In brief, not much is blooming in December. I ventured out with my camera after a series of storms with enough rain and wind to ruin most blossoms. The roses look pretty sad, but Madame Dieudonne held onto its blooms. Most of the other roses have gone to hips. These are the nice big hips Dortmund produces.
The Nerine is exploding all over the place. Rain can't hurt Nerine, and one silly iris decided to bloom now.
Many Azaleas are in bloom, but as usual, the blasted Arum is so tall that it's difficult to see the Azaleas. This first photo is Karen, which is tall enough to push some blooms above the Arum. The second photo doesn't look particularly impressive, but I'm very excited about it because it's the first time my Rhododendron 'Trewithen Orange' has bloomed in years. I've been growing it in a container and it hasn't responded well, so I moved it into the ground a few months ago and it's produced lots of buds.
This set of two photos is of Rhododendron stenopetalum 'Linearifolium.' It's more of a curiosity than a crowd pleaser. The blooms are hardly spectacular, but it really isn't grown for the blooms. It has interesting foliage.
Several of the Hydrangeas are still going strong.
By next week I should have some pretty Hellebores to post.
