Hopefully the last gasp of winter this week....it was a wintry mix overnight and we woke up to ice covering branches and coating the ground. It's supposed to warm up to 40 and sunny later and 4 days over 50F coming up!

Icy!

And we haven't stepped outside the house yet, but this is what we see outside our front door every morning....

What do they find so fascinating about our front steps?! lol

Looks like they are having a party!

If I get out of the house later, I'll have to take a photo of the rose bushes that they have chewed all the bark off. *sigh*

@prairiemoon2 z6b MA, most every winter our Julia Childs roses get eaten down to the base. It seems crazy to me that rabbits eat such plant material.

On March 1st we experienced a low of -16C/3F; it is predicted that this Saturday March 7 we will see it at 14C/57F! (But I still see forecasts of double digits negative Celsius temps after that :( )

Rouge, Last year my Julia Child was unmolested. I had live clean canes to the tips. I had the largest Julia Child I've ever had. I've had Beverly for 5 years and they've never touched it. So both of those will have to be cut to the ground and I will put some wire around them next fall.

Well...looking at the rest of the country, the South and the West are having early heat. So...I am going to enjoy ALL comfortable spring weather because most likely we will be transitioning into hot dry weather maybe sooner than previous years. And I may be adding to my rain barrels this year.

Snowdrops and crocus will be late this year. I still have over a foot of snow on the ground and only one area near the foundation and the chimney on the South side of the house that is bare.

And then you see this! Still under snow yesterday morning, but with abundant rain and warm temperatures yesterday, they bloomed today! There is hope, even with some snow in the forecast later this week.

I am so jealous of you @gdinieontarioz5!

We are about 90 minutes north and east of you and there is very little visible ground on our property ie still covered with lots of snow. I know where the snowdrops and winter acconite are supposed to be but those areas are still covered with too much white 'stuff'.

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) Wish I could send you some spring…

One day maybe we will be able to afford to live in your very exclusive "southern" city ;) ;).

Bwahaha, the banana belt 🤪.

Got my big, cold hardier palms and cycads out on the season.

Grown from a Canary Island Date pit/seed.

Butia capitata, grown from a eBay stqrter plant

@gdinieontarioz5 I thought of you today when I came across a glimmer of our winter aconites :). I only have them cuz of your generosity in gifting me a few way back when. (I could never get success from planting packaged corms and you were kind enough to give me some live ones one spring).

It isnt much but considering our winter, it is an important start.

A little further south, in east central Indiana…

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) Then you are only two days behind us! My first winter aconite was on Sunday. Lots more today. If ever you want more, just come and get them. I am getting to the stage where I take off the ripening seeds, and even just throw the plants out. Great self seeders.

If ever you want more,

@gdinieontarioz5, it may be hard to believe but you gave me a clump of the aconite 9 years ago! And for sure it has spread lots. I love it.

We’ve finally had some days that were warm enough to melt a lot of snow. The driveway is clear for the first time since early December, and we can see over the snowbanks to drive! Today I saw some of my snowdrops coming up and was shocked to see several bees swarming them. Never could get a photo of them, but they looked like giant honey bees.

As is often the case it can be either "feast or famine":

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/winter-skipped-western-united-states/

I’m in SE PA Z7A -- there was still a good amount of snow on the ground a week ago. Then the temps started to warm into the 70s for several days, the snow melted and is gone, the crocus started to bloom, so we started to clean the beds. Now, the forecast is predicting freezing temps and frost periods for the next week (28 degrees tomorrow am). The crocus are a welcome sight but I suspect the upcoming freeze/frost will wipe them out. The hellebores are also peeking out but they should be ok. As I'm typing this and looking out the window it has started to snow - hopefully only a dusting.

MG_4305

@raymondz7a Unless you get a truly heavy frost, your crocuses should be fine. Tommies are tough.

Lovely photos! Raymond your crocuses are spectacular!

:)

Dee

We in the PNW have mostly escaped a hard winter. In fact our snow pack was below 50% of normal, though in the last week we've had a lot of snow in the mountains and a dusting down here. We're at 400 ft, and we got a dusting on a couple of mornings this week that didn't stick around for the whole day. I watch the weather pretty closely, but was caught off guard by an inch of snow this morning. It likely won't last long either, but I am really ready for the warmer weather.

From almost no snow left as of this morning to now covered with 10 cm/4" :(.

