February Gold getting into their stride now and living up to their name.

This has got to be one of the very warmest winters I ever remember in NJ. My Camellias are blooming again, as in January. Today was 62 F. and with the sun angle now above 38 degrees above the horizon, you feel it. My daffodils and other bulbs are also maturing but no flowers. I did not check the Forsythia, that's another one that blooms during mild winter days.

OMG, that Cacao tree is gorgeous, just ordered seeds for one. I always try tree growing coffee but seem to have winter issues with that one. Guessing too dry in the winter, indoors.

We may hit 80 F on Thursday and then drop back to a low if 28 and a high of 36 on Saturday. The extreme temperature shifts are hard in things that are starting to bud up.

Little flurry of germinations. Admittedly, some can only be seen through a magnifying glass (maurandya, jasione). Muhlenbergia, eritrichum, linum capitatum, ruellia humilis and a dark leaved umbellifer - anthriscus sylvestris 'Dial Park'. No sign of the various rock pinks (calandrina et al)...however, I now have loads of callirhoe involucrata and the yellow and red delphiniums).

I by am a bit flustered, and fear I have not really thought things through (as usual then). I sowed a lot more perennials this year as I had entertained the idea of having a little plant stall. I normally sow shedloads of annuals, which are planted out 'in the wild' pretty early on in their life cycle. Perennials though, require a longer growing season...a fact which seems to have escaped my attention since my teeny garden has no space for hundreds of seedlings which only flower in years 2, 3 or 4. Worse, the rates of attrition, during a summer of watering too many wee pots, are truly dreadful. I may well have to rethink growing from seed and go for other (faster) propagation methods...which means more nursery beds at the allotment.

I would normally be starting another sowing cycle (annuals, vegetables) but the greenhouse benches are totally full. I might have to cut out the pot stages and sow direct unless I thought I could sell annuals such as tagetes, cosmos, nasturtiums, tithonias, cleome, cosmos etc.etc. thunbergias.

From zero snow on the ground yesterday to waking up to 15 cm (6 inches) of the fluffy stuff this morning.

(The tops of the snowdrops, winter acconite, daffodils and even alliums that I spied earlier this week will need to put up with a cold "white hat" for awhike yet.)

But it is my expert opinion ;) that this is the last of the big snowfalls.

rouge - it always seems to be that there is one last big winter storm in Feb. - hopefully this was it! March can sometines have light snows, but I have my fingers crossed that this one was the last big one…! Mind you, we’ve had so little snow this winter that we did need the moisture - but I still don’t like big snowfalls!

March can sometimes have light snows,

@woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada, I didnt know this until recently but historically March is the driest month (and September the wettest) (at least for my location).

Getting the first snow of the season in NYC Metro tomorrow, so far LA County and Hawaii (at elevation) have seen more. Personally, I don't miss it, and we definitely DON'T need the moisture, soils are wet. Bulbs are coming up, camellias are in bloom...,. not so cold, so they should be okay.

Interesting how the WET and DRY months are so different around the greater Northeast/Quebec. March definitely NOT a dry month here..., some of the worst flooding in my memory has been in March, September can go either very WET (tropical storm activity) or DRY, but, usually October is the driest and sunniest month of the year. And along the coast, even in Zone 7a/b, March is notorious for late season blizzards, usually followed by big warmups. But overall, I would say March is MUCH warmer than it used to be here, and Autumn and Winter start MUCH later. Not that this helps the plants out any. Premature heat in February is not a plus if there is arctic cold in April, and that happens more now too.

Spring has arrived in DC.

Magnolias are blooming in northern Virginia.

Woke up this morning to 1 foot/30 cm of snow...dammit!

So tell me @woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada that you got lots also?

@peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada, do you think you got more than 12"

(I saw a stat today that with this dump, Toronto will have received more snow than it would normally get in a winter.)

rouge they were only calling for 15cm here. It looks like way more because of drifting. For the first time in over 50 years the Rideau Canal Skateway (the longest, largest skateway in the world) did not open due to above average temperatures & snow fall.

The pergola is 8 ft. I took this pic from inside.

Spring has sprung around here. It's early spring, but it's for sure arrived.

We only got an inch or so! The road has already melted off so we took Cole out for his morning walk a while ago. Sometimes ’the Lake effect’ of being near a huge watery ’heat sink’ is good….

We only got an inch or so!

Don't take this the wrong way 'woody' but I dont believe you!! ;)

We have 12" and you get 1"!?

Knock me over with a feather.

The picture below is a house across the street - they face SW so things melt a little bit faster there but much of the neighbourhood looks like this this afternoon. We just came back from another bare-street walkies with Cole. Thinking positively about your snow - just think of how much moisture you will have when it melts, while we will be VERY dry this spring at the rate things are going here....

