There was a slight break in the rain and wind so I took a quick walk around the garden. It was gray and dark so I decided to use one of my old fixed-length lenses which was fun and different. My old 28mm which used to be wide-angle is now closer to 42mm but was fast and allowed me to shot pretty well in the dreary day.

I saw a little bit of life and some interesting winter plants. The first sign of life is always the snowdrops. We really need to get more – we have a small patch in the back but it is a nice sign that Spring is on its way.

The other plants that were interesting were the Mahonia. We have four different plants. They are always interesting in winter since they bloom and attract the hummingbird in addition to be evergreen.

I am a little concerned about one of our Knophofia northiae. This plant has been a survivor over the years but it looks to really have taken a hit. We do have two so we will have a plant but we will have to see. I have a soft place in my heart for this plant since one of my pictures of this plant was published in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle (it is the second photo in the slideshow). We grew it originally from seed and have had these plants for over 10 years.

The sad looking green leaves of Kniphofia northiae knocked down by the freeze
Banana – looks bad but we know this will come back. The damaged leaves are actually protecting the plant even if it only comes back from the ground and new pups

Yucca gloriosa Variegata

Agave parryi looks like it survived the freezing in the rock garden which is pretty close to the house

I love the carpet of green Cyclamen hederifolium leaves in winter

The Hellebore buds are starting to appear

Helleborus occidentalis

Helleborus argutifolius

Helleborus niger

Mahonia

Mahonia gracilipes

Mahonia Bealei

Mahonia bealei and the Rhododendron singogrande looks fine.

Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’

And for comparision – let’s check out how the garden compares between August and January – we really need a bit more ‘structure’ in our garden

Front in January

Front in August

Backyard in January

Backyard in August