Ceanothus x delilianus 'Gloire de Versailles'
Fremontodendron 'California Glory'
Grevillea victoriae
Mahonia x media 'Charity'
Others

Thanksgiving day the nearby traffic island planting of Nerine bowdenii was still packed with flowers.

My Chinese Witch Hazel is starting to bloom!

I have a number of out of season bloomers:
Choisya ternata (been in sproadic bloom since June)
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Mme. Emile Moulierre'
Rose 'Apricot Nectar'
Ceanothus 'Victoria'
Phygelius 'Cherry Ripe'
various hardy fuchsias
ivy geranium basket

More seasonal blooms include Schizostylis coccinea, hellebores 'Ivory Prince', 'Wester Fliske' 'Pink Marble' and 'Silver Lace' and male Skimmia japonica and assorted winter blooming heaths.

Fuchsia 'Dying Embers'
Rosemary
And the Lithodora never stops...

Olsynium douglasii has been growing for several weeks...can't wait.

My Tricyrtis hirta 'Sinonome' has several buds that are about to bloom. I planted it earlier this year, never yet seen it in bloom, so I'm excited.

Ceanothus 'Dark Star' started blooming about 3 weeks ago, and is still going strong.

Hebe 'Edington'
Fuchsia 'Army Nurse'
Multiple hardy fuchsias whose names escape me at the moment.
Multiple heaths and heathers
Clematis 'Ramona'
Clematis venosa violacea
climbing roses 'Sealed With A Loving Kiss' and 'Rainbow's End'
annuals Osteospermum and sweet allysum
That is all I can see from the windows. Too nasty out there to take a closer look.

Oh yeah, Salvia 'Lady in Red' is still blooming.

Also, my Garrya elliptica started showing their tassles about 2 weeks ago, and they're looking really nice right now.

I have penstemon that have been blooming since June, ditto yarrow "Moonshine" and lavender, bless them all. Oh, and Rudbeckia "Irish Eyes", the sweetie.

My geranium started blooming when the weather turned crappy and hasn't stopped yet!

My entire yard has turned into a blooming lake. Such rain!

The heathers are blooming, and all the camellias, and the strawberry trees. It's early December and the heath and camellias bloomed in February last year. Also today it's 62 degrees in the yard after snowing on Saturday. Those 3 typhoons brought warm air and warm rain.

Some thujas are showing some browning from all the morning freezes the past few weeks. This weather must be confusing the plants. Walking around the waterlogged yard, so balmy now in beautiful sunshine just want to prune willow shoots and clear tree wells -- feels like spring. Must wait wait wait ... of course it will get very cold again (likely).

Still plenty of newly blown down leaves to pick out of the lake. At least it's draining, water level not as high as yesterday.

Thanks for all those lovely pictures above!

I plant willows for winter stem color and for catkins, so they don't get pruned until spring.

Bboy, some of these willows have bright beautiful stem color. And the birds love the thickets of branches and twigs everywhere. The sprouts I have to prune are smithianas, which are said to have the most beautiful glorious catkins of any tree, big fat profuse bright yellow catkins that last a long time. Those buds are already swelling.

But the smithiana root stock of my 5 blue arctic willows grew HUGE last year and will shade out and smother and totally overwhelm everything around them so I have to saw most of them away. I needed them for shade and will keep some for shade. Not to mention pruning lots of other varieties of willows as recommended here to keep them in check and keep their color fresh.

Read that late winter is the best time to prune when the willow is dormant so it doesn't harm the tree.

I don't have a lot in bloom right now other than a Flutterbye (yellow) rose that is going gangbusters. A Tom Knutsen camellia is getting real close and a Scentsation won't be far behind followed by 3 different camellias after that. The sarcococcas and daphnes are budding up pretty good so I should have quite a bit starting within a month or so.

Hi Homernoy,
Just wondering... what is the name of the pink flower in the first picture?

Not much left in my garden as my 4-year old daughter went thru and picked the last bits for a bouquet. This nice miniature rose that I bought for $1 at a Loonie store is still holding on. I like the old-rose look of the flowers too.

Here is a gardenia standard I got from the same store. I already have one so I had to sneak it into the house, but my husband finally noticed after a week, ha ha. Oh well, it was only $20 and so healthy, so how could I resist? I count 12 blooms open right now. And my michelia alba is still blooming so I'm getting my flower fix indoors at the moment.

Hi charlottelily,

I completely forgot to label the plants pictured at the start of this thread. Here are the names in order.

1. Abutilon 'Huntington Pink'

2. Fuchsia hybrid

3. Grevillea victoriae

4. Fuchsia magellanica

5. Abutilon megapotamicum 'Red'

6. Dahlia

7. Mahonia x media 'Charity'

8. Gardenia-the last flower of the season. Smelled great even though it looked terrible.

That's what I thought it might be. I've been thinking of getting one, but wasn't sure if it would be hardy here. Your plant is beautiful - definitely makes me think it's worth a try.

Don't tell me your gardenia is outdoors? I just planted a 'Kleim's Hardy' this year, but wouldn't dare put the "Veitchii" inground.

I really like the grevillea victoriae too. Haven't seen it in nurseries here, but will certainly put it on my Wish List.

Actually I have been growing a couple of Gardenias in my garden for quite a few years now. If you look at the base of the palm tree, you can see on of the more common greenhouse Gardenias. I think it might be veitchii, but am uncertain. This is the first year it has really bloomed for me. The seconed one to the right is a larger and much more prolific bloomer. That one is Gardenia 'Chuck Hayes'. I will say I have had problems with iron deficiency, especially with 'Chuck Hayes'. This is the only picture I have with both Gardenias in the same spot. I am not home now, so I can't take a better shot. Take care.