Soil moisture here (NJ/Zone 7) is excessive this winter. Almost 0 snow in the winter but a lot of rain storms. Only snow event of the year was 4 inches a few days ago, but then, there was a heavy rain event , over 2 inches and mild temps so everything melted and lots of submerged areas still. Of course now, at almost 5:00 pm, the sun is coming out.

INCREDIBLE @woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada!

Thinking positively about your snow - just think of how much moisture you will have when it melts,

For gardening reasons I do like seeing a snow forecast but I would prefer the snow to fall during the months of December, January and February. I want the bulbs to start to arise uninterrupted once March rolls in.

Rouge - true, but we had very little snow Dec.-Feb. so I was actually hoping for some decent snowfall in this recent 'storm'...

I'm done with the winter, bulbs are popping up. There are a few different Hellebores now in bloom. Got some huge cold-hardy palm trees outside (Date palms, Butias, Japanese fans), European fan was out there almost all winter. Sun is now at about almost midway high at solar noon, 45 degrees altitude. I think I lost one Japanese fan in the ground, but my Araucaria (monkey puzzle) made it through its second winter.

O dear me - had to do some nana duty, and been caught out by sudden freezy snow. I had been moving the seedlings out of the greenhouse, taking advantage of the fragile spring sun...and failing to take notice of weather reports. I fear for my numerous seedlings,most still at the tiny cotyledon stage. Whilst some will probably be fine, I fear the likes of Texas sage (s.coccinea), anisodontea, tufted poppies,asarina, delphinium nudicaule and ruellia humilis will cock their clogs (die).

but we had very little snow Dec.-Feb. so I was actually hoping for some decent snowfall in this recent 'storm'... but we had very little snow Dec.-Feb. so I was actually hoping for some decent snowfall in this recent 'storm'...

Hey @woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada, I smiled today when I heard your city mentioned as in line for a "good" snowfall today and tonight...heck our town wasn't mentioned at all. Good luck with getting your last dump of snow for the season :).

Yeah the ’ be careful what you wish for’ saying bit us :-) Hopefully it’ll melt off quickly and give us the desired snowmelt moisture…!

Hellebores blooming now, some of these were blooming in December too. They are planted under evergreen magnolias, so protected from both excessive heat and sun.

Jonquils

Camellias were blooming in both December and again in January, followed by real cold and frozen flowers, still, most buds left for the true Spring coming.

Forsythia are beginning to bloom as well.

As far as soil moisture, we are already beyond saturated with more rain incoming this week.

Wish I could do the photo thing - I have pots of tiny hoop petticoats which lift my spirits every time I step out.

Wish I could do the photo thing

And if I may ask "why can't you?"

cos I no longer have a smart phone (long story, no need to ramble on) and am hopelessly untechnical. I have this bloody Chromebook, which I bought cos it was advertised as being ideal for idiots, but downloading, uploading and sorting files has utterly defeated me.

I am non-technical, and prefer old fashioned things like rotary dial phones that have a curve in the ear thing. I miss those. I wouldn't mind going back to my grandma's old heavy black one. I like a rotary dial wrist watch. I don't like cell phones but have one for emergencies. I don't want anyone calling me when I'm out and about. Anyway I use a camera for pictures, get my husband to download them to my picture file which is on desktop or chrome, not sure which. Then it is very easy to get pics from that file onto Gardenweb. Not sure if setting it up was complicated. Someone in your family may be able to help. It would be great to see pics of your plants! Regarding computer things if I get a little help I can take it from there. You may be the same.

I work in the computer industry and would be more than willing to offer my help. Feel free to DM me any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

I would also like to see what you are up to as you are obviously a knowledgeable gardener.

The birds are doing their things, the dogwoods are getting ready to open their bracts (I will only plant once they are open. They are the true barometer here), and it is definitely feeling a lot more like spring. If AccuWeather is right, I can plop plants into the ground in 3 weeks. I have hardened off my seedlings, but I had to put them back in the basement under lights, for another week for sure. It's so close!

We pIcked up another few centimetres of snow last night.

At the midpoint of February all the snow had melted. But we have had so much of the white stuff in the past 30 days.

I'm betting that we wont be snow free again until into April.

(@woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada, did you get anymore last night? If you look around the neighbourhood is everything still snow covered from what you got late last week?)

rouge - we got a very light dusting last night and it’s borderline freezing/thawing so I was able to walk the dog this morning - couldn’t do that yesterday morning… Most of the neighbourhood still has snow cover from the earlier snowfall but it won’t last long with our current temperatures. This time of year is very variable here as the Lake - while not frozen - is still cold. I have a picture from mid May a few years ago of Cole wearing a winter coat while walking in a snowfall on morning walkies! While our last frost date is supposed to be end of April, things can be precarious until the end of May! There is a light dusting of snow flurries coming down at the moment…

Tiny daffodils are adorable. I think this is Tete-a-tete.

