Happy Solstice!

Well, we have hit the very shortest day of the year and now the days begin to get incrementally longer. It's some small thing to look forward to, among this pandemic madness. Our gardens too are largely at rest but there is always something going on in my garden so here are a few visuals to treasure.

My Banksia ericifolia's first flower is slowly getting bigger and acquiring color. This specimen was bought in a one gallon pot so started small.

Bouvardia ternifolia. This hummingbird favorite always seems to be in bloom.

My favorite 'blue' this year is this Salvia bullulata Pale Form. Flowers are tiny but I love that color.

Popular with bees and hummers alike, my Anisodontea Strybing Sunset is another plant that always seems to be in bloom.

This pup from my Aeonium Sunburst has taken up residence in a pot.

My favorite new pot. If it looks big, it is! I'm not moving it again!

My Sideritis cypria has been a revelation this year. Bushy, very silvery, constantly putting out flower spikes. A marvel!

The first of my many camellias to bloom is usually this C. Winner's Circle. Lovely coral-pink blossoms.

Showing a bit earlier than in past years, my Camellia Lila Naff has put out its first soft pink blossom. So pretty.

It took awhile but my Loropetalum Purple Majesty is finally filling out. Known as Chinese Fringe Flower, this genus can be long lived and is very versatile in its use.

Though 99% of Magnolia trees are deciduous, this M. grandiflorum 'Little Gem' is an evergreen type. Known as southern magnolia for it being so common in the American south, it flowers in the summer and fall, not in the late winter like the deciduous magnolias.

Melianthus pectinatus. These tiny reddish-orange flowers are very different than those of the more common Melianthus major but to me they're just as lovely.

Just one, but this Scabiosa Florist's Blue flower is still a welcome sight.

Most of this Thunbergia gregorii's flowers are on my side of the fence but I thought this one looked quite smart peeking through the lathe slats.

A cat laying about in the sun? Quick get your camera! lol. This is one of my cat's favorite places to sun herself, keeping an ear out, if not an eye, on what I'm doing nearby in the garden.

Aechmea fulgens. That's it with the red flower spike. The palmate yellow leaves to the left are fig leaves turning their fall color before they drop.

Cuphea oreophila. 'Oreophila?' Isn't that like an obsession with Oreo cookies? ...

Sheltering in the Garden

 As we wait out this pandemic and the arrival of the vaccine, I'm especially thankful for the diverse garden I maintain. It's always true this time of year, when other outdoor activities are curtailed, but it's doubly valuable now. Here's a sample of my garden's winter interest. 

This photo is more to show off my new faux metal concrete planter. I love it!

More bromeliads, these ones all Neoregelias.

Unlike the common Thunbergia alata hybrids, this Thunbergia gregorii has no dark center and just the one saturated orange color.

Babiana shoots. One of the 'early rising' South African bulbs, the pleated leaves appear well before the late winter flowers.

Magnolia Butterflies. Okay, umm, yeah, a photo of a bare tree. But it won't be long before this magnolia bursts into bloom.

Yes, there really is a plant named after Charles Darwin! This Darwinia taxifolia adds nice pink colors to its winter foliage.

Though the flower buds are tiny, it won't be long before this Leucospermum Veldfire is in bloom. Meanwhile, we have its attractive foliage.

It turns out it isn't just we humans that are found of Anisodontea flowers. Here, a honeybee collects nectar from one of the flowers.

Though just a few leaves right now, this Talipariti elatum will eventually get to be a huge tree. A member of thee Malva family, it will eventually produce highly decorative flowers. That's the plan anyway.

Thuja plicata. This is a great conifer if you want a fast growing one. Tough too and for those reasons it's a popular choice for evergreen hedges.

Though not intended, this photo of my Melaleuca incana has a moody quality I like.

Not yet in bloom but my Aloe striata (Coral aloe) is handsome nonetheless.

Leucadendron 'More Silver' has, as the name implies, decidedly silvery foliage.

Loropetalum 'Purple Majesty.' This Chinese fringe flower is just starting to fill out. Slow but sure for this guy.

I recently bought a glass birdbath but had no reliable way to hang it. I finally found this jute and wood pltform hanger and it's perfect!

We tend to think of Philodendrons as houseplants but many do just fine outdoors. Here's an unnamed variety that's been in my backyard for 15 years.

Here's a different collection of bromeliads, making their own little colony in a shady location.

Here are three Art Nouveau ceramic tiles. Very lovely!

This 'wandering' succulent is Orostachys fimbriata. Its many flower spikes are filling up with tiny white star-shaped flowers.

Two more of my favorite bromeliads. One thing I like about them is that they're the easiest plants in the world to take care of. Given the right planting medium - I use half bark and half soil - and a bit of regular water, one not need do anything else at all to care for them.

Another shot of some new arrivals.

Lotus jacobeus (Black lotus). This small bush blooms nearly year round.

Camellia Winner's Circle. One of the earliest varieties in my collection.

Those tiny yellow 'fingers' are the flowers on my Hamamelis mollis. These witch hazel plants usually need colder winters to flower but mine is the exception.

My first mixed dwarf conifer bowl.

It's hard to make out I know but those red clumps in this tree are berries. It's a Pepper tree (Schinus molle) and the berries are a favorite of many winter birds.

Here's a more natural shot of my Melaleuca incana.

Kalanchoe Winter Chocolate. This sturdy outdoor kalanchoe is highlighted by the brown (chocolate) tips on its fuzzy branches.

Ilex dimorphophylla. This holly plant, though tiny, has already produced a few of its signature red berries.

The year closes

 Hard to believe it's December already, though I'm sure to many - myself included - this last two months (leading up to the election and afterwards) seemed to take FOREVER. That aside, here are more photos from my winter garden.

It's a bit in the shade but here's my Aloe Delta Lights. Beyond its whiteness, it has stiff corrugated 'leaves' that I like.

Ozothamnus has always seemed like a made up word, like something out of a Dr. Suess book. Say it really fast 10 times and try not to laugh. That said, I love this pint-sized O. coralloides.

Correa species Orange (how this plant was tagged). It's been a prolific bloomer this year.

Tweedia caerulea. One last flower show from this milkweed. Bluer than blue.

After giving this Echinacea Sombrero Yellow a haircut one month ago, I wasn't sure what to expect. But it's bounced back, with this flower and more on the way.

Mixed dwarf conifer bowl. This is one of 4 such bowls, with most of the inhabitants being False Cypress, Juniper and Japanese cedar species.

Abutilon 'Tiger Eye.' This variety of flowering maple is highlighted by its pronounced veining.

Speaking of dwarf conifers, here are two lovely blue varieties.

If we humans could only concentrate as intently as our feline companions when a bird has their attention. Fortunately, no capture this time (or almost ever).

Helichrysum 'Silver Ball.' This guy is still small but it will acquire more of a presence once it fills out.

I was very excited to see my Orostachys fimbriata bloom in its first year. That's it with the tiny towers filled with white flowers.

This variegated Billbergia is lovely even when not in bloom. It's very similar to my B. Santa Barbara Sunset and may even be closely related.

Speaking of bromeliads, here's one part of my collection.

It doesn't get much more orange than the flowers on my Begonia Nonstop Orange!

My lovely Begonia acetosa has vivid red undersides on its leaves.

This Japanese Lace fern may have been the favorite fern I added this year.

Microlepia strigosa fern. One of my faves.

Though this photo doesn't do justice to the color of my Luculia pinceana, this photo shows it in bud form and with open flowers. Intensely fragrant!