Winter of 2014-15 was a hard one, with long stretches of sub-freezing temperatures, and of course lots of snow. One result seems to be late flowering: as of the end of April there are very few blooms. What I have as of now is just violets, plus the usual early non-natives (forsythia, daffodils, tulips, and scilly). However, after a warm April, a lot of stuff looks like it's close to blooming.
The other effect of a harsh winter is that I have lost several plants. Casualties are mostly among what I planted last September: ironweed, vervain, indian pink, and maidenhair fern. Maybe they didn't have enough time to get good roots down. Another possibility is that they are just very late sending up sprouts this year. Others missing so far include poppy mallow, Joe Pye weed, New England blazing star, obedient plant, bee balm, and Stokes' daisies, as well as two new winterberry bushes that have tiny buds - not sure if they are viable, though I think they are slowly getting larger.
Some other plants that were doing poorly by the end of last year's very dry summer didn't make it. These include Meehan's mint, bloodroot, lupine, Allegheny stonecrop, candytuft, and a dwarf spruce that I transplanted when it was already pretty far gone. Also some grasses (stout blue-eyed and little bluestem) show no signs of life.
