The upper-50-degree temperatures we’ve been enjoying over the last several days have been more April-like than February. When it’s 58 in Florida everyone stays inside and shivers, but when it’s 58 in Wisconsin, we emerge from our houses—many of us wearing shorts—and take a stroll, go for a bike ride, hit the golf course (yes, some have opened) and maybe even fire up the barbecue grill.
I wondered if any of my bulbs were peeking up, so I took a squishy walk through the puddles of melting snow in my backyard to check it. Look what I found! The first snowdrops (Galanthus) of the year:
Snowdrops can handle frost and even snow cover, so they’ll be prepared when the weather gets its head on straight again and delivers more late-winter-like snow and cold. Snowdrops grow 4-6 inches tall with pure white down-facing flowers. Last year my bulbs started blooming on February 25th, so they are about a week ahead of schedule.
It’s always exciting to spot the first signs of spring.