Hints of spring: snowdrops

[redbird]

The snowdrops in front of the building on West 214th Street are in bloom. One clump are wide open, and probably started blooming a few days ago; the other are showing buds, some of them plump.

Dandelions here at the end of January/beginning of February are an anomaly, but snowdrops are one of the first signs of spring. cattitude and I have also heard a robin in the park within the last week, but suspect it's wintering over, not a very early migrant.

Comments

[ellarien]

Here in the north of England we've had snowdrops for a couple of weeks, and some crocuses -- mostly the pale purple early sort -- but not really enough sun for anything to open fully.

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

There are some drawbacks to my Southern California climate, including the fact that our winters aren't cold enough for snowdrops, or Spring crocus -- they tend to struggle along for a few years, then die away. The narcissus are pretty good substitutes, however, and I'm doing my best (via Guerrilla Planting) to add Ipheions.

Several of these, most notably Ipheion uniflorum, are Very Small Bulbs that naturalize well here (and in areas as cold as Vermont, but not quite Minneapolis), producing grass-like foliage and 1- to 2-inch star-shaped pale blue flowers -- the kind of pretty little things New Yorkers are fortunate to be able to see in the mead of The Unicorn Tapestry at The Cloisters. The bulbs/corms are mostly smaller than a pea, so I carry carry an old prescription-bottle (old geezers like me have lots of those) of them with me most of the time during their c. May-November dormant season and covertly stick a few into the soil in various places I think they might survive.