The heavy blanket of snow we’ve had for the last several months really insulated the ground, so we had very little frost in the ground this winter. Some of my perennials are already growing. Where I shoveled around the birdfeeders in the backyard, the daylilies in that area have been trapped under 4 or 5 feet of snow since January. I can see more and more green leaves peeking out as the pile slowly melts.
I have some Creeping Thyme on the edge of one of my perennial beds and yesterday I found it as happy as if it were July (a high of 36 degrees certainly does not qualify as July. It doesn’t even normally qualify as the end of March either, but I digress):
Like people wearing shorts for the first time in the spring, my daffodils’ legs could use a little sun:
The leftover oak leaves were so matted over some of my flowerbeds that I was afraid the plants would suffocate so I stirred the leaves around a little. I was shocked to discover my Sedum ‘Neon’ plants growing like gangbusters under there:
The voles must’ve been having a fun time under all that snow as well, as I found quite a few ruts in the yard. Good thing I have pound-in edging around all my beds (except the raised beds) because it stopped them smack-dab in their tracks. I’m picturing little cartoon animals burrowing around and bonking their heads every time they encounter the edging. I use the 12-inch-deep stuff, so they didn’t bother to burrow under it:
And finally, I think I have a pretty good idea who is responsible for nibbling one of my roses to the ground:
