After suffering through several nights falling into the upper twenties (Fahrenheit), the reblooming Encore azaleas have recovered in milder temperatures to again flower at their peak. One azalea that had few blooms earlier now has many. This period of flowering is weeks later than the typical peak in mid-October, and blooms are more abundant than ever. Certainly, an odd autumn, and as the last Japanese maples shed their leaves, the garden is colored by flowers as if it’s spring.

This can not last long with more freezes ahead and possibly temperatures dipping into the low twenties that should damage azalea blooms and the very floriferous camellias. A prolonged period of cold should end flowering of azaleas, but there are many unopened buds on camellias that will continue their bloom for several weeks.

Finally, several small red flowers of ‘Royal Flush Shi Shi’ sasanqua camellia (below) have opened. There are scattered buds on several Royal Flush, so flowering could continue with other camellias, though this one is a regular disappointment.

As perennials in the rockery have faded in the cold, a small, variegated leaf daphne (below) is flowering. Beneath a wide spreading pennstemon, the daphne was nearly forgotten, but it is gaining enough size that I must carve out more space for it. Unfortunately, I’ve lost the variety of this evergreen daphne, and while I’ve experienced repeated failures with daphnes, this small plant seems quite content in this gravelly soil.