IMG_7387

As always, the first crocus are a brave few popping up by the south end of the west porch where the stones are. Never underestimate the power of a micro climate created by solar gain on rock. You can fiddle the growing season’s length by an easy month plus that way. Now, what you can’t do is change the temperature extremes all that much.  So you aren’t really going from Zone 5 to 6, you are simply making the Zone 5 season longer.* I dutifully uncovered them mostly and then re-covered them so they didn’t get a sun burn, which has the advantage of starting a very fussy set of iris of to a good start as well (nice and clean) Now if I could just get the crocus to spread…

*Unless you turn it into a greenhouse, then you can get a zone or two without any added heating elements. But it is tricky, plants don’t like enclosed spaces.