Good time to prune - easy to work up enough warmth to stay outside in this bitter cold (but do bundle up!). I've got a heather blooming, but not much else. I did buy a new hellebore which is alternately drooping and standing upright. Hope to get it in the ground soon, but today the ground is too frozen.

Nice to see a bloom.

Yeah, I kept putting off starting a new thread until some color showed up, but my hellebores are a ways out yet and the crocus are just now popping out of the ground. Then I remembered the heather. I have another one but it hasn't opened up yet. I forgot how big they get - all of mine are young still - saw one at the grocery store that was huge.

Is anyone going to the Flower Show this year? I think I will pass.

Just when I start thinking that our weather is a lot like yours I read something like the above. Crocus? Heather blooming? Good luck with that here with a foot of icy snow on top of the ground that won't leave til April (in most spots, not all)

Oberon, you are probably more in line with eastern Washington - they usually have a pretty thick layer of snow all winter as well.

Both Deb and I are on the west side of the cascades so much warmer. Well maybe not today but no snow here. I was going to the show today but we postponed until Friday. The crowds for the Seahawk parade are crazy!!!! So happy to be home and not fighting the traffic and crowds.

Wow, I'm kind of watching the parade on TV (when I pass through) and the commentators are estimating over 700,000 people. Yikes. Guess I'm not that much of a sports fan. Or perhaps just that averse to crowds! If anyone is actually at the parade, have a great time and stay warm.

The game is over. How come so many people? I wouldn't leave my house til it was guaranteed they had all gone home. No wonder I live in Alaska.

I guess many sports fans would wonder why anyone would bother to talk about gardening for hours each week.

Oberon46 said:The game is over. How come so many people? I wouldn't leave my house til it was guaranteed they had all gone home. No wonder I live in Alaska.

:rofl:

I watched for a bit, guess I'm old, would not stand out in the cold for a parade. So happy I'm not at the flower show today, 2 blocks off the parade route. At least the crowd seems friendly! The traffic is a mess. Think I'll have a cup of coffee, was just out putting frost covers on a few potted plants. Never got above freezing here today.
I bet my Edgeworthia is going to drop its blooms with this cold. Happened once before.
Like you side Deb, the hellebore seem to be melting/weeping in this cold. I'm sure they will pop out of it as it warms up. Better weather by the weekend.

Rick,
Guess your right, My DH just rolls his eyes when he sees me on this forum!!! I'm so happy they won but still not going to brave the cold and all that traffic.

I went to enough parades when my boys were young -- our small town puts one on for any and every conceivable reason. Mostly fire trucks and farm equipment.

@Springcolor When you go to the Flower Show, my cousin has a bunch of dwarf evergreens and a couple J. maples featured in one of the display gardens. He of course didn't tell me which one, only that it won a Silver Award. Look for the Amazing Maples label, I'm sure his J.M. is a pretty hefty one. Those little evergreens can sure get spendy as well, he's always trying to talk me into buying some from him.

Julia,

>> My DH just rolls his eyes when he sees me on this forum!!!

My SO asks me "Are you propagating with those Flower Ladies again?!?"

Cold weather has everything drooping here's how things were looking over the week-end
new hellebore I got on sale last summer. My over pruned heather did have a few blooms since January. They have gotten too big over the 20 yrs. and got a hard pruning in the fall.

a few more hellebores and some rescued snowdrops that I hope to naturalize a small part of my yard


I couldn't find anyone who wanted a 10 year old Japanese maple so my next extended week-end will involve taking the chainsaw to it. Anyone interested in it before I do the lumber-jack thing?

Your hellebore are beautiful. I tried for a few years to grow them here but it didn't work. They survived one winter and then grew after the next but then just died. I think it was too wet too shady. And they are very expensive to get up here. You have to ship them in.

Wish I were closer, Jewell, I'd take on your J. map. I've planted several here and there among my native evergreens in my wild areas and they make quite a nice surprise splash. I have a cousin who sells mature J.M.s and he uses me as a dumping ground for his 'scratch-n-dent' trees - some are near dead, others misshapoen, still others just too small for his liking. Some have reverted from their intended form to plain janes, some have just bit the dust, most are thriving. It's been a fun bonus. His yard (where he keeps his inventory) is absolutely stunning in the fall! Here's a You-Tube he shot for some eye candy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Bonehead said:@Springcolor When you go to the Flower Show, my cousin has a bunch of dwarf evergreens and a couple J. maples featured in one of the display gardens. He of course didn't tell me which one, only that it won a Silver Award. Look for the Amazing Maples label, I'm sure his J.M. is a pretty hefty one. Those little evergreens can sure get spendy as well, he's always trying to talk me into buying some from him.

Deb, I have photos of you cousins display. It was outrageously beautiful!!! I will put them up later. Even took a picture of him but could not say hello because he was talking with so many people. His garden at the show was a big hit!!!!

Thanks, Julia, I'd love to see your pics. It wasn't Cousin Charlie's design, he just provided the plants, but nevertheless pretty cool. Post away when you get a chance -- also any other photos you likely took. It was just too friggin cold for me to get out of the house, although I suppose wandering around the Convention Center would have been fine.

Deb, I'm waiting for the camera battery to charge then I will make a new thread on the PNW forum. I really loved the display gardens this year.