crocuses are starting to bloom as well. And my Tete-a-tete daffs are starting to bloom too. One hellebore in full lovely bloom; the other looks dead! Haven't had much chance to poke around yet, but I do see some new growth poking through on some perennials, especially in the sunnier spots. And the garlic is up!

Still crocuses and snowdrops mostly here, too, but the scillas and early pierises are starting and there's one dicentra peeking out of the ground.

Scilla siberica 'Spring Beauty'

Dicentra 'Gold Heart' with I think a Geranium 'Biokovo' leaf (green)

Pieris 'Little Heath' is the first to start blooming. It lost a lot of buds to the winter but there's still many intact buds remaining.

Dead buds interspersed with live ones.

Claire

I've had a few Rijnveld's Early Sensation daffodils pop up but the first good show is from Toby the First (aptly named). The blooms are all yellow now but they'll fade out to white petals with a pale yellow cup.

N. 'Toby the First'

Claire

Primula survived the winter just fine!

Hyacinths smell as good as they look.

I hope all goes well with your surgery, Bill, and the patio is surrounded with plants and trees bedecked with flowers! Sit quietly and enjoy your garden and let it heal you.

Claire

Bill, Hope the surgery goes smoothly and that you heal well. Thanks for the flower photos.

Claire and Babs, thanks for the good wishes. I can't help picturing what the garden and patios looked like in February, and now one would never know that the drifts of snow were there!

I'm enjoying the view of the bay from my deck while waiting for Spring leaf-out to obliterate the view. Today there's a strong southeast wind stirring up the waves with light rain to put spots on the camera lens. I tethered the wind toys after I made the video in case the winds get stronger overnight.

Claire

I'm very much enjoying your garden photos, Claire, Steve, and Bill, and hoping that your surgery goes well, Bill. The winds have been wild here all day long and not expected to abate until midnight. I'm glad that I never got around to hanging the windchimes yesterday, and I hope your windspinners are securely anchored down, Claire. How wonderful it must be to have the ocean right in your back yard! NHBabs I have serious reticulated iris envy! Those purple flowers definitely are speaking to me!

Surgery went well, but now I'll have to wait a while to do more chores. If we have a cool summer like last year, I won't mind spreading out the work over a longer period.
Claire. that's an interesting video!

I'm glad the surgery went well, Bill, and it's definitely a good time to put your feet up - maybe get a new hammock, the kind with a stand so you don't have to tie it to trees.

like your snow drifts that have now disappeared, my bay view will essentially disappear when the trees leaf out. I'll still be able to hear the waves and gulls, though. I remember you were the one who suggested we use videos to show our gardens.

Claire

I've been reading all about your gardens for years and feel like I know all of you! So thought I'd post a couple pics. Lots of things popping up.

Peonies, daisies, tulips, daffodils and Lillies in the driveway bed

The top photo is the back fence not much apparent in the photo except the daffodils but the lilac bush has a lot going on and will be doing its thing soon

Debra

The other end of the driveway bed - there are 5 peonies in here transplanted from around the yard

Happy to hear the good news, Bill. Looks like it's daffodil time now. Tulips soon. So you'll have lots to look forward to in recuperation.

Narcissus 'Ice Follies'

This is a new planting for me this year along the road. Narcissus Tete a Tete interplanted with Anenome blanda Blue Shades.

The Hellebores are in mid season form right now. This is the white one I like. Pine Knot Farms Single White Strain.

Another daffodil, unknown variety, but I Iike the shot.

And the Magnolias are just starting for me here in Central Mass. Magnolia Leonard Messel.

I hope to get up to Tower Hill soon to see their huge field of daffodils. After two inches of rain on Monday, Spring is in full swing.

Thanks Claire and Steve. It was a nice morning to have coffee on the east patio, where it gets sun and where the house stops any NW breeze. The hyacinths are right there too, so the scent was an added pleasure.

Welcome to the forum, Debra!, nice new growth in your garden - looks like Spring!

It's daffodil time here too, just not as far along as Steve's.

This is the view from my kitchen window today:

N. 'Toby the First' blooms are fading out as they always do.

Scilla siberica 'Spring Beauty'. This is one of the few flowers that I consider to be truly blue, not purple.

edit note: You may be asking why I planted the Toby the First daffodils so far behind all the big stuff. Well, actually, that was once the front of the garden - I just kept sticking more and more plants in front of the daffodils because I didn't have room anywhere else.

Thanks for the welcome, Claire. Your Jetfire daffodils look great. I don't know many of my daffodil names as a lot were here when I moved in to this house in southern Rhode Island at the end of 2009.

I've moved many plants around but tried to keep things going for the elderly lady before me who obviously loved to grow things. Except for the damned bittersweet. Trying to curtail that has been a major effort.

I love your little Scilla. A good gardening pal of mine has quite a few of them and I was just walking around her yard the other day thinking to myself, "these...I need these for next spring"

Debra

Debra, It's always great to have a new voice here, and I'm glad you've started posting. My reticulated iris have faded and the Scilla siberica are blooming. I planted them in clusters, but you'd never know that now; they are in ones and twos all over, including the lawn. I don't know if the movement is burrowing rodents or seeding or some combination. I'd love it if they filled in a bit more.

A variety of daffodils are showing up.

Debra: I know exactly what you mean about keeping things going for the previous owner, except for the bittersweet. My mother gardened here before me and I've rescued a lot of her plants, but she gardened in a time when bittersweet was a treasured ornamental. I cringe when I see all the escaped bittersweet probably due to her plantings. I pull out seedlings when I can reach them but too many are on the coastal bank way out of my reach.

Scilla is a great little plant. It never causes trouble; it just quietly flowers and spreads a little bit and shows up smiling when you've almost forgotten about it.

Claire

Babs - thanks for the welcome to your group. I've enjoyed reading about your gardens for years. Your daffodils and little Scilla look so springy.

Claire - - it took us 5 years to get the bittersweet out of the 30 ft holly that borders our yard between us and our too-close neighbor. The idea of no longer having that year round natural privacy fence was enough to keep us committed to freeing it. My husband finished that specific task this past fall. It was quite a job. Someday I will post a pic of the big root section he unearthed.

Now to deal wth the back right corner.....it's everywhere!! What can you do? Just keep on trying. Sometimes just managing an invasive plant is the best you can hope for.

With this cold spell the garden has slowed down its race into Spring,
but the old pussy willow which keeps its buds out of reach of humans
(but not squirrels) is beginning to bloom.

The furry buds are opening to fluffy flowers. This year the squirrels don't seem to have bothered them too much.

This section of the pussy willow seems to be more shaded and not as far along as others.

and here most of the catkins now are fully open and producing pollen. I think this means my pussy willow is a male.

Claire