A friend sent me this link this morning: snowdrops at Colesbourne Park. No pictures of John, but he is interviewed. http://telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardenstovisit/… Be sure to check out the links. Here in my Maryland garden almost all of the snowdrops I grow are either in bloom or in advanced bud. This is the first time this has ever happened. The forecast for the week ahead suggests that the mild weather will continue. Winter aconites are not in bloom yet here, but I have heard reports of blooming aconites in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Our local rock garden group has several members who for years have reported plants in bloom at Christmas or New Year's. This year's list ran to about one hundred nominally distinct plants including various camellias, plums, mahonias, honeysuckles, winter sweet, witch hazels , snowdrops, violets, crocuses, dandelions, irises and others. Two weeks ago some new bulbs of Iris danfordiae began to bloom. What a year! 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/>