I always remember flowers and shrubs coming out about a week or two earlier in Mission than other parts of the city. I have those blue flowers in my yard, but they are still about 2-3 days yet before they'll be blooming.
Oh I didn't know that. Yeah those flowers are out front of The Lorraine apartment building (the really beautiful historic one on 12 Ave in the Beltline). I also noticed a couple days ago the same species has bloomed at the Beaulieu Gardens. Haven't taken a good look at the gardens of Mission yet, but I do know my day Lillies and Lupine are a good half a foot out of the ground.
I think we are about 3 weeks ahead of normal. We'd be considerably farther if we'd have had rain.
We always joked that the "twin suns" of the Ship and Anchor patio would start the growing season 2 months earlier (sun #1 being the real one and #2 being the reflective building above).
The micro climate generated to the small apartment building direct to the east would bloom tulips in February most years like it was Vancouver or something!
I used to regularly travel regularly between, Mission, Capitol Hill, and Edgemont, and every spring without fail, you could see the differences of the three neighborhoods. Lilacs, tree buds and leaves, flowers, you name it, it was always the same. Mission was usually about a week-10 days ahead of Capitol Hill, and Capitol Hill was a week-10 days ahead of Edgemont.
That is funny. Well I do know that the far NW almost kisses the subarctic koppen climate zone which dominates the mountain parks, while the far SE comes close to the cold semi-arid climate zone, but with all of the city officially in the humid continental zone despite our zero humidity ever. Either way, yeah Calgary really is a tale of two cities, weather wise.