Spring, and other Awesomeness

Even though there is still a bit of snow on the ground up here, most South-Central Alaskans* agree that it is finally, irrefutably, Spring. Evidence from my garden includes:

Big Fat Fatty Buds!

Most of my trees and shrubs have buds that are beginning to swell and take on a green or reddish color. Oh joy!

You won't find these babies down south!

As the snow melts, all sorts of winter treasures are revealed, including but not limited to: moose nuggets, missing gloves, neighbor's kid's toys, and things you were too lazy to put away in the fall.

Daffodils!

All sorts of things have started popping up around the yard. Things closest to my house tend to come up first, such as daffodils, ligularia, and crocus.

Crocus!

My crocus are always early to come up, but this year they win the first-to-bloom prize. Last year it was the dwarf iris in the rock garden, but this time around they're only 1/2" out of the ground.

I have planted crocus in multiple areas around the yard, but the only ones that ever bloom are those next to the house. The rest tend to come up 'blind.' I've read this is sometimes due to the corms being improperly stored by the producer, but I've planted multiple varieties from different growers, and my results are all the same. This leads me to think it's more of a temperature issue. The crocus next to my foundation, which gets some heat from the house, bloom every year. The rest farther away from the house do not. What do you guys think? Any other hypotheses?

Saxifraga arendsii

I've discovered that rock gardens are great for visual interest in early spring. So many rock garden perennials have evergreen foliage, and they are up and running as soon as the snow melts off. With all the stones surrounding the plants to catch the sun's warmth, the few plants that aren't evergreen also tend to come up very quickly in spring.

So here you have my proof that spring is actually here despite large piles of snow still loitering about. What have you guys seen to prove winter is finally gone?

*Except for the cross country skiers. Those people hold on to the last vestiges of winter with more tenacity than should be considered healthy.