Bloom Day - Decembuary

Though I am a charter member of the I Hate Winter Club, we could use a good dose of cold weather.  I still have hydrangeas and lantanas that have yet to defoliate, crinums with new growth, lush full acanthus, bulbs popping up, and my japonica camellias are a month ahead of schedule.  Let's not even talk about all the bugs, fleas especially, that are going to sail through this winter to feast another day.  In looking back at last year's January GBBD, I am making a very similar complaint and showing some of the same blooms, so sorry if I might be repeating myself.

Let's start Bloom Day with something that I was not expecting, good foliage color from a plant that has never given me any before.  This is Stachyurus praecox 'Mitsuzaki' and usually it turns an ugly yellow-brown in late November or early December before falling.  The brown tassles are the flower buds, which normally open in April, though the way things are going it could show up for February's GBBD.

 

Another plant that has failed to lose all of its foliage and is also giving me nice color is Spiraea thunberii 'Ogon'.  Its flowers are only a few weeks early.

 

Blooming right below the Spiraea are some pansies.  I thought this mix might be Viola x 'Persian Medley', but something tells my memory is flawed.  Whatever the name, they just glow.

 

Chaenomeles x 'Hime' is on schedule, but this variety is usually showing flowers by early December and lasts sometimes until May. It is remarkable for that long bloom period.

 

Helleborus foetidus is also on schedule. Last year it opted not to bloom at all, so I was glad to see these.

 

Helleborus orientalis are budding up all around the garden, but this is the first one to fully open.

 

The lack of any real cold weather has kept me in the garden, which is a good thing. My garden will be part of a tour this  coming spring, so I have been cutting back, mulching, pruning, and saying good bye to plants whose time has come.  My constant companion during all this work has been the über-sweet fragrance of paperwhite narcissus (Narcissus papyraceus). 

 

Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide' is still full of blooms.

 

The japonica camellias are all heavily budded and have started blooming this week, though I would wish to see them later.  I just worry that their buds are all going to swell and open, only to be nipped by the cold.  This is Camellia japonica 'Les Marbury'.

 

I'll end with what might be my favorite white flower, Camellia japonica 'Nuccio's Gem'.  It nears perfection.

 

 

 

You can see if other gardeners from around the globe are having unusual weather by paying Carol of May Dreams Gardens a visit.  She is the hostess of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the 15th of each month.