Hunting through some of my bloom photos from last year, I was struck by how much more advanced many of the flowers were then as compared to this year. I photographed 'Tete-a-Tete' daffodils in full bloom on March 8 of last year. Visiting the same garden a day later this year, there was nary a daffodil in sight.
Here's photographic proof: this is the same winter jasmine (Jaminum nudiflorum) in exactly the same spot at the New York Botanical Garden. The left half of the image (with the author's shadow) is March 9 of this year, the right half is March 8 of last year.
For those looking to draw some conclusion concerning climate change, I would point out that this is no more than yearly variation, but it does vividly illustrate how sensitive (and adaptable) plants are to average temperature changes. It would be wonderful to have another photo from when New York City was still truly USDA plant hardiness zone 6b (we are now 7b).