Similar here, though it was more like 5 cm/2”. And starting from no snow. 😖

-11C/12F right now with an accumulation last night of 7cm/3" of snow. I honestly enjoy cold snowy winter weather but once we get to meteorological Spring, that's it for me. Come on Spring...get crackin'.

No snow here this time. We had a coating last time but yesterday it was 60F and we had downpours and last night more rain and high winds. Trees down all over the state in the news this morning and a local town with a higher elevation about 15miles away recorded 80mph gusts last night.

I have always considered March to be spring and gardening weather. But yesterday I was thinking I need to change my point of view. There have been plenty of years now that March is as bad as the rest of the winter, to dissuade me of that idea. [g] We're into the 2nd half of March and even the 10 day forecast is not looking that great. Granted it is manageable weather to get out and prune, but ...now I'm waiting to get my pruners sharpened. And I have a lot of that to do with all the rabbit damage.

By April 1st....you think it will be safe to say spring has arrived? [g]

But how can we complain when much of the rest of the country seems to always be worse off than we are.

^^ Right there with you Rouge. 16F here this morning, and it is snowing lightly - again.

It's brutal here today. We had an unusually warm day yesterday in the upper 50s / low 60s, which led to a thunderstorm, then freezing rain, then temps dropped to single digits and we got snow, and then the wind really picked up, so it's blowing 30 mph and there are snow drifts everywhere. brrrrrrr.....

But how can we complain

I am only complaining in jest. I am grateful that I live in a location which does not get devastating weather...fingers crossed.

I get it Rouge, I think complaining about the weather is something everyone, every where does..! It's an important topic of conversation...lol. You can participate even when you really do feel lucky about the weather you have.

I hope that I don’t sound like I’m complaining! It was a particularly harsh cold day and I had to clear the driveway and get the snow and underlying ice off the cars. I could only do it in 15-20 min. phases with breaks to warm up. I started it all at 915am and finished at 230pm. lol!

Totally OT, but has anyone here ever had a reaction to Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii)? I have the strangest blistering/peeling occurring on both of my palms and have had it for weeks. I noticed it a day or two after being stabbed by the thorns when I reached out to catch a falling plant, so that’s what I believe caused it. It was falling thanks to a cat, of course. :p It’s making me want to get rid of my CoT plants!

I feel you party _music. Freezing rain/snow/wind are never fun and the cleanup is worse. Similar here a couple of days ago. It was treacherous in my yard.

Euphorbia are known to cause skin reactions in many people. Gloves are recomended but not always possible as in your case. I grow them in the garden and the worst offender for me is Euphorbia myrsinites. I do glove up when handling those. The poison center recommends supportive care with antihistamines and a topical corticosteroid, which cleared the rashes. I hope your hands heal soon.

Thank you, peren_all! I had no idea how to treat it.

You are most welcome. It is nothing to sneeze at as you have found out the hard way!

Right now (8:30 EDT) it is -8C/18F :(

(But I hear from our relatives in Saskatoon that I shouldn't complain as they are at -18C/0F and it looks like @FrozeBudd_z3/4 is at -14C/7F)

Rouge, what about your Aconites? They don't tolerate those low temps do they? Do you cover them? Anything else that is showing?

Hey 'prairie', it has been my experience that Winter Aconites are quite cold hardy. A wonderful early spring corm/bulb. (All the early risers need to be a sturdy lot to withstand the vagaries of the weather in March and April).

We have some "Snowdrops" but they look a bit ragged and a few crocus here and there but nothing amazing.

Wait a sec @prairiemoon2 z6b MA, have you posted any of your early spring flowers?

I think I posted one photo of an early daff getting ready to open on the late winter thread. I will try to get another photo. Not a lot going on yet, but it's starting. Hellebore foliage is up a couple of inches and I just noticed a couple of crocus. My usual patch is next to the driveway and the snow plow ploughed up a foot of soil and dumped it over the area so i'm expecting fewer crocus this year and only a couple are open right now.

Snowdrops are blooming and looking good! But the whole yard is in that March state where everything looks gray and ugly. lol i'll try to get a few photos today. :-)

So today, the last day of March is the first time in months that there is no snow on our property. Lots of rain and warm temps last night and this morning has done away with the final bit of the white stuff.

As well I see that this month of March we have received 150% of 'normal' in terms of precipitation (snow and rain). This has been the case all winter ie getting more than the historical average in terms or precip (snow and rain).

