Liz,

I'll keep my fingers crossed that the weather holds for the bloom! Things are so mixed up with this weather. I've been really soaking the plants in this drought and in response, the Gertrude Jekyll rose has pushed up a new 6 foot cane in the last 2 weeks. A few others are still forming blooms!

Wow, that's impressive, treebarb! I have been watering but not as often as I probably should for roses. Several of mine are still green with leaves but no buds. Crazy weird weather, huh?

I think I'm overwatering, Liz! I'm going to stop it and check the soil moisture in a few weeks. I lost a lot of seedling conifers this year, probably half of what I planted in the spring. I've been so determined not to lose more plants to drought that I'm overdoing it. I'm probably preventing them from going dormant! Yes, crazy weird weather.

My spring bulbs are coming up!

I haven't even planted spring bulbs yet this fall--have some in a box on the porch to do tomorrow. I cut back a lot of foliage today; completely brown, dead stuff off the peonies, daylilies and lilies. Fertilized the peonies until I ran out of BulbTone--ordered more so will finish up on Tuesday. I'm watering it in now and hoping to get the soil in the areas I want to plant a bit more workable. Have parrot tulips and foxtail lilies to put in....

Smdmt, are many of them coming up? Haven't seen any signs here but with this crazy weather I wouldn't be surprised.

I see many rose bushes still blooming profusely, including one in the neighbor's yard behind me. I have dubbed that rose the persistent beauty in a yard full over nothing but overgrown weeds. It's a fire red and blooming like mad right now. I'm not sure what to think of this weather.

Someone told me we could get snow overnight next Thursday. Glad to have had the warm weather as long as we did--I got a lot of stuff finished that I normally leave until spring, but I'm ready for winter to get here and get OVER....

Frost again this morning but a week ago, several afternoon high temperature records were set.

Violets are blooming again. At the end of October, there were several rose bushes around with blooms down where foliage had protected the buds.

It's getting so late in the year that we might have more record highs on sunny days but still have freezing overnight. The full moon is tomorrow and it was very bright this morning! If I counted on my digits right, we had just over 9 hours of sunlight and just under 15 hours of moonlight here.

Steve

who might mow the lawn today ..!

I have been seeing lots of growth with my iris and etc but never expected peonies to form buds. I am so excited for you, Liz. I am thinking it would be ok since it's typically colder in early spring. Has it bloomed?

It didn't open, gardenchloe. Didn't get far enough along before the weather turned. Hoping it buds again next spring!

Ah, I see. Yes, I hope so too. Peonies excite me in the spring! I hope you get another fantastic years of blooms.