I love the daff minis also @cecily 7A. I planted some 3 years or so ago and it was weird as none came up last season.

Ah, the 'growing from seed' sub-forum is utterly moribund so I am going to have to ramble away on here, regarding new seedlings. Even though I am pressed for time and space, the germination of little seeds has always been an enduring pleasure. This morning, I was greeted by little sprouts of semiaquilegia ecalcarata 'Sugar Plum Fairy'. I love the foliage of these (along with their cousins, aquilegia and thalictrum. These are new to me and destined for a place by the little pond at the allotment. Also up, after several failed attempts - persicaria orientalis, aka Kiss me over the garden gate (great name), tiny seedlings of rehmannia elata and nicotiana mutabilis. I suspect pinkofuge GardenGal would shudder at the plethora of pink, but I have always been a fan of pink in all its variety.Finally, the muhly grass (yep, another pink) is sprouting - still waiting on little bluestem and panicum papillaire. Who else is growing things from seed?

Sent off for some new tomato seeds including a Gardener's Delight clone named Gardener's Ecstasy and a large orange (and very tasty) Skykomish Plus some ricinus as a second option after failed tetrapanax..

@rosaprimula - I'm so glad you mentioned persicaria orientalis / Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate! I grew it years ago, and I just put it back on my list to find a spot and then buy seeds this fall.

I only have two things that I'm starting from seed this year (until I direct sow some nasturtiums). I've winter sown some Liatris ligulistylis and I have some Tithonia started indoors. I don't have a light setup, and not even a great window for seed starting, but I've started a few of these before, so hoping for the best.

There is something uniquely wonderful about starting from seed. From sowing during the cold and dark of winter - with hopes of spring and their incredible potential - to the joy of seeing sprouts, the abundance of plants, and the satisfaction and miracle of having grown something beautiful from a tiny seed.

Along with textile arts, seed sowing helps me to get through the dismal winter. I love seeds. One of the best things I ever bought was a small LED magnifying loupe. Seeing seeds, magnified 30x was revelatory to me and really emphasised the unique beauty and life potential of what had always appeared to be inert dark specks.Some seeds are almost jewel-like, with gleaming facets and origami architecture. Others are perfect, shiny black beads while some still have wings or tails. It is always remarkable how an enormous plant can unfold from such a tiny package of genetically coded lipids, proteins and carbon.

Tithonia - some years I do, some I don't. I have a giant bag of zinnia seeds so I think this might be a tithonia year to complete a bed of loud and cheerful gaiety. Sadly, all the autumn sown sweet peas seem to have suffered in the wet winter freezes - I live in hope that they had enough root system to regain the lost top-growth but hey, some you win, some you lose. Time for cosmos sowing (I do these at the same time as the tomatoes) - a reliable and floriferous display for late summer...plus pickings for the house. And of course, nasturtiums, which, along with love in the mist, limnanthes and Californian poppies, appear with zero effort from me.

I have promised myself to stay on top of the irrigation in order to keep a small bed of moisture lovers (such as persicaria). Like bulb planting, seed sowing is an exercise in deferred pleasure...but amazingly, amongst my tiny list of virtues, I can count patience...which is as well since gardeners are always projecting forwards, to a fantastic future garden which exists only in our minds. Still, now spring is upon us, we can be anchored in the present too.

O, 2 little monocots up today - acis autumnalis and allium insubricum..

I have a heap of tiny plants (lewisias, talinum, linum and such) because I have a sort of scree garden planned at the allotment. I am hoping to transfer these mini-plants into temporary pots for this summer, to plant out in the autumn.

I took a little walk today and found several spring ephemerals. I hope the photos do them justice - the far side of the riverbank is carpeted with Virginia bluebells.

From daytime temperatures all last week of often well over 25C/80+F to predicted -2C/28F tomorrow night and continuing..."spring" is on hold for a bit :(.

long ways to go

but it will happen :))

we have had a fabulous winter and Lady Spring is promising to show up

Not much is blooming as I noted earlier or in another thread, but everything is getting primed.

It's just a matter of time.

At dinner time this evening the first hummingbird appeared at our feeder.

O, I love the topography, Seniorballoon. All my gardens are relentlessly flat. I have slope envy. If I could get a JCB on the allotment, I would definitely add some berms, dips, hills and terraces.

In a few more weeks.