Here is a better picture of 'Chuck Hayes' taken in August of this year. Both Gardenias have alway been outside. Every single one I have tried to grow inside dies. LOL.

If you want a good laugh, google "suicidal gardenia thread". It's hilarious postings from our good old G/W friends and their difficulties in growing gardenias. Despite that, I bought one with huge buds that did absolutely nothing until springtime. I put it outside all summer and it grew more greenery, but no buds. Right now it is looking very sad in my barely heated greenhouse. I think I will leave it there and if it dies, give it a decent burial in the compost pile in the spring.

Strangely enough, gardenias have always been good to me. I've had my first standard for about 20 yrs and thru 4 homes.This newly acquired standard has not dropped a leaf or bud since coming home. I remember a neighbour who was a prolific gardener with a large collection of indoor plants, and she rolled her eyes and almost crossed herself at the mention of gardenia. On the other hand, I've had 3 michelia figos and they all met with quick pathetic ends. Oh well...

Homernoy,
How low do the temps dip in Bremnerton? I don't think I would risk a standard in the ground here but would be willing to try a bush form. I haven't seen a 'Chuck Hayes' before but the foliage looks similar to 'Veitchii.' Whereas the leaves of 'Kleim's Hardy' look quite different, not so 'tropical.'

Also, I notice a flowering ginger in one of your pics. I've had a ginger for years and it puts forth nice greenery but no flowers. Any suggestions?

Nice list posted here... Outside I've got some roses and fuchsias still blooming, but they're beginning to look pretty ratty.

Inside, I have orchids and jades blooming, and my meyer lemon tree is covered in buds! I love the scent of a blooming lemon.

My favorite plant, viburnum 'Dawn,' is producing new flower clusters seemingly every day. I love it.

My strawberry tree has patches of white bells on it that the overwintering hummingbirds like. I think the hummingbirds would like the pinkish, fragrant viburnum too, but I haven't actually seen them on it.

Also there's some kind of a penstemon (I think) that still has one or two berry-red flowers, and I saw the hummingbird on that too yesterday.

This is the first year my yard has had a breeding female anna's in summer and then have them stay for the winter, so it's exciting. Their headquarters in summer was a big messy laburnum.

In Richmond beach today I saw many Calendula officinalis, several Tritoma (Kniphofia) and Erysimum blooming.

It was a nice day today and I was able to get outside and do some yard clean up. I noticed my cyclamen coum are starting to bloom. I also noticed by the wonderful fragrance that my sarcococca was blooming also. I saw lots of spring bulbs starting to come up and some of my clematis vines were starting to sprout new shoots. Winter doesn't last very long out here which I am glad.

My Christmas Camellia started a few days ago and I have a mutant hebe that just keeps throwing blooms even though we have been in the low 20's a couple of times - really weird, it has never done that before; I can't remember the variety but it is not uncommon and a very vigorous spreading variety that gets about 2 - 2.5 feet tall. I have to cut it back at least once a year or it takes over. I have great luck with hebes for some reason - they must really like my black sandy soil on Chambers Prairie.

I've still got hardy fuchsias going and both my choisya and ceanothus are still pushing a few odd blooms as well. And the Viburnum tinus 'Spring Bouquet' is starting to flower, despite being in an increasingly shady position. But the big ray of sunshine is Mahonia 'Charity' that is simply ablaze with flowers! This is the first year it is of enough size to produce a good crop and the hummers are loving it.

I noticed at work that our large 'Arnold's Promise' witch hazel in the display garden is also starting to show color.

I've noticed that lot of the winter blooming plants, which usually struggle to figure out exactly when to bloom from year to year, seem to be extra confused this year. Probably because September felt like November.

Some of my fuchsias are still going, and my Camellia is starting to bloom. I even had a seedling of Dicentra formosa (native bleeding heart) It's starting to turn yellow now and go dormant. I have a few Penstemon still blooming too.

I agree with Ian, some plants are confused, I see many Bodnant Viburnums in full bloom right now. They usually bloom in January/Feb.

My two hellebores are sending up what looks like the beginning of flowers. I'm SO happy because neither of them bloomed at all last year. I hope they come out alright!

Amy

Bodnant viburnum (represented here usually by 'Dawn') often starts flowering in November, it may also flower on the new growth in summer. Another common hardy one with pink clusters that may be seen flowering anytime weather is suitable from November to March is Prunus X subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea'.

I have had an absolutely brutal last 6 weeks and finally lost my mother on Dec 27th. We laid her to rest on Saturday and after I got all the family safely back to their destinations, I collapsed in exhaustion. I was in serious need of some garden therapy so I stepped out my front door in search of some and discovered my sarcococcas, daphnes, and several camellias are just starting to bloom. What a welcome diversion they were for both eyes and nose. I really needed the exciting promise of spring to pick me up and get me headed back in the right direction. Ain't that just like a garden to do that for one?

I am sorry for your loss.

Today I saw pink Schizostylis in full bloom in median strips on a Seattle street. Is it still November?

I enjoy jasmine nudiflorum (winter Jasmine). It looks like a vining forsythia, but it is not fragrant. Usually it starts blooming right around this time of the year, but this year it started in November. There are still buds for future flowers on many of the branches. Schizostylis has been blooming throuhout the year, but it peaks now. Some rudbeckias, pansy and dianthus have been blooming all winter. Yesterday, I was having a 4-H sewing group in my kitchen and the kids spotted a hummingbird. I normally do not feed them except to provide a lot of flowering plants. This is the best time of year for me - the chickens are laying eggs again, the seed catalogs are here, friends are calling to come for the promised scion wood or free plants, the water barrels are overflowing....so much to be grateful.