Mild Winter/Early Spring

This winter has been very mild even for the Paignton area. We have had only 5 days when my car would have needed the windows scraping. In a sheltered spot Impatiens flanaganae still has green leaves, normally it's below ground in November. Amicia zygomeris still has leafs low down on the stems.
As well as snowdrops, crocuses and hellebores which are well on for the year I also have Anemone blanda opening and a number of aconitum, agapanthus and eryngium pushing up shoots a good 6 to 8 weeks early. Yesterday I also noticed the buds on the young fruit trees swelling.
What are other people gardens doing at the moment.

 

Similar here in London; we have had just a few nights of frost over the last few months. That wasn't enough to shrivel plants like pelargoniums and salvias, though the former are looking a bit mouldy and damp, and the latter I cut back myself because I needed to assess which need moving/ reducing before they really get going again.

I have snowdrops and leucojum in full flower, daffodils just beginning to come out, a first iris reticulata in bloom - I was especially pleased about that because I only put them in last year and feared the squirrels had promptly eaten most of them. Primulas from last year that I planted out in the beds are in full flower, to the delight of the snails who are alas also active.

My rowan and crab apple have swelling buds and chaenomeles "Jet Stream" on a sheltered wall has lots of white flowers.

Any losses this winter will be down to all the wet weather we've had, and subsequent problems with drainage. E.g. I noticed some dieback on the rather fine rosemary I keep growing in a large urn the other week, have cut the affected branches out and dug in some more grit and am keeping my fingers crossed it will now be OK.

 

Our magnolia grandiflora normally drops the flower buds that haven't opened when the frosts come. This year they are still on and a couple look like they are about to open

 

Been pretty mild here in the west Midlands, daffs been up for a few weeks and starting to flower and a lot of foxgloves have held their leaves.

 

Even out here in the cold rurals, Kerria and Forsthia have been in bloom since January. The first Snowdrops are past their best and some Daffodils are showing yellow at their tips. My Mirabelle Plums have blossom about to open.

Hawthorn started coming into leaf in January and is now bursting out everywhere, so are Brambles and Hazels. Roadside verges have been smothered in Daisies for weeks.

And some birds think it's Spring.

Taken on 17th Jan:

 

Here in this part of East Yorkshire,trees are budding,Lillies poking their noses up..even seen a lily Beetle already..fushias still in leaf.I know it's still early days but it all seems very odd.

 

Lol @ the lily beetle battle @lolimac

I'll have to keep a look out for them we had loads on our fritillaries last year.

 

As to be expected my garden is still asleep. Although we've had quite a lot of mild weather it has been interspersed with frost and currently snow showers. The bulbs I planted in Autumn are nowhere to be seen. My young Viburnum is not showing any signs of flowers but the roses strangely have leaf buds.

 

Apart from my garden being in need of some TLC. I have some roses in bloom. Iceberg. Clg. Gertrude Jekyll. and Felicia. Also Sunblest. Plus lots of mixed campanula. Roses in general are on the whole producing many strong new shoots. I am becoming impatient now and wanting to take advantage of perhaps a good day, healthwise, and get stuck in.

 

Forgot to mention above that our Rhubarb burst out the ground around a week ago and the first leaf is starting to unfurl.

 

@NigelJ @Clare G @andrews @mazambo @Scrungee @lolimac @Sienna's Blossom @Mike Allen @shiney

BRAG BRAG BRAG!!! I will only have to wait another 2 months or so before I see anything emerging

 

Mild winters followed by cold springs have become the norm around these parts in the last few years, apart from Daffs budding up, (lets face it you can get early and late varieties), nothing is really moving, which is good.
We can still get hard frost the next few weeks that can clobber new shoots.