Mild Winter Weather

It's been a mild winter thus far. I'm in cold hardiness zone 8A which means the average coldest temp for the winter is 10F to 15F. The plants in my garden think there in zone 9A this year since my coldest night was 24F. The spring blooming Camellia's are breaking at least a month or more earlier. This is my old white camellia in bloom now.

I noticed the buds on the roses were swelling this weekend so began cutting them back. If it gets bitter cold I can throw a blanket over them for the a night or two if needed. The trend is a warmer than normal winter. A local TV station (WAVY 10) published the following weather graphs for the past two months. In comparison last year was the 4th coldest on record.

For the past month I've been watching workers landscape a large interstate exchange (exit 263 on I-64). It looks like mostly grasses, bushes, crepe myrtle and a couple of other tree varieties. It's sort of a highway public garden that should transform a barren landscape. I'll take a few picture this summer and over the years to see how it fills in.

There was plenty of foliage left over from last week so just an arrangement this week.