This week, I went out to Hope and much to my amazement, I saw a huge carpet of pretty white snow drops growing in the front yard of a house out on the Hope Peninsula. People don’t call the Hope area the "Banana Belt" for nothing. Of course, gardening there also has its challenges, since they have a deer problem that’s beyond belief. The critters are everywhere and eat everything. So along with early spring, you also get to experience an incredible variety of fencing alternatives. (Apparently, deer actually don’t eat snow drops anyway.)
After I got back to my house, I looked at my own garden a little more closely. We’re in the snow belt at 3,000 feet, so my garden is generally the last to do anything, with the possible exception of folks living up on Schweitzer Mountain, I guess.
Anyway, it turns out that my rugosa roses actually have tiny buds making a first attempt to sprout. Even closer examination revealed a tiny purple crocus bud and a few daffodil and tulip sprouts.
My small garden expedition was on Wednesday. Now, two days later, we have five inches of snow on the ground. The lone crocus is nowhere to be seen. Being a plant in this area has really got to be harsh.