I'm in Zone 7a, and with the exception of the Sarcococca, I have the same plants in the same state of bloom or near-bloom. I have a Sarcococca, but I have yet to see it bloom. It may be too cold or too dry or too something here for that.

(I'm in high desert--the opposite of cactus joe's damp maritime climate)

I LOVE those snowdrops, they are so charming. I really need some of those. Beautiful pics, we're frigid and covered in snow here, so it's nice to see!

Jen

Cactus joe, your snowdrops are gorgeous! As I posted elsewhere, mine are also in bloom, but my clumps aren't that big yet. I've got to plant more this fall....

I haven't seen anything from my hellebore yet, which last year was in bloom in January, but then again, I haven't gone out to look, lol! It's in a kind of out-of-the-way spot.

:)
Dee

Terrific snowdrops! Mine aren't that far along yet, I can't wait. Love your hellebore photos - isn't the flower development intriguing to watch?

Most of my Helleborus foetidus has been in bloom since Christmas, and h. niger is coming along well ahead of the hybrid (x orientalis). This one's a volunteer - lacks that nice red edge on the flowers that some of the stinking hellebores have.

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Don't forget the heaths, they've been blooming for weeks! (note to self: get a better photo of these)

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If we can count trees and shrubs, the hamamellis x intermedia beat the snowdrops this year. Here's Diane, whose buds have been showing color for weeks:

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Up next, winter jasmine. Unlike most of my other winter-flowering plants, that one gets toasted if a late freeze occurs, so I have really mixed feelings waiting for it to bloom.

Cactus joe, your snowdrops are gorgeous! As I posted elsewhere, mine are also in bloom, but my clumps aren't that big yet. I've got to plant more this fall....

Dee, we started off in our yard without planting ANY snowdrops ourselves. We now have 2 species growing, nivalis and elwesii, the latter about twice the size of the former, both started from seeds brought in by visiting birds. We now must have 7-800 if not more. Snowdrops naturalize quickly and easily. The first of the elwesii was spotted in bloom around January 20th in my small yard and I have a Hellebore that I can count on flowering typically around the turn of the year, and it did again this year. I have a problem however with a rat that eats the Hellebore's flowers.

Here is a link that might be useful: See how they do...

Lovely snowdrops!

Nice photos, pieterteje! Wow, I'm jealous of your bird-sown snowdrops! I planted some about two years ago, and keep meaning to add more, but I never seem to get around to it. I put mine fairly close together in the same area, hoping they would fill in, but they are not planted in clumps per se.

I haven't tried the elwesii yet... they always seem to get crossed off the list when it comes time to fork over the $$$$, lol! Not that they are expensive, but I tend to stick to the "usual suspects" since I'm trying to build up some plantings of certain bulbs, and I end up buying more of the same old to continue building. And this year I only got a few dozen tulips to pot up - I was being realistic and knew I wouldn't have time to plant this past fall.

Thanks for sharing your photos. Now that the rain has stopped I may go look for my hellebore.

:)
Dee

Dee, contact me through my website with your snailmail address so I can send you some elwesii seeds later this spring. It's simple enough to just pop those in a regular letter size envelop......

Yes, Pietertje, those are really nice pictures. You have got more action in your garden than us. However, it's probably one full zone's difference where we are - up on the hills in Coquitlam. In fact, there are still a few lumps of left over snow from the previous storm. I am just so happy to sniff that first scent of spring. And did you see the fog this morning? Now, that really tells me that the weather will be warming up soon.

I agree about snow drops. Would you believe that that clump of snow drops started off with just 2 bulbs 5 years ago? They have naturalised over our backyard lawn as well. I have got a few of the one's with the larger flowers. I also have some with double flowers, but I am afraid I have not seen any sign of them so far this spring.

Thank you, Pietertje. What a kind offer.

I took a stroll through my very soggy yard today, pulled back some leaves, and there was my hellebore, with some big ol' buds on it. Won't be long now!

:)
Dee

Just for the halibut I thought I'd Google Galanthus..... Take a look at the site below, I'd heard there were many more than the two I have, didn't think there were quite that many cultivars out there....holy smokes!

Here is a link that might be useful: Snowdrop Info

There is a snowdrop craze that is gathering steam in the UK - the so called Snowdrop Mania. Avid collectors even have a pround monicker - Galantophiles. They would see nothing amiss in paying hundreds of dollars for a single bulb. (The record on auction last year was 150 UK pound for a single bulb.) They have snowdrop galas, usually at this time of the year. They even have private snowdrop lunches, for the more elitist collectors. And many many snowdrop tours. There are snowdrop open days. Snowdrop sales. And the essential Snowdrop auctions. And it's not just the English - people come from all over Europe to join in the fray.

The reason is that the permutations for new varieties is huge. There are 19 (I think) species, all of them highly promiscuous, with good chances of naturally occurring hybrids if several species are grown in close proximity.

Wow! Holy smokes is right! Who the heck knew?! LOL!

I'm kind of afraid to look at too many of the photos. I am easily addicted to flowers. Although I am very happy with my plain ol' nivalis!

Cactus Joe, sounds like the Tulip Mania a couple hundred years ago - not that I was there personally, of course!

:)
Dee

Another "believe it or not" bit of information.

This is actually the "second wave" of snowdrop mania. The first, albeit much smaller, snowdrop craze was around the late 1800's, early 1900's, with some quite prominent names involved, including the great Edward A Bowles. It was in fact Bowles who first used the term "galantophile". He called his friend, Oliver Wyatt, a "galantophil" in a letter sharing their passion. So, Wyatt was the first person ever to earn that title.

(A little bit of history always makes gardening that much more interesting, eh?)