Garden Bloggers‘ Bloom Day – December 2021

Welcome to the last Bloom Day of 2021! It has not been a good year for my garden in Zurich, Switzerland (zone 7b), if I'm being honest. Record snowfall in January broke many shrubs and trees, followed by a devastating hail storm in July which shredded herbacious plants and left lasting marks on a lot of stems and foliage. In fall, I had a big caterpillar attack on my garden, something which I've never experienced before. They targeted especially the seedlings in my seed boxes, I've lost many, which is a shame. The end of November brought the first snow, and again, last week we had quite a load of wet, heavy snow. The snow still lingers in my garden, which is situated higher up than most of the city. It hasn't had the damaging effect like the snowstorm had in January, not much breakage, but a few plants will probably need to be staked. Temperature-wise, it hasn't been too harsh, nothing below -2C/28F, but also not going much higher than 5C/41F. The snow and cold brought an end to many blooms, so this Bloom Day is slim pickings.
With Garden Bloggers‘ Bloom Day, a monthly blogging series, people from all over the world are featuring the blooms in their gardens. Go over and check out the other participants‘ blooming spectacles at May Dreams Gardens.

Arbutus unedo 'Atlantic' is still blooming well. I think it's a great evergreen plant for my climate. It doesn't have much of a problem with snow, it seems hardy, it blooms in fall and winter. The only problem is the leaf spotting, I suspect a fungal disease. But I actually don't mind the look.
 

Both Grevillea victoriae plants in my garden have now opened a few blooms. The first one is a cultivar: Grevillea victoriae 'Murray Valley Queen'. It is an improvement over the straight species in that it better holds on to the flower buds in summer. They develop the flower buds in summer, but only flower in winter. In hot summer weather, they tend to drop the buds. 
 

The regular species Grevillea victoriae. Those rust and pink colored flowers are just amazing!
 

Mahonia x media 'Winter Sun' is a fantastic and reliable winter bloomer.
 

This shockingly pink Hebe (no id) gives some much needed color in the wintery landscape.
 

I love the reddish new growth on Mahonia eurybracteata 'Soft Caress'. The foliage is just beautiful and the flowers are a great bonus.
 

Mahonia eurybracteata 'Sweet Winter' is very similar.
 

Choisya 'White Dazzler' is pretty much buried under the snow, but I found some flowers peeking out.
 

Honorable mention for Berberis darwinii, which is not quite flowering yet.

Comments

[Kris P]

The spots on the Arbutus unedo are unexpected but I kind of like them too, assuming the plant doesn't show signs of distress. Given the challenges posed by your weather conditions over the past year, I think you're doing well!

I think the spots are just a cosmetical problem. Not the whole plant is affected and it does fine otherwise.

[Dorothy A. Borders]

Wonderful blooms! Thank you for sharing.

Thanks! Happy Bloom Day!