"I've got you babe", is on repeat.........or Groundhog's Day is here again.

"There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded." Mark Twain

Crocus X leonidii 'Early Gold'
So I was watching this one thinking, maybe it's just poking through the ground a bit early, but here it is fully open about a month ahead of last year.  If you look in the background there are plenty of  species emerging now. It really has been an extraordinarily mild winter. I guess Puxatawny Phill saw his shadow so they are saying 6 more weeks of winter is in order. I for one don't believe it. In fact the local paper said its not going to snow and we might not even see any frost for the rest of the year! Guess it's time to get the vegetable seeds down. Speaking of seeds the NARGS exchange stuff came in and is sown with the flats sitting out in the mild weather, not sure if we will really get much of a cool period to allow for vernalization. 

Iris 'Pacific Coast Hybrids'
So this was at a local park where I worked on a small display garden outside the kids playground area. I don't know that I tracked the phenology of these for the last few years, but to me it seems early. The other weekend I saw the bees bringing in pollen on a 50 degree day and I was scratching my head wondering where the source was until I realized the big Chimonanthus in the front hedgerow is in full bloom this year, after three years of frozen aborted flower attempts. The Sarcooccoa and the Fragrant Winter Honeysuckle is having a good year as well. So good signs point to an early spring, and a productive year. This past weekend was productive as I got the orchard pruned and sprayed with a dormant oil treatment.

Mild and in the 50's this groundhogs day. 

Cheers,

Mark