Those reticulated iris are lovely, NHBabs!. I tried planting some once but they got lost in the scrum in the next few years. I need to plan a better location where they won't be overwhelmed.

I'm still in crocus season here. The later crocuses (all squirrel-resistant tommasinianus types) are open now and the white C. t. 'Albus' have just appeared. I noticed the first ones today.

I'm seeing squashed daffodil flowers in a few locations where the snow battered them, but there are intact buds holding their breath and waiting to see if it's safe to bloom yet.

Claire

Nice crocuses, Claire! I have a few, but the voles seem to eat even the tommys unless they are planted in gravel far from the warm soil next to the foundation where the voles and mice frolic all winter.

I am told by others that the return of my reticulated iris is unusual. They, like my few surviving crocus, are planted in acid gravelly soil that doesn't get supplemental summer moisture, so that may contribute to their survival, I don't know. Regardless, I wouldn't want to be without them since they are so lovely, so I would plant them even if they didn't return.

Thats cool. Can you keep any of those in the ground all year long?

The cluster of reticulated iris I planted at the bottom of the back steps languished for a few seasons, but now they're gone. I really love yours, NHBabs. Maybe the way that you planted them is the "secret" to their survival?

@BobLem, thank you! I wrap them every year with xmas lights and burlap, and most always make it! Although we offer storage for people who want us to pick up and keep them alive during the winter!

It's really feeling Spring-y now, and I was out today cutting down ornamental grasses and assorted perennials.

Peonies are pushing eyes up:

and one of my bleeding hearts is sprouting:

This variegated pieris is usually the first to bloom, and it would be beautiful now if most of its buds hadn't been decimated. I'm not sure if it was snow/ice and/or a turkey battle, but it had full buds a few months ago that are now mostly dried out.

There are just a few blooms.

Other pierises in the neighborhood are blooming.

I've taken the protective covers off my crape myrtle and the variegated hydrangea, although I put a shade cloth over the hydrangea because it's in bright sun today. Nighttime temperatures are finally above freezing and I think I'll go across the street to try to hear peepers later on (after the birds have stopped yelling).

Claire

Even though I know spring comes sooner to you southern gals, I'm still surprised at how much you have emerging from the ground! No sign of anything here yet.

I am visiting family away from home but DH took this photo of the crocus in the front garden at home.

Nice crocus, NHBabs!

I've got daffodils, N. 'Jetfire', which does very well here and comes back every year, even after being dug up from under a juniper and plopped into a pot with soil to recover before replanting later in the season.

And scilla - I'm pretty sure I didn't plant these together but whether the scilla reseeded and encroached on the crocus, or a squirrel moved the crocus, I'll never know.

I saw a forsythia in bloom in the neighborhood yesterday, farther inland. Mine aren't blooming yet.

Claire

DH and a childhood friend were just referring to the "dandelion rule" used amongst families where he grew up - the kids were allowed to go barefoot after the first dandelion appeared in the yard. They admitted to picking a few from warmer sites to show to parents to"prove" that the first dandelion had bloomed.

So it's a widely accepted symbol of spring's arrival. Thanks for sharing!

Keep the great photos coming. Spring fever is finally here!

Not much to show in my garden yet, here are some Podophyllums popping up.

Wow I love all the crocus! I planted 50 and I only see one up so far. I'm thinking the squirrels got them.

I lIke these pictures so I can see what is blooming in this area, it's still so gray in my yard. Ideas for next year :)

I haven't taken any pictures so this is from last week but I'm most excited about my Globemaster Allium. At $10 a bulb I only bought 3 so I'm glad they all made it.

I'm airing out my wintersowing containers today. A little more than half are sprouting which I'm happy about since this is my first try.

Pinkmauisunset, both Claire's and mine are Crocus tommasinianus, a species that has the reputation of being unpalatable to squirrels. If they get dug up but not eaten in your yard, you can lay a piece of chicken wire over the fresh holes and leave it there until the soil freezes or at least until the soil no longer looks freshly dug.

Forsythia are blooming now, a milestone that goaded me to start transplanting.

