and I actually have something to show from the garden. Last weekend's thaw melted all of the snow, encouraging not one, but two kinds of plants into bloom. Geum triflorum (prairie smoke)
doesn't usually bloom quite this early. There are only two flowers that have opened, but lots of buds are standing by. Prairie smoke isn't grown for its blooms, which are insignificant, but for its showy seedheads that look like wisps of smoke, hence the common name.
The real show here is the snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii.
This species of Galanthus blooms earlier than the more common G. nivalis. In mild years, they have started blooming as early as December, but they always manage to bloom in February at the latest. While I consider snowdrops to be winter flowers, their appearance is always a portent of spring. It won't be long now.
For all the Bloom Day posts, visit the gardener who puts the "hoe" in hostess, Carol of May Dreams Gardens.