Why No Forsythia?

I moved into my home in October of 1972.  The following Spring I thought about landscaping, which has been an on-going process.  My parents were generous enough to give me flowers from their very small garden, along with some forsythia.

I still have lots of old-fashioned hostas,

                                                                     lily of the valley                                        

                                       and chives, both of which have spread over large areas. 

My parents also gave some forsythia, which are nowhere to be found in my garden.  The reason is quite simple.  Weather.  These bushes would have beautiful buds and then a sudden severe frost would kill them all.

I just took the picture below:

There is at least two inches of snow on the deck and it is still coming down.  The new deck furniture, that was delivered yesterday, is still in the boxes and that is a good thing.  The Doppler weather map shows snow all the way back to Lake Michigan.

Last week I spoke to the handyman who has been helping me with my lansdscaping the last few years.  He said he could come by this week and start my new projects.  Maybe he could come by and shovel the snow.  That is about the extent of what we can get done right now.

Welcome to Michigan.  And global warming.