Rouge, Yay for no snow! That is interesting about your amount of rainfall. I heard on the news the other morning that we were still in a drought. So I just looked it up and looking at a map of my state from Feb 1st 2026, my area is considered in a critical drought. We did have a lot more snow than other winters, but, sometimes it was frequency with very low totals...3" at a time. We only had 1 or 2 snow storms that accumulated to a foot or more.

But, Feb 1st the snow hadn't melted, so I'll be interested to see if that changes for march 1st. But, I'm afraid this is a pattern that has been developing over years. We got frequent forecasts for rain and then end up with a 1/4", a 1/2". I hope the snow melt at least gets us out of the critical category. We're supposed to have multiple days of rain this week, but...again less than an inch each time. 'Showers' is the fatal word in the forecast. [g]

Looking ahead at the 14 day forecast, the only day where it reads below 0C is tomorrow Tuesday night where it is predicted to be a chilly -8C (17F). Hopefully after that we (in my neck of the woods) have turned the corner on cold temps.

Still unseasonably cold here and windy! I've decided to stop looking at the weather forecasts and just get up every morning and deal with whatever the weather is that day. We're bound to get some nice weather pretty soon. :-)

For sure I am a lot more chill ;) re weather in the spring and Fall than I used to be. Its just that I have lots of potted plants still holed up in the garage that I want to move outside as well I have burlapped Japanese Maples that I want to unwrap.

Oh...wow, I can understand why you are ready to start. This spring seems to me, to be much more frustrating then usual. The winter was so long and I have been chomping at the bit to be outside. I don't have potted plants that I am waiting on, but I'm behind in pruning. I started on one shrub on the one day it was nice here. And instead of going to the nursery on a nice day and walking around, I went on a gray cool day and brought home some hyacinths, alysuum, pansies and a basket of gold and took the one pot i left out all winter that was full of dead plants, cleaned it up and potted it up with spring flowers! That has been one bright spot. And a number of people have already mentioned the cheerful pot.

The other bright spot has been the bird feeder. I bought a very inexpensive 40lb bag of bird seed back in February after finding myself feeling badly for the poor birds having to deal with this winter outdoors every minute of the day and night and i've been filling up the feeder ever since. Already gone through 6 squares of suet. We've really been enjoying seeing birds who have been really flocking to the feeder. And now finally the robins have shown up to search for worms.

Since the snow has finally melted I've been able to walk out to the compost bins again and I've been amazed at how fast I'm filling them up. lol. Today i'm finally in the spring spirit regardless. I have been walking and building up some stamina going up an down the stairs. My legs had a few days of burning like mad, but I've been using a muscle roller and eating more protein and it's made a difference. I think I'm ready for all the bending and kneeling. Not sure about the upper body yet. But with the amount of pruning I have ahead of me, that won't take long. [g]

And the bulbs I planted last fall are up and that's always exciting to see what they are going to do. Rain or shine - i'm determined this season I''m going to wring every pleasure from gardening that there is. :-)

So I wake up to this i.e. -7C/19F (with a wind chill of -16C/3F) and enough snow to cover the grass.

(This is my last post in this thread...promise)

Same here rouge. It is still snowing but after tonight the forecast is looking pretty good. Unlike you I can't promise winter is over yet lol.

It's snowing here right now....lol. But like Peren.all, the forecast is for 7 days of 50s and 60s and sun, but I will believe it when I see it. It's supposed to be between 20F and 29F overnight tonight with a wind chill of 18F. *sigh* I hope it doesn't kill the new leaves on our 3 small trees we planted last spring. They just opened a few days ago.

pm I hope your trees are fine, even if those leaves are affected new ones should come. The only foliage I have seen here is Papaver orientale against a building and they are impervious to cold/snow.

Thanks Peren.all, I just got an email from a local nursery with a cold weather advisory suggesting covering plants tonight and tomorrow night. I'm considering draping some sheets over the trees. They're small. I've already covered a few things that are coming up. Hellebores. My daffs are just opening. *sigh*.

Yes, I have seen some papaver foliage now that you mention it. Glad I don't have to worry about those.

Looks like I'm going to be busy this afternoon. [g]

Here's what I received....

We wouldnt get such a "warning" until May as frost is expected lots in April.

(For example we are forecast to see a low of -3C/27F for a couple of days next week)

Given all the rain we have had so far in April, with no end in sight for the rest of this week, I am betting that this will be another month having well over 100% of normal....maybe every month since ....November? (I wish Mother Nature would keep some in reserve for the dog days of summer....August in particular).