TODAY'S FLOWERS ~ 26 Winter Wonders

All images are better when enlarged!

A double flowering Prunus, one of a pair that survived
the drought.



In the winter cold, a welcome snack to hungry bees.



This is the normal time of year for Almond trees and
ormanental Plums to begin blossoming . Not so for
the usually much later flowering Malus floribunda, which
has been confused by the winter rains into thinking that
it is growing time again, as have all the Roses.
Normally this particular Crabapple is the showiest tree in
the garden. After the prolonged drought, there are just a few
out of season florets on it. It at least, unlike so many other
trees, has survived..



Daphne odora, that I grew from a cutting and gave my
eldest g-daughter for her 21st birthday last year.
Amazing what the granddaughters managed to do with
a bit of sink water, it is beautifully healthy and blooming
all over.



There is frost on the ground in the mornings and yet
the roses, having been dormant during summer and autumn ,
are asserting what life they had left in them, by bringing
forth flowers of unimaginably rich colours due to the cold.
Colours that are totally unexpected, below is 'Charles Austin'
normally a gentle apricot, blushing with embarrasment at being
caught out of bed so early in the season.



A mutant flower on 'Abraham Darby', again a much
deeper colour than in Spring.



Luckily not all the blooms look like they have been hit
by Chernobil and have turned into London double
decker buses. The flower below is normal except for the
colour, normally pink with a light blush of apricot.



Oxalis, a proclaimed noxious weed, is doing magnificently.
It has such happy yellow flowers and looks so pretty but
is almost impossible to keep in check after a long dry spell.

The ever hardy Lachenalia, commonly called Soldier

Boys because of their red jackets. Come hell or high
water, they will survive!

This winter there is so much flowering in the garden
that I have not even touched the half of it in this post.
There are no mass displays as yet, but there are
countless single blooms here and there so that it is a
discovery trip every time I go outside.

For more Flora of different seasons, click on the Logo.

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Congratulations to Luiz Santilly Jr. for creating this most

popular and delightful meme and for keeping it going with

the help of his idustrious elves week after week for its first

successful year. With the list of participants growing daily,

I hope this meme continues for many years to come.