Is it unusual for you to see eyes this early?..you're in Michigan right?..

No, the eyes form late in the year but usually below the surface - why I mentioned that planting them higher in the soil shows them off at this time of the year! Will take a photo tomorrow.

I am in far SW Virginia mounrtains (near Blacksburg) but my growing zone is the same as SE Michigan! Same as yours!

I haven't moved any debris to peek at my hostas but I'm pretty sure there's no sign of mine yet..for me maybe the middle of March?..CAN'T WAIT..our zones match but I bet you warm up and your plants take off before mine..couldn't remember where you live..I think of Virginia as having a shorter winter than Indiana..

I'm still trying to get my head around "Off to burn some brush and tree limbs"...while I'm buried in snow and minus 7-9C at the moment, brrr. Lol. But my imagination is good and I can almost hear the crackling of the fire. :-)

Bruce, what I'd give to be able to see big fat eyes coming through the snow! Enjoy your outdoors chores and say, any chance of a pic or two?

My witch hazel is flowering right now too.

We have had a mild winter so far with only two short periods with snow lying for a few days each, much dryer than normal and only one Atlantic storm where we would usually get 5-7. I would take a winter like this every year.

My montana Aureomarginata in a pot is up about 3/4 of an inch, i really should plant it so it might be delayed a bit by the cold ground.

Witch Hazel, Daphnes (3), Mahonias, and the new Edgeworthia are blooming here. My big project for the weekend is to map my garden. Anybody know an app for that?

The temperature has risen and the ground is thawing. I will cut my hydrangeas today and surely check my MA pot, Denis! The pots were frozen this year and last week we had rain and I turned them, but now I will put them in more sunny areas of the garden...

Here are the "fat" eyes: yes, it is a relative term for us but they are about 3/4 inch high now. To be fair, in retrospect, they had these large eyes when I divided them in Nov and replanted them, so maybe I am pushing the envelope on Spring a tad? It is the north side of the house - endured plus 4 degrees F a couple of weeks ago

All's fair in love and hosta, especially love of hosta!

A glimpse from the middle of my yard looking up at the winter foliage on evergreens, maples and trees. Traded hosta for those umbrella pines back in 1982 - they were 6 inch slips then, took 72 cuttings to get the 5 survivors I now have left growing after 35 years. They are tough to grow and slow but beautiful year around!!

Where the cut logs lay was a 60 ft green ash I removed to give me more sun - that area was too dark. Planted a tricolor beech 6 ft lower ( by the one log if you look carefully in lower left of photo) which was a gift from a nursery that was shutting down: hope it grows as it was ailing ( why he gave it to me!) Thye are also slow growers.

Off to work in the garden today, bright sun and 39 for a high, but no wind, thankfully. General winter cleanup and daydreaming..... of warmer temps!

Nice terraces, Bruce. You drove me out today with your story about MA pips and I had some fun with rearranging my pots and cutting hydrangeas. But MA is still frozen :-( Spring was in the air...but winter shall come back next week. The birds sung like crazy :-)

OMG! Hosta poking out and it's only Feb. 4th...I can see where you smoothed around that nose - did you touch it? I'd be touching for sure as I searched for more, lol. I'm so excited to see that and it's not even mine...I can almost smell the earth which looks great with all the goodies that comprise your garden soil.

The structure or bones of your garden that's visible now is terrific....soon to enter into its spring leafy camouflage. Thanks for the photos, Bruce! It'll be nice to see all the rest of your transplants coming up shortly as well.

When one is a gardener of your stature and experience, I would think to push the envelope is merely natural to you, no? ;-)

Jo,

Each of us are artists in our gardens; some spread the pallette of colors and plant varieties farther. I grew up with the flat city lot, so elevation variations and trees/shrubs are fun to work with over time. Visiting other gardens for me is like going to a living art gallery - and you can interact with the artists!

The nine terrace levels in retrospect were not as hard work for a younger man; couldn't do it without help now ( although middle son Aaron muscled most of the hard work!!). One day while working the back yard I took my new iphone which measures steps and floors; in 2-3 hours of up and down did 25 floors! No wonder my hips hurt.

Yes, I pull weeds year round, when winter weather permits - bad habit I must admit. And when I find hosta tips I press them back down to make sure they stay where they are supposed to be - last couple of late Spring frosts were devastating.

My harbinger of Spring is hosta Chinese Sunrise; hardiest hosta I have found and first one up. When it starts to poke time is getting closer.

Yesterday was pretty warm (50's) so I went out and took a look... I saw hostas doing the same thing you describe, Bruce - looking like they've heaved up from the soil, with roots splayed out. So I did brush a little soil or mulch lightly back around them. But they all look perfectly fine, with nubbins of new growth ready to go.

And I also peeked at the peonies I divided in November - they all have red growth 'buds' forming.

It's reassuring to get out there and poke around a little bit. A winter gardening "fix."