I bought Hamamelis ‘Early Bright’ last year about this time as a fairly small specimen. I’m surprised and delighted to see it blooming. It is Early and it is Bright. I was told it had fragrance, but have yet to detect any. I suppose if it was brought into the house I might smell it, but it needs to put on more growth before I’ll be comfortable cutting even a snippet.
Winter Jasmine does have fragrance…
But though the plant is sizable, the flowers are sparse. There are many buds, but they tend to open slowly over a long period of time.
I have complained frequently about the frostbite on Mahonia ‘Arthur Menzies’. It was easy to put mittens on the tight buds prior to our first cold snap, but they had bloomed out sufficiently to make it impossible the second time around. You may be able to see the blackened tips on the outermost blossoms. Those that were more protected, growing more toward the center of the plant, fared better. Arthur, I fear, will never be as show-offy as his cousin ‘Charity’.
Once you start wondering about something, the answer is sure to reveal itself in other blogs, even if you don’t take the trouble to put the word out. The little bud-like doohickeys on the tips of Cryptomeria japonica ‘Sekkan Sugi’ are flowers. Pretty cute, if you ask me.
Coming indoors, you can see proof that my Aloes bloom reliably, sometimes more than once a year. They are pretty puny, nothing like the magnificent blooms you will see if you follow the blog Piece of Eden. Still, they make me happy, and I’ll take what I can get without moving to a climate at odds with my webfoot ways.
Don’t forget to check in with May Dreams Gardens to see January’s blooms world-wide.
‘Early bright’ looks a sweet little bloom . I have two new Hamamelis ‘ Jelena’ and ‘Diane’. I can’t detect much fragrance on ether , even the one i brought in. I have had a cold though ! Happy GBD
Linda~I have ‘Diane’, which does a weird thing with a yellow one growing out of its middle. Been mooning over ‘Jelena’.
Such a treat for the eyes and soul!
Andrea~Even second hand: isn’t blogging just the best?
Oooo…you have an ‘Early Bright’ too? I MUST get in on the cool kids club and get one. Sooo lovely.
Tamara~Couldn’t resist jumping on the bandwagon.
Happy Bloom Day, Ricki! If I ever live in a warmer climate, I will plan to have a Mahonia plant. It has such an interesting form and color. I’m imagining the scent of the Winter Jasmine ……..
Beth~I guess we all dream of what we would do if we lived somewhere else.
Your Aloe flower is lovely, and the brilliant yellows of the jasmine and mahonia must be like sunshine.
Hoov~You are so kind.
Good job capturing your Cryptomeria blooms, I tried and tried but the results were so bad I couldn’t post them. Aloe blooms noted, you’re my hero!
Loree~I just happened to catch them when the light was just right. Mutual admiration society, methinks.
I didn’t know that winter jasmine had a fragrance. I’m going to run out and clip a bit to bring indoors! Hamamelis fragrance seems to elude me unless it’s warmish outside and my nose is practically buried in the flowers. You’ve got lots of fun winter bloomers! Aren’t we lucky to live in this climate?
Peter~We are indeed…lucky, that is.
It is so interesting that the witch hazels are famous for their scent and yet hardly anyone can actually smell it! Is it a case of the Emperor’s new clothes do you think?
Christina~I always viewed it as a personal failing, but I like your explanation better.
lovely blooms ricki – I can’t get the scent from Hamamelis either, nor the Mahonia, nor the Christmas box, nor the…..the list goes on and on! If it wasn’t for the fact I can smell other blooms, I’d be thinking that there was something wrong with my sense of smell.
Happy bloom day.
Angie~I finally spent a few hours cutting things back. The smell was divine, but I don’t know where it was coming from.
You’ve got lots more going on than I do. Your post makes me wonder if I should bring in some forsythia branches for forcing.
Jason~I brought some in two weeks ago, but no color showing yet.
I am utterly bloomless unless you count a silk orchid. But your lovelies are lovely. 🙂
TS~I’m willing to stretch to include a silk orchid…we do what we can.
I rather like the little aloes. We left the honking great big ones in our Porterville garden. Now I’m collecting new ones – I have a coral aloe, with ‘coral’ margins to its leaves and friendly non-prickly leaves. One day, there will be flowers for the sunbirds!
Diana~I will never be able to boast of “honking big” Aloes, but that’s probably a good thing, as I have to drag them into the house for the winter.