No fair. Mine are just getting back their leaves. The only spring color I have so far are two little stands of crocus and three little species daffodils.

Congratulations!

My first bloom of the season happened yesterday--an early crocus, rich purple. So exciting. It always leads the way for the year.

Let's see--only two more months before I see my first rose bloom. Got some catching up to do, don't I, random!

Enjoy.

Kate

My beautiful Spice is heading up my garden parade, but Archduke Charles and Cramoisoi Sup. are nipping at her heals, with buds showing color. I have to admit, however, that the chinas never really go dormant here; they merely skip January and early February as far as blooming goes.
Molly

Love those Chinas! My most persistent rose is 'Old Blush': my biggest plant had a flower or two until January, and has never stopped trying to bloom--until now, when it appears to be concentrating on trying to put out some new canes and, of course, new leaves.

What's in a zone? I reckon us as Zone 8, and doubt the temperature at the farm has fallen below 20F this winter. But the range in February has mostly been high 20s to about 50F, and so far we have only snow crocus and fragrant violets, plus daphne and sarcacocca. We're just below the 45th parallel. There's so much more than the zone when it comes to defining a climate.

Melissa

My Martha G is my most leafed out rose. It was in the teens several nights this week and she still is slowly putting out new growth. This will be her second season in my garden and if last year is any indication, I am going to love this rose!

Kathy

Old Blush is blooming in the greenhouse. Does that count?

Connie

That is so exciting----here in Pa. we have a couple of months to wait for a bloom--

Congtatulations

Florence

Yes, Connie, any bloom counts. I've just been oohing and ahing over a quarter-inch flower on the windowsill cactus.

Catrose, this is a great time of the year to live in Texas, but when your roses are peaking, ours will be sad, brown-edged crispy critters.

I love crocus, too, Kate, but they're something else Dallas doesn't do well. They'll last maybe a couple of years here before deciding it's too darn hot.

Molly, how big does Spice get for you? I'd love to be able to shoehorn it in somewhere.

I agree, Melissa, that not all zone 8's are created equal. Even the pros here can't grow roses to the perfection that you do, or the lucky folks who in Oregon and Washington. Maybe summer temperatures should be taken into consideration as well.

Kathy, Martha G was my first OGR. I went to the nursery to get a Knockout but saw her instead, and that led me to this forum. How lucky was that!

Congrats on your first bloom of the season!
None of my roses have bloomed yet, but it is usually a china rose that starts the show each year (or the miniature rose 'Rise-N-Shine').
Pink Gruss an Aachen & R-N-S are my most leafed-out roses so far this season.
And Mrs Dudley Cross never lost her leaves from last year, she was truly evergreen this past year.

Randy

My Spice is approximately 5x5 now, but it's only 3 years old. Here's a photo from last summer.
Molly
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Many Teas and Chinas never stopped to produce blooms through our mediterranean winter here. 'Lorraine Lee', 'Auguste Comte', 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', 'Odorata', 'Unermudliche', 'Old Blush', 'Miss Atwood'... are in flower right now.

But I expect the "new" season will start with Ladybanks and Giganteas ('Follette' and 'Belle Portugaise') by mid March :o)