Must say that I personally hope that things will go quite differently for us here in Italy; I like it when the seasons follow their natural course.The cold,dark , wet season is, to my mind, the season in which Life and Nature cuddle up close inside the Earth,to rest and repose and regain strength. The top part of the plants repose, whilst underground, in the womb of the earth,the roots have THEIR chance; it is the season in which the roots underground can grow. Sad to say this seems to becoming the exception rather than the rule. We had some coldish, winter weather back in December; now it's too warm, though thank Heaven it's wet and drizzly. Hopefully it will continue to be wet for a long time in the future and that the temperatures will go down again,and that Spring will take it's sweet time in arriving.

I'm happy for you though that you are enjoying your own weather conditions ,however.

Daisy, you surely know by now that it might indeed be too early.. Feb and March can be very sneaky over here..

I like when people post about their other plants on the rose forums lol. I like hearing about the whole garden and thinking about how the other plants marry in with th roses :)

~Sjn

We all have well-rounded interests! It's actually quite informative to read about rose companion plants...or antique furniture...or the behavior of irritating neighbors...etc. I envy you your Osteospermums! We can only grow them as annuals here. Carol

Never occurred to me this was inappropriate. You're one of ours, Daisy, and we're interested in whatever is happening in your garden or your life, for that matter. Well, maybe not bunions, lol. We all, thank goodness, have more in our gardens than just roses, so it's all grist for the mill.

All of my in-the-ground narcissus bulbs came up in early Dec., and they all bloomed a LOT. I was able to use them in the house for Christmas! We did get a nice rain in the beginning of Dec, and then nothing for the rest of the month - maybe that helped. These bulbs usually come up in Jan, and not all of them bloom. A nice surprise!

Jackie

Daisy, anything worth a "Yee Haa!" is worth reporting. We all enjoy visiting gardens (especially yours) even if it is electronically and by the written word.

Cath

Thank-you all.

Nik I do know that the weather can be awful in Feb and March. This was my garden in February 2015.

However, one thing I love about living here, is no matter how inclement the weather, there are plenty of "golden days" throughout the season. Those days when it is warm and everything sparkles. The sort of days that make you glad to be alive. Winter in England can be unremitting cold, wet, miserable days. The sort of winter that seems to go on forever. Not so here in beautiful Crete.

The first of the wild anemones are opening all along the roadsides.

The wild Clematis cirrhosa is draping itself over the shrubs and trees of the roadsides.

The local market is offering a lot of local produce.

Daisy

....and there is now a hint of colour appearing in some of the tulips.

Daisy

Beautiful photos. I like seeing the outdoor markets. We have a farmer's market here I go to. Sometimes they have Jackfruit, Lychee, and rambutan. I bought a Lychee and a Starfruit tree there one year. Sometimes they have big stalks of green and purple sugarcanes. Next time I see the purple one I'm gonna buy one and cut it up and plant it in pots. They are kinda pretty.

Which pretty pink rose is that in the last 2 photos?

~Sjn

Daisy, so true about the weather. I suffered through 6 english winters in my life back in the '80s and when I decided to come back home that was the main reason for it.

Well, I myself hate the heat much, much more than the cold but I also think I'm pretty spoiled living here in Tuscany. Probably one of the reasons why winter seems too brief to me here is the fact that even in a really "good" winter (one with plenty of wet and cold) there still are many,many fine days. In fact, here ,fall and winter are the true "gardening seasons",when you plant, prune, etc. By early, early spring ideally I should be wrapping things up,putting down the last of the fertilizer ,etc. The heat kicks in way too early for my taste, and then it's just picking off bugs and watering...

sjn I love the local market too. The produce is always fresh and good. The stallholders do not have it easy, but they are always cheerful and generous. They generally put in some extra, after weighing and paying. The flower man always gives me an extra bunch of flowers. A big bunch of pink chrysanths this week.

I had to look up rambutan. I had never heard of it. I bought a persimmon, which I had never tried before. Very yummy.

The pink rose behind the tulips, is Annie Laurie McDowell.

bart I think we are opposites. I love the heat, more than my poor roses do. Mind you, I am spoilt. the beach is nearby and if it gets too hot, I can go for a swim.

On Saturday, I did buy a few spring plants from one of the local garden centres.

Daisy

Sjn, it is hard to find those fruits here. If, I am lucky I can find it at Chinese store. All if them are grew up with. Jasmin see if you can find mangosteen ( deep purple). You have to put mangosteen in your hand and squeeze it using 2 palms. It breaks open the outer skin and the white fruit inside you eat. Becareful it can stain your hands and clothes.

The other is Mata Kucing. They are small. Mata means eyes and Kuching is a cat. Peel off outside skin and inside is a fruit that resembles the eyes of a cat. Rambutan is interesting name. Rambut means hair so you can imagine how the names came upon.

Daisy, try it. It is different. But they all are sweet.

I love open markets. Memories....

Jin

Annie is such a charmer!

Living near the sea would make summer a very different story for me, I think. Here, the only way to escape the heat is to hole up indoors,keep the house dark...SUMMER cabin fever...