This old forsythia is down by the road across from the old forest that isn't leafed out yet (mostly oaks).

I transplanted this little one a few years ago to near the neighbor's border.

Old inherited daffodils (probably 'Ice Follies') under the little forsythia:

Daffodils ('Lemon Glow') and scilla under the old forsythia down by the road:

Vinca is blooming too, but I didn't get a good picture of it.

Claire

I forgot to mention the pussy willow flowers. Those cute, furry buds are opening to fluffy yellow flowers.

Unfortunately, the squirrels are once again biting off the flowering stems for reasons known only to squirrels. They leave them on the ground. Maybe I'm supposed to prepare vases for them?

Claire

Finally spring appears to have arrived! I'm loving everyone's blooms and at last have a few of my own to show. The forsythia and pussywillows alongside the brook are flowering.

A lone clump of daffodils in one of my perennial beds is in bloom, but the others are not far behind.

Also my blue spruce trees have grown substantially from the little twigs I planted a few years ago. They are in the tan area at right that we're reforesting. (The tan area just to the left of it is proving a challenge. Of the 10 crabapples and lilacs I planted here only a single crabapple is still growing. For some odd reason this is a blighted area!)

My little pots of planted seeds are under the rain table's plexiglass cover today, as the weather is somewhat volatile with an unpredictable mix of blue sky and dark rain clouds. I think I have snapdragons, cosmos, and marigolds in this group, but time will tell when I see what sprouts. They spend the nights on the glassed-in back porch. I have other containers that go out on the front porch by day, and in the garage at night. I lose track of what is planted where!

OUTDOORS

Daffs

Hellebores

INDOORS

Potinara Shin Shiang Diamond 'Tai Young #1'

Paphiopedilum Supersuk 'Eureka' x Paphiopedilum Raisin Pie 'Hsinying'

Maxillaria tenuifolia (coconut orchid)

Paphiopedilum Primulinum 'Ching Hua'

Laeliocattleya Fire Island 'Fiery'

$3 Home Depot rescue Phalaenopsis

Tomatoes in April!!!

Incredible orchids, suzabanana (and all the other beauties)!

I wasn't thinking rhododendrons today, but I should have, because 'Mary Fleming' snuck up on me as she does every year. Here she's leaning up against the enclosure protecting 'Percy Wiseman' - the only rhododendron I have whose buds the squirrels attack - hence the cage.

She still has a lot of unopened buds so I don't think she's been blooming for very long.

I also have a mystery daffodil. Usually I keep records but this one has me scratching my head. I think i moved a clump last year from an area that had gotten shaded but I don't remember this being there and it's not in my older photos. It's a little like 'Manly' but not as double - maybe 'Manly' reverted to its ancestors? I like it, whatever it is.

Claire

We made the local news!! Watch me on here with a 10 minute interview!!

www.ctpalm.com

http://wtnh.com/2017/04/24/fairfield-man-brings-florida-palm-trees-to-connecticut/

What an amazing thought to rent a tropical forest for your yard and then to return it when the weather turns cold! Or to keep your own tropical forest during the growing season but to send them to a camp for the winter. Or to keep a few hardy types in the ground with careful protection. That picture of the windmill palm covered with snow is startling.

You have a fun business going.

Claire

Thank you Claire! I appreciate that. People love the concept over here, and it has been really taking off! Thank you for the kind words!

Claire, I really like that last daffodil photo!

CT Palm, nice coverage!

April is almost over but I wanted to show what the transition to May looks like in my garden.

The bleeding hearts are ramping up and will be in bloom in the next week or two.

Dicentra 'Goldheart' has a few buds, but the chartreuse glow is striking next to the dormant grasses and the indomitable 'Biokovo' geraniums.

The little one is pretty too.

It's still mostly daffodil season, and N. 'Chromacolor' (edit note: not 'Fragrant Rose') looks good backlit by the sun.

Two daffodils that come later are now beginning to show: N. 'Thalia Sun' and the tiny N. 'Hawera'.

Even later daffodils are waiting in the wings.

Claire