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…

In early January, leaves are sparse on the various Oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia, below), but ones that remain are brilliantly colored. In shade, the hydrangeas are bare, but in part sun, the scattered leaves stand out against the dormant landscape. The deeply colored leaves of the gordlinia clump (x Gordlinia grandiflora, below) are evergreen, but…

At the start of the new year, the countdown begins. Every day, on every stroll through the garden, I must look for signs of spring. Flowers help to ease the too long wait. The first spidery flowers of the vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis, above) opened the last week of December, though it will be…