January 22, very shy but there they are, signs of spring Winder viburnums, winter jasmine, winter honeysuckles, yearly rhododendrons, sarcococca, narcissus, snowdrops, helleborus, hamamelis, chimonanthus(winter sweet) and others are in bloom
Signs of false Spring, I think...my term for the often mild weather of late Jan-Feb. here on the coast, which taps into our wishful thinking to convince us that Spring is sprung. Usually followed (at least in my area) by a predictable blast of winter in March which sometimes wipes out all these early signs, and clears the slate for Spring proper. Hope you're right, though: my marginal things such as olives, ecualyptus and Feijoia have all continued to grow throughout this mild winter (even last year's Romneya branches are mostly alive at the tips) and if they don't get whacked by a March freeze, might see some respectable growth this year.
