Flowers in early February a mid-winter surprise

As a reluctant garden journaler, notable moments in my garden are marked by photos in my phone. And the photo I took last weekend of a tiny white flower is an important marker in the gardening timeline that I’ll undoubtedly use as a comparison for years to come.

I was strolling around the yard as an excuse to be outside in the unseasonably warm weather without much expectation that I’d find much of interest. But out of the corner of my eye, a little white snowdrop, perched at the top of my septic mound, stood out against the gray sky.

It was the first snowdrop (Galanthus) flower of the year, notable not just because any flower that shows up in early February deserves a parade, but also because it was the earliest flower I’ve ever seen in my garden.

And it wasn’t alone. About 20 snowdrop flowers on very short 4-inch stems were poking up. They were the first blooms from my new bulb lawn, in which I planted about 2,000 mixed bulbs on the septic mound last fall. If all goes well, they should be the first of a wide-ranging collection of daffodils, botanical tulips, grape hyacinth, frittilaria and more to put on a show.

But I didn’t expect the display to start so early. Snowdrops usually bloom in March into April in southeastern Wisconsin, and although it’s unusual to see them now, it’s not unheard of.

I suspect that their early arrival, which was not echoed by older snowdrops planted in other areas of my yard, was partly due to extra vigor of fresh bulbs and perhaps a slightly warmer temperature on the mound.

As I excitedly shared the news with other gardeners — if you don’t send a photo of the first bloom in your yard to every gardener you know, are you even a gardener? — a few reported seeing similar activity in their yards. But far more responses involved a rather gloomy take. It was far too early to be seeing these flowers and it was yet another sign of impending climate doom.

They might be right, but winter conditions vary dramatically from year to year and snowdrops have flowered early before.  But it does beg the question of what to do when you see bulbs coming up and flower buds on trees swelling and you know it’s too early.

The short answer is to not worry about it. Most plants, and in particular bulbs, are pretty tough and can tolerate weather extremes fairly well.

If you’re particularly worried about bulbs that are showing buds way too early, you can throw some mulch on them in an effort to insulate them a bit, but it might do more to make you feel good than make any difference in how the flowers respond.

Beyond that, it’s out of your control, so there’s no point in worrying about it.

Instead, delight in spotting those early flowers. You’ll be happy you did when it’s snowing in April.