The same is true of my shrubs and bulbs and even some of my roses are starting to bud. All the Forsythia, Flowering Quince, Flowering Almond and the Spireas have swollen buds, and a few, as you mentioned, have opened. The Redbuds have buds and my White Dogwood. Even the Jane Magnolia is starting to make buds. Even my Weeping Willow looks like it may be about to start budding.
This worries me.

I started seeing the woodpeckers last weekend. Mother & I were sitting out on the patio and in they flew and some new variety of bird, too. The bees were out yesterday getting a drink out of the birdbath and enjoying the warm sunshine, despite the winds. I see lots of Canadian Geese still around too - they seem confused about what to do. "Should I stay or should I go..."

Hyacinths, Jonquils and Crocuses are up and some of the early Daffodils. No sign of the Tulips yet. The little grape Hyacinths (Muscari) have been up since late October.
I have been cultivating and digging out bermuda grass from my beds and am finding earthworms. I've seen lots of little insects and Lady Bug Beetles - even tiny grasshoppers and crickets.
Really freaky, isn't it.

When the Pecan trees and Mimosa start to leaf, I will know that Spring has come. They never seem to get fooled.

Looks like it may snow tonight. Dark, low clouds rolled in and got thicker and darker and it got colder, and colder. I could feel the moisture in the air and the heaviness of it, like it feels when it is going to snow.
Sure hope so.

If this trend in the weather continues, summer will literally be a Blazing Inferno! Oklahoma will burn off the map!

Hi, everyone. I check in here every now and then, but not much has been happening.

I have been winter sowing tons of seeds (51 containers so far, still counting). I probably have at least 300 to go.

Yes, things are starting to bud out (my Japanese Maple for one), plus my hyacinths are coming up. Haven't looked at the grape hyacinths or the crocus. We found lady bugs in the yard Saturday, and there are butterflies around - the small dark colored ones.

I already have scabiosa ebony & ivory, lobelia cardinalis, and echinacia 'Ruby Star' coming up in my containers outside. Geez. I still think we are in for cold weather. Last January was fairly warm, too, and then February we got blasted.

We really need the cold to kill off the bad stuff. Otherwise, it will be another buggy summer.

Is it supposed to snow? Grounds too warm right now for it to stay around too long. We need the moisture, though, no doubt about it.

The times I've been outside have been to play with my granddaughter - soccer and helping her ride her bicycle, so I haven't been able to zone in to what is growing around me. I do keep checking my containers to see what's coming up in them. I will have plenty of stuff to share - especially parsley! LOL!

We are planting a garden for McKenna (my GD), with grape tomatoes (she loves them), mesclun, baby carrots, green onions, just a few things that she likes, and hopefully they will get enough sun to grow.

Susan

I also have daffodils coming up. And yesterday I noticed some green leaves on the hydrangeas! I'll have to check the forsythias.

I started some winter sown jugs on Saturday. My first try! I'm very excited to see if it works!

Robin, north of Edmond

I have Bachleor buttons comming up in the side yard. The Blanket flower never died this year monarda is still green and the daylillies are peaking out of the ground. I saw my first wasp this weekend.

Yesterday morning, the Weather Radio stated there was a 20% chance of snow last night. Didn't get any here. Clouds came over and looked promising, then moved on. Someone got some moisture somewhere, but it wasn't us! Bummer!

It is normal for perennials to start emerging this time of the year. Hardy annuals like Bachelor Buttons & Larkspurs begin to emmerge and appear. Biennials like Parsley, Mullein and Clary Sage come up and put on a few leaves, and perennials like Coneflowers, Poppies, Blanket Flower, Foxgloves, Hollyhocks, Black-Eyed Susans, & etc., come up in January-February. They make a few leaves and then appear to just sit and wait for Spring to come. Actually, they are busily growing lots of roots, which we cannot see. When the warm weather arrives and the temperatures finally stabilize, they suddenly shoot up and begin blooming. They do not have to be started indoors or babied thru' the winter - no damping-off fungal problems and no hardening-off. They are sturdier and healthier. Mother Nature sees to it all for us if we just trust her. This is why Winter Sowing is so great.

I have a lovely 10 foot row of Italian Flat-Parsley out in the veggie garden right now. I checked them yesterday, and although they are only an inch tall, they are green and healthy, and already smell good. I sowed the seeds in mid-September. I also found a few mustards plants had put on a few new leaves. There are leeks and garlic growing too. Hopeful signs.

I need to go buy some bags of soil to get my flats & pots of winter-sown seeds started. I have boxes of seeds I can sow, of flowers and veggies and herbs - Oh my!

