Greetings from the State of Insomnia. I just can't seem to shift off holiday schedule, but the unseasonably warm weather has called me outside anyway. While it appears that the first snowdrop is in bloom (it's difficult to tell when it's been so cloudy), the Christmas roses (Helleborus niger) most obviously are not. I was hoping for some precocious activity, but on closer inspection, it appears there may be no blooms at all this year.
Something is very wrong with this picture. Here's what it's supposed to look like at this point.
I suspected something might be wrong with them last spring,
but then promptly forgot to do anything about it. I suppose I'll just look on this as an opportunity to try a different hellebore in this space.