Iris lazica is blooming today in one of my cold frames. Two unnamed accessions of the related I. unguicularis have also been blooming. Reticulate irises are also starting to bloom in the open. And the garden has lots of snowdrops and tommies in bloom. Look up and you'll see the red flowers of witch hazels, and off in corners are winter honeysuckle and winter sweet in bloom. What's missing is typical winter weather. High 50s F are predicted for today, and the long range forecast suggests that the mild weather will continue right through the week, maybe until the middle of the month. Many garden hellebores are in full bloom: there is a limit to how much cold they can take at this stage. Other than tommies, things are quiet on the crocus front - that's a puzzle. I hope the explanation for that is not lots of fat, fecund mice! Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ <http://www.jimmckenney.com/> BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ <http://www.pvcnargs.org/> Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/ <http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/> .