I’m happy. Not an unusual response to walking through the garden, but after a long wait, and the possibility that grevillea (Grevillea victoriae ‘Murray Valley Queen’, below) could be removed if it again failed to flower, I am overjoyed to see its spidery blooms.

Today, the Australian native grevillea is flowering after all flower buds were damaged by low temperatures in mid-December a year ago. So, it stays for another year, and probably forever. The occasional reward of mid and late December flowers earns its place in the garden, even if only a fraction of the abundant buds will become blooms.

There are other grevilleas that I’d love to collect, but this is perhaps the cold hardiest of the bunch, and it’s a stretch to survive if temperatures ever return to typical winter lows nearing zero (Fahrenheit). This grevillea experienced no damage to stems or foliage a year ago in exposed conditions and a low of six degrees. After several years in the ground, I expect increased cold tolerance and the probability it will long be a treasured evergreen in this garden.