On Sun, 5 Jan 2003 16:49:24 +0100, "Barry & Iris McCanna"
wrote:

Here in Normandie some of our primroses have been in bloom since
mid-December, the earliest I've ever seen them. The frost forecast
for the next few days is probably going to kill off the flowers.

It's lovely to see them - hopefully spring is not that far away :-)

Here in the colonies, there are a few blooms on Hepatica
transylvanica, Viburnum standishii is in flower, and a few
Cyclamen coum are open. (We had an esrly cold snap in October and
that seems to have retarded the cyclamen -- they are usually in
flower by Christmas.)

Also a few winter aconites are open already. That is remarkably
early. Hacquetia epipactis has one or two flowers open. Iris
unguicularis is imitating St. Sebastian by being a martyr to
slugs.

Hamamelis 'Jelena' and H. 'Orange Beauty" are in flower. Jelena
is always the first witchhazel to open.

No primroses, though, other than brightly colored large-flowered
polyanthus widely available everywhere cutflowers are sold.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada