Last week saw the beginning of a new semester, which always feels much more like a new year (for those of us in academe, anyway) than January 1 does. I mean, really--January 1st isn't the solstice, so it doesn't mark the beginning of the solar year; here in the Mid-Ohio Valley, it's certainly not spring, the beginning of the gardener's year; it's not even Imbolc (February 1 or 2), the date when pregnant ewes in Ireland supposedly begin lactating. (And isn't that a great excuse for a holiday? One needs a little something to celebrate six weeks into winter.)
This January, though, is already seeing a good bit happening in the garden. It's not totally surprising to see adorable little crocus leaves poking up through the mulch, but daffodil foliage is not generally this tall on January 13, when this picture was taken. 
(Yes, I'm a lazy gardener, and one who was away from her garden all fall, so you will see lots of leftover leaves in today's pictures.)
It's not just daffodils that have been taking advantage of warmish temperatures. Creeping phlox has decided to spread, as has the delightful (though I fear, thuggish) coreopsis "Red Shift." Of course, is it possible to have too many yellow daisies with red centers that bloom all summer?
My beloved agastache "Tutti Frutti" is already forming next summer's clumps,
and the incredibly promiscuous neighborhood rudbeckia hirta (aka black-eyed Susan) has seeded offspring throughout various planting beds.
Given the variety we already have, I'm looking forward to seeing what the new varieties look like.
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