I have been sitting out on the patio with my coffee in the mornings, watching the birds at the feeders and birdbaths, and enjoying the mild weather. I dug some Bermuda Grass out of a flower bed and the smell of the good, rich earth "infected" me. It just delighted me no end. I have definitely been bitten by the Spring Gardening Bug!

The butterlfies were spectacular last year and the number of Hummingbirds was more than double the usual. There were lots of Dragonflies and Damselflies as usual, even though I had to drain the Lily pond. I kept two small reflecting pools going though for Butterfly Koi & the wildlife, and so that my cats could get drinks when they were out and about. Hope the butterflies return in numbers again this year. It was just awesome.
- Flowers: If you plant them, they will come!

Hasta!
~Annie

Amazing as it is, I think it just may be spring! All we need is rain, and everything would just pop!

My roses are leafing out, which I really hate to see this early, because they could get zapped so easily.

A couple weeks ago, I was removing some mulch from potted daylilies, and I woke a bee from its slumbers! And he was not happy! As I was checking the garden, the aphids were out and about, so I mixed up some dishwashing soap in a spray bottle, and I was spraying, when I saw there were also ladybugs already feasting on the aphids. Couldn't believe it! Needless to say, the spray bottle went back into the garage!

Sounds like spring to me!

My goodness - feels like spring here too. How do you recommend I start watering all of my gardens and is it too late to plant a ton of tulip bulbs that I bought?

Thanks

No, it is not Spring yet. That Cold Front that moved in today is supposed to bring us some very low temps for the next several days and bitter cold nights! Bye, bye, flower & leaf buds on Spring Flowering shrubs and the trees!

Watering
If you do not get an inch of rainfall per week, in Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, you need to water. We haven't had that much moisture in several months! So, you need to be watering now. If it does rain or snow, it will just soak in that much deeper and that is very good. Do not just sprinkle your plants with the hose. The water needs to go deep into the ground down to their roots to do any good.

Dry freezes will kill or damage the roots of your plants and trees. I set my sprinkler and water until the ground is saturated, then move it over, allowing the pattern to overlap a bit and do it again. I have been doing this for about 4 weeks and just now am beginning to seen some differences. I have an acre of gardens. I have very sandy soil with sandstone underlying that, so it is always on the dry side here. You can set a bucket nearby with a ruler stuck in it and measure 1-inch or water, then move your sprinkler making sure you overlap. Roses, ornamentals, shrubs, bushes, fruit trees, vines, berries, and etc., need lots of moisture in winter. Seeds need it to help them germinate. Nature provides this normally, but our weather pattern is out of whack and you will have to do it until things get back to normal - if they ever do.

It is not too late to plant Spring bulbs, but you must water them. Dig your holes big and mix some potting soil in with your garden soil, unless you have really good tilth already. Then put some into the bottom, set your bulb and fill half way. Water it a bit to settle the soil and fill it the rest of the way. Water it again. (because we are not getting normal rains right now).

Annie

Hi, Annie - I don't think I've met you on the forums before? Or have I? I've been over on the Winter Sowing and Aroid forum mostly this winter. If you have a lot of seeds to sow, you might want to try some winter sowing just for the fun of it, and it's something to do with your winter down time.

I have tons of seedlings coming up in my containers outside. Gaillardia, coneflowers, scabiosa, lobelia, poppies, gosh I don't know what else. I have about 71 planted so far, with tons to go yet. Just put at least 4" of soil (after watering it in) in your clear plastic soda bottle or milk jug, plant your seeds, cover, mark it, and put it outside. Even if it freezes, snows, sleets, rains, whatever, your seeds will be fine. Now is the time to plant perennials and/or hardy annuals.

I'm having so much fun I can hardly stand it. I'm going to have SOOOO many plants to share.

Okiegardener - how ARE you doing? I've missed your posts!

Susan

Hi Susan. I'm just fretting over this wierd weather. I've really worked hard on my 1 acre for the past three summers and now afraid I may lose some of my favorites. Have been watering, but hard to hit everything as much as it needs. My roses are leafing out now, but don't seem to be bothered by the cold so far. I can't tell if anything is dead, but my japonica euonamous (sp??) hedge - about 20 years old - looks really sad. And I've been watering it pretty well. Can't keep the dogs clean either because of the dust when they run and play! What wierd problems for January! Can't imagine what summer will be like - perhaps global warming will open up some new territory up north for Oklahoma-type gardening?? I may have to try it out. . .

I was wondering if the hurricanes and global warming together have something to do with this weather. I've notice the change in zones in the new USDA zone maps. Dallas is now zone 8.

Susan

Well, we got some rain today, so hopefully that will help out with some of the problems, OkieGardener! I keep expecting it to move out, but it keeps hovering here, and raining in spurts, not hard rain, but just rain, which is fine because that means it is soaking into the ground, not just running off.

Wow, maybe this means a change in the trend???

Susan