February 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

Yesterday we had a little sunshine & the crocus thought spring had arrived, grey & raining again today.
Crocus angustifolius & tommasinianus.

How lovely - still busy  with the  snowdrops here in Aberdeen. 

[Hoy]

Not much in flower here in the mountains of Norway at this time of the year.

You can take a look at this Norway spruce while we are awaiting the spring!

[Andre Schuiteman]

An early glimpse of spring. We are lucky that one of the nicest crocuses is also one of the easiest. It is commonly sold as Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis 'Tricolor' but it appears that the correct name is Crocus nivalis (C. nivalis 'Tricolor', I presume). In the background are the yellow Crocus Advance (said to be a cultivar of C. chrysanthus) and Iris unguicularis. The carpet is Frankenia laevis.

[Robert]

A few scenes from our garden.

The vegetables are thriving!



The first flowers of Erythronium multiscapideum are starting to open.



Iris reticulata with Cyclamen coum.

This Iris reticulata might be the variety “Harmony”. At this time, this is the only Iris reticulata variety that survives in our garden.



A miniature Narcissus species.

Too often our bulbs get mixed up. I plant them all anyway – they are attractive and the Narcissus, such as this one, can be very fragrant.



Moraea macroyx is very pretty and thrives in our garden.

[Robert]

Matthiola incana, Common Stock.

This is a commonly found annual frequently sold at commercial nurseries in our area. I enjoy their fragrance and grow them from seed that I save each season.



Soil blocks filled with annual seedling.

Now that I have time, I grow a wide variety of both winter and summer annuals each season.



Rhododdendron mucronulatum ‘Berg’s Best’ blooms prolifically each spring.

[Hoy]

Looks great Robert!

[Leena]

it appears that the correct name is Crocus nivalis (C. nivalis 'Tricolor', I presume).

Where did you find that information? I was just yesterday thinking about 'Tricolor' and 'Firefly' and how the latter does much better in my garden.

[Andre Schuiteman]

Where did you find that information? I was just yesterday thinking about 'Tricolor' and 'Firefly' and how the latter does much better in my garden.

Before I post something here I check the names either with https://wcsp.science.kew.org/ (World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, mainly monocots) or with http://powo.science.kew.org/ (Plants of the World Online). It often turns out that names used in the trade are synonyms (if the plants aren't misidentified in the first place).

It seems that 'Firefly' is a cultivar of Crocus atticus, so 'Tricolor' is now considered to be a different species (C. nivalis). That may explain why one is more difficult to keep than the other.

[cohan]

Lucky that early spring flowers are tough! A while till I will see any here-- this week we have days from around freezing to +8 or so, nights mostly well below 0 still, and some winter coming again on the weekend... still poplars and willows could be flowering in March if conditions are moderate... we had mid-winter conditions into mid-April last year, then it all melted and warmed quickly.

[cohan]

Mike, Robert, Andre--nice to see the colour and life! I've been digging through old photos, which is the only colour here for a while..lol

[Hoy]

At last. After 6 weeks with damaging frost (down to at least -16C in my garden) warmer weather arrived a week ago. Now the first spring flowers appear too.

Unknown snowdrops and Crocus tomassinianus are always early. Also Helleborus foetidus is early.

[Mike Ireland]

Really warm this week & the plants really are growing quickly.

Daphne bholua Jaqueline Postill.

[Herman Mylemans]

Really warm this week & the plants really are growing quickly.

Daphne bholua Jaqueline Postill.

Mike, your Daphne bholua 'Jaqueline postill' looks very good. There is no frost damage. Here the flowers and some leaves are frozen during the cold period.

[Mariette]

After an unusual spell of winter spring has arrived in this part of Germany!

Snowdrops, Primula vulgaris and Corydalis caucasica.



Hellebores.



Scilla bifolia and snowdrops.



Hepatica nobilis, Cyclamen coum, snowdrops and corydalis.

[cohan]

We've had some seasonally warm weather here too, but still a long way from flowers! Here are a couple of views from yesterday--

Two views of the Eurasian/Mesic Beds-- fairly ordinary snow  cover, though overall we have not had as much snow as usual. Melting weather in recent days, though still more chances of snow and cold weather for a many weeks yet.





The mound in front is all snow- at the corner of the driveway- it could be twice this high or more in some years, rises and falls all winter, but won't be all gone for a long time-- right below it is a perennial bed with Achillea, Veronica, roses etc



Part of the driveway- a plus of lower snowfall is that it *may* be faster/easier to get the driveway melted and dried out (snow from sides melts onto it sometimes for weeks, causing  puddles, mud, ice etc-- so I spend time pushing it back, redirecting water etc!)