Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra

(Yeah, that was sort of inevitable after the last post.)  Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is tomorrow, but I'm going to put the post together today and then link in the morning, since I have to run off to a meeting then.

So, flowers have appeared in our land, for sure.  I have these blue/purple Dutch crocuses (Crocus vernus 'Twilight', I think) in large quantities, because they are gorgeous.  The early crocuses are gone already.  (If you want to check out my Early Early Spring posts on flowers, click on the "Blooms" subject label.)

Here's the rest of what's blooming now.

one of many daffodils

Iris histroides 'Katharine Hodgkin' - the last mini iris to bloom

Camellia 'I Forget Which'

Kaufmanniana Tulip 'The First'

Buds on my Little Girl magnolia

My neighbor's magnolia tree, in full bloom

Scilla biflora 'Rosea'

Pieris japonica

Red maple.  Unfortunately for my nose.

I do really like all the red stages of red maple, but February was awfully early for allergies to kick in.  Everything else is awfully early too; I'm expecting the magnolias to get zapped, since we are almost certainly going to have another freeze before spring comes in full tilt.  It's 71 F. right now and expected to stay that way the rest of the week.  Really, I'd like it to cool down a bit, so we could hang onto the daffodils longer.  There has to be some benefit to this weather, after all.

Hyacinths are out, too, though I haven't seen any of mine appear yet.  Forsythia is going gangbusters.  The Cherry Blossom Festival in DC starts this weekend, but I suspect the cherries are anticipating it.  (Some years they're late; hard to plan around plants.)

The non-winter and early spring are worrisome in several ways.  I'm torn between wringing my hands (if I knew how) or just lying back and enjoying it.  How often do we get a whole week of shorts weather in March?  The summer will be hot no matter what, so I think I'll just take this as it comes (can't hardly do anything about it, anyway).

Enjoy your blooms, early or not!

Oh, and also I have:

Mutant daffodils.  Some bloom like this every year, and I'd always thought it was a combination of senescence and soil contaminants (lead from the paint that used to be on the house), but this one is in a bed where I hadn't deposited any of that soil, and I don't think it's that old, either.  A mystery.