How nice to have an Iris flowering and hostas still trying to flower, too. It seems a lot of people are enjoying an extended fall this year. I suppose you do want them to go dormant before too long so they have a long enough sleep. We have 14" of new snow today, so there's no way I'm going to see any flowers any time soon. Enjoy yours while you can!

No sign of winter here in Wales,

Temperatures are around the mid 50's F. thats about 10 above the seasonal average.

Lots of snow up in Scotland but we are in a constant stream of mild very wet air.

Lots of rain, flooding in Cumbria which is 200 miles north and in Scotland.

I'm lucky up here perched on the valley side as the rain runs down and away.

Looks like the hostas are going to remain very wet for the foreseeable future, it will be interesting to see how they cope with mild and wet.

In the garden the daffodils are pushing through and the hellebores are showing flower buds. Primroses too are showing flowers.

Dave

Yes - I have daffodils in flower bud alongside Fuchsias and Roses. It's 57f here at the moment (7.45 at night.)

Very pretty, BK!

The weather's been fickle, to be sure :)

I see plenty of evidence out here in Canada's banana belt of wonky weather. We have a Helleborus that normally I'd be hard pressed to see in flower by Christmas, it's got several flowers on it already. I see Iris reticulata popping up, my Honeysuckle is sprouting new growth and at the rate things are going I won't be shocked to see Hostas breaking by late January, WAY too early....

Pieter

Our 'lawn' is still green (we don't fertilize) & I've seen town peeps mowing their's.

30's for the highs next 2 days, then Sunday, back into 50's for Christmas week.

Yup, weird...

ps:

BK, post a pic if FQ's bud opens!

Oh boy, I have daffodils poking up in a bed in the back yard. The high today was 26, I wonder what they will do when the REAL spring comes. I also have daylilies putting up new growth and heuchera that don't know it's December. This spring could be great or a huge disappointment. Oh well....... Just have to wait and see.

sherry

An El Niño has brought rain, snow and cold to the Western States and warm weather to us here in the East. Forecasters are predicting temperatures in the 60s for Christmas!!!!! It is a dramatic (and very welcome) change from the brutal early Winter, slow Spring, blizzards and frequent sub-zero (F) temperatures of last winter. No snow yet (period) and while it has dropped below freezing many times it just dips and then warms up during the day. Low 40s tomorrow and then mild 50s, 60s.

I feel sorry for the ski areas, but I hope we stay stuck in this pattern all Winter. .

Jon

They predicted a wet, cooler than normal winter. So far, we haven't had a hard freeze. It hasn't been very wet, either. We had one VERY rainy week, but fairly dry besides that. We really don't need anymore rain. The lakes are full and so are the ponds, rivers, sloughs, etc.

Unfortunately, everything is perfect for fungii.

bk

While cleaning up the garden yesterday I found this little hanger-on. Tongue Twister on Dec 19. We've had several freezes, down to at least 29F.

bk, maybe you can get some of that Lysol Quaternary IC disinfectant and scrub every thing down to reduce the fungal spore load around your hostas.

Kathy

So many of you are still so warm. It's not even the end of December yet, and I'm already tired of shoveling snow off my walkway which consists of many stairs. My yard has had steady snow cover, with very little melt off in between, since the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 25.

If you're looking for great snow to ski or snowboard, Utah is the place to be right now. And yes, you can drink at the ski resorts. :-)

What goes around comes around Sandy. Last winter we were buried and this winter (starts today) has seen zero snow and only a couple of mornings where there is ice in the puddles.

Christmas is forecast to hit 65+ here. El Niño sets a lot of ocean heat loose and this means California gets snow and rain and you get cold and snow. Here the weather it coming from the West or Southwest.

Above is typical for all last winter with temps diving below zero frequently with minus 19 F as the lowest. This winter, not a flake and not a hint of complaint from me....although I feel sorry for the ski areas that must really be hurting. You would have to go way up to the north of Maine to find any decent skiing, Ayup!

I could be wearing shorts on Christmas...now there is a first.

Jon

tsugajunkie - FUNNY! I saw a little girl in Target today wearing a tank top and shorts.

Well, I'll be going to see my grandson and it is near the coast and always windy but if I was hanging around here I would wear shorts. I could also change here too, which would be good I might have even taken a picture....how often can you wear shorts at Christmas? 10 minutes in shorts last year would have been the start of frostbite...for sure.

Jon

It's supposed to be 70 F tomorrow afternoon.

bk

It's true that last year I was amazed that it warm enough in February that I could open the windows! We had a few winters that weren't all that bad so we're due for all this snow. Doesn't mean I have to like it, lol.

BUT warmer weather woke up my hostas earlier so that they leafed out before all the freezes were over with. I had to choose which ones to cover and which ones left to chance of turning to mush. So it might be nice to have the hostas sleep longer until it's safer to leaf out.

....I have to find some kind of a bright side to all this darn white stuff and single digit temperatures coming up.

That's where averages come from.

67 forecast for tomorrow and 64 for Christmas Day....Santa better put some wheels on that sleigh.

It is 70 degrees in my area some of my Hostas have not gone dormant and look as if they are about to leaf out again. I am afraid they will be too confused when spring really comes. I will be watching to see if these Hostas return next year.

Yes, I know what you mean. Mine are doing the same thing. We've finally had a pretty good cold front. Maybe they will finally go down.

That scape on Sugar and Cream (1st photo) is still there and maturing. I may have a flower on a hosta in January.

bk

Daffodils, Crocus and tulips sprouting with weather in the sixties. Last night's low was 34 and an icy mix heading here for tomorrow. No pips.

Jon

LOTS of rain so it's too muddy to walk everywhere. I haven't checked my daffodils. Took this today. Still looks good don't u think?

All my hostas and their garden friends are sleeping. No bulbs showing, no hellebores flowering. It's a winter wonderland here.