The birds weren't singing this morning but the Phalaenopsis and Amaryllis in the Lobby are cheerful

Between the snow, the sleet, and the rain, Wednesday was just a dreary gray day. It wasn't cold really. I think the temperature got up to 45F. It was a damp 45 though and there was a heavy overcast all day. Cheery flowers do populate the lobby though. Hippeastrum continue to produce huge flowers along with a handful of large-flowered Phalaenopsis, a Begonia, and this and that. Enough to fend off the gloom outside.

It's not a fun thing, going from 70 back to 45 degrees. Bulbs are still nosing their way out of the ground and late-winter flowering trees and shrubs continue, but cold, gray, and wet can put a damper on the spirits. The sun is supposed to come out tomorrow and this Saturday we will pass 11 hours of daylight so we're still headed in the right direction.

Meanwhile, seeds from our various collecting trips continue to germinate. The first Magnolia macrophylls seedling is up from the Fern Valley Alabama trip. Also the "unknown vine" that I insisted on collecting, is coming up in numbers. We will no doubt, be able to identify it in a couple of years when it flowers. Stefan has already selected a "golden" form of one of the Chinese shrubby ashes and potted it separately. Another few weeks and we'll be pulling flats out of cold stratification. Time is flying.