What's interesting in your garden now? Winter bloomers? I don't know many besides Camellias.

I have three re-blooming iris that are still going strong, which is very late for them. The crazy weather has extended their bloom time.

That's very cool! I've still got some excellent late blooms too, but as you said that's unusual for those plants. I'm looking for things that would normally bloom during "the off-season," in particular.

Flowering Quince. Mine is in bloom now. Often it blooms in January-February. I like it because it is a splash of color when everything else is brown.

I've seen Carolina jessamine blooming mid-winter around here; anytime between Dec.-Feb.

My Mom's neighbor's Osmanthus fragrans has been scenting her whole neighborhood for the past few weeks, although that might be a bit of an anomaly from the really long fall? Not a plant I know well. (Just a few flirts with light frost here so far.) So awesome, in any case!

I also have quince, tea olive, and camellias blooming. A few daffodils have started blooming as well. My azaleas (Encore and regular) have bloomed and are just about through. There are probably other things but I just can't think of what they are right now.

Winter daphne and edgeworthia are my dependable winter bloomers...very very fragrant.

For those who like tiny blooms, it looks like the period of the shortest days of the year is the time when butcher broom (Ruscus) normally blooms in this area, after a few years of observing. I love the evergreen foliage.
Butcher's Broom (Ruscus hypoglossum)

Same with Narcissus/daffodils.

The bottlebrush shrubs (Callistemon) in the park across from my office started blooming pleasantly early but I have no idea which species they are.
Bottlebrush (Callistemon)

Billbergia also blooms very early. Barely hardy here, the plants end up looking pretty beat-up but those blooms are worth having a few patches of this. Try to put where they won't get full of fallen leaves.
Queen's Tears (Billbergia nutans)
Bromeliad (Billbergia 'Foster's Striate')

'Tis the season to think about more winter bloomers so I can spend more time ignoring outside without feeling like I'm missing much when it's this daggone hot. My limit is 95°. Much above that and I just can't spend time with plants outside, and I'm sick of the hose already. It is much above 95 and it has been, with more coming. Why do I keep creating a hot weather landscape that I don't want to go out and look at and that I get sick of watering?

Any additional suggestions welcome. It seems like some of the smartest plants are dormant right now.

I, too, am miserable in this mosquito-infested heat! 90s all last week with VERY little rain this spring. I planted potatoes and garlic this year, big mistake. I've also planted over 100 ornamental that must be watered at least twice a week. AAAGGHHH! I'm gonna start focusing more on bulbs and early spring flowering ornaments. Looking at so,e cool bulbs from Terra Ceia Farms. Ever hear of them?

Ron

I have not heard of them but there ARE a lot of great bulbs that aren't usually at BBS type stores. Let us know what you get if you place an order. Looking forward to cooling down to the usual 90's soon. My landscape is full of plants that can't go a week w/o a drink either. Maddeningly, it's the shade plants that wilt the most, where most of the mosquitoes are. Why do we do it?!

I've pretty much decided to smother my biggest area next year and start over. The weeds are going to be able to declare victory this year, I'm white-flagging that area. I should have never started there w/o smothering first. That has never gone well, I know better but got too anxious.

Omg, that's me! My shade garden dries out faster than my garden bed out in the blazing sun. And that's where the mosquitos hang out.

But, at least some of my garden beds can go a week without a soak.

We're going to normal 90s next week too. I never thought I'd look forward to 94. It was 103 yesterday afternoon (not the heat index).

But, I'm not looking to planting anything else and I don't really have any good suggestions. Unless Yuccas count (for winter interest)?