While out in the yard, doing some spring cleaning up, I examined the wood on my Crape Myrtle. it looks good, right now. Despite having a -3F minimum, for the second year in a row, the cold was more enduring, this winter, than last. The cold was continuous throughout January and February. Last year, I had no stem die-back. I'll see if I'm lucky again, this year...




I lifted the Rubbermaid garbage can, with a rose cone inside it, to check on my Redneck Rhody, Daphniphyllum macropodum. I wanted to see how it fared, after my z6, -3F minimum. Redneck Rhody is rated z7 hardy. Anybody else growing Redneck Rhody?



https://photos.app.goo.gl/BDuvQd7sfDqTcAuE9



I lifted the styrofoam box from my Wire Netting Bush, Corokia cotoneaster, to see how it fared, after a z6 winter. It seems to have kept just about all its tiny leaves. Wire Netting Bushes are rated z8a hardy. Anybody else growing this "Down Under"-native plant?...



https://photos.app.goo.gl/kvMqCundtVprnQ4h8




I lifted the cone from my YEW PINE, Podocarpus macrophyllus, to see how it fared after my z6 minimum winter. Yew pines are rated z8 hardy. Anybody else growing Yew Pines?...



https://photos.app.goo.gl/K6tyMQHba9bSSAD57




I lifted the cone from my ALPINE TEA TREE, Leptospermum namadgiensis, to see how it fared after my -3F minimum winter. Tea trees are native to Australian mountains. So, are also from 'Down Under". Anybody else growing any Aussie plants?



https://photos.app.goo.gl/FkWwx8aqs5xWpGUHA



The FEBRUARY DAPHNE, Daphne mezureum, is blooming now! Blooms after February, here. What a beautiful scent these flowers have. In Greek mythology, Apollo was one-sidedly infatuated by Daphne. Bucking against his advances, Daphne prayed to the gods. They answered her prayers, by turning her into a laurel tree.
Anybody else growing any of these fragrant shrubs. These blooms will be followed by red berries, in summer, that vanish somehow, by fall...



https://photos.app.goo.gl/NGhZN1bSXp6ZsWoC7