How beautiful, Jeri! It starts again.

Thank GOODNESS it's still winter!! Your roses are beauties, Jeri.

'Purezza' has been putting out a few blooms for me, too, in spite of the highly discouraging conditions--no rain and no sun--so far this cold season. However, two recent snowfalls and rain appear to have deposited a tolerable amount of water. We may even get some sun soon.

So incredibly beautiful, and I had no idea they bloomed in the winter. What a wonderful preview of the spring rose season. I think they must have liked the rain!

Pretty! I've always thought the Banksias were beautiful. Are they strictly once bloomers?

I was out looking for buds yesterday, but only found two.

Thank you, Jeri. Gorgeous photos! Yes, Spring is here in our warm dry/wet climate. The winter rains bring bulbs up, fruit trees starting to set blooms, and jthe acacia trees are already starting to bloom around where we live. The banksia roses were always the first to start blooming in my garden (usually in Jan). Unfortunately we had to take them down off of the house, but I do see banksia in other places around starting to bloom now.

Our gardeners are here this morning, and I set them to weeding & tidying after the storms, but ONLY if they could do that while standing or kneeling on the hardscape. Luckily, we have enough paths and driveway and sidewalk to make that possible. Then I had to show them carefully some beds, where the emerging bulbs are the same height as the rampant emerging grass weeds. Between the two, many beds are completely and thickly covered - not a square inch of soil visible. I think I got across which are bulbs, and which are grass to weed out. Not going to look until the gardeners are gone.

I am (along with one of the gardeners, who is very experienced and good with roses) pruning roses today, and every single one of them I have looked at is putting out leaf buds. Some are trying to bloom, including a tiny rooted cutting of Reve d"Or, which we just got thanks to John, who won Vintage Gardens' contest and got a free rose. Since they don't ship, he kindly contacted Kim on here and asked which person who posts on here lived closest to VG in Sebastopol, so he could give the choice of a rose away, and I was it! My DH and I picked it up a few days ago, and darned if it did not have 2 flower buds on it! I put a stop to that nonsense - I told it it had to wait until it was higher than 8 inches! I love the very beginning of Spring!

Jackie

@bellegallica9a "Vina Banks" definitely repeats, to a fabulous extent in my garden this year. And there's even still a blossom or two on it out there.

Here is was on October 31 (the sparse foliage in the fall photos is because it was almost entirely defoliated by three days of 116F/> week above 100F temps at one point during the summer, and the prolonged drought, of course, but it obvously bounced back with a little rain and cooler weather):

Still going on November 20, and it continued on through early December:

Here was the spring flush in mid-April, which goes on at least a month (more leaves!):

I love the flowers, too:

What a beautiful sight your R. banksia lutea is, Jeri!

Thanks! Far too cold here for anything to be going on, though my neighbor says his witch hazel will bloom if there are a few milder days.

Jeri and Catspa, thank you for the wonderful R banksiae photos! A taste of things to come in my area. It's still very wintery here in Portland. We're having a cold snap this week. Carol

Portlandmysteryrose is using the correct spelling banksiae - the species is named after a woman, therefore has the feminine ending iae.

Just wanted to add that I've been working out in the shade garden the last couple of days, in sunny mild weather. I have my double white Lady Banks rose and the two double yellow LB roses down there. They were badly damaged five years ago when temperatures dropped below 10F: the double white lost 80%-90% of its top growth, and the youngest of the three, one of the double yellows, froze to the ground. Well, they're back. The double white Lady Banks rose has covered its pergola, and is traveling into the hazelnut on one side and the flowering ashes behind it; the double yellows are rambling joyously around in the trees below the shade garden. The shiny green foliage on the arching canes is beautiful against the blue sky. Flowering will come with spring.

We've been below freezing here at night for the past few days, so the roses went back to sleep. However, it is supposed to be warmer and raining tomorrow, and Sunday, and also some of next week, which is the weather pattern from the "good old days" (ie lots of rainstorms in the winter, but 2-4 days of sunny days in between). Have my hopes.

Jeri, that is quite a hill! Lovely view from above, and a very lovely rose.

Jackie

I am thankful to have that rose, collected a few feet from my G-Grandfather's grave.

Oh, and we haven't gone below freezing for 20 years or more. That's why we grow Chinas, rather than Gallicas!

It is very unusual here. - maybe once or twice a winter. The news puts out "frost warnings" when it happens.

Jackie

Jeri, I love your romantic photos.