Hi, I checked on what was in bloom yesterday so this is not exactly winter solstice reporting. It's been unusually dry here too although we've had a bit more rain than the two California San Francisco Bay area reportings in December (enough to refill the barrels where we collect rain water so we have water for the pots.) It is rare for us to have to water this time of the year. The lack of rain means some things are blooming longer than they might most years. So some of these have been blooming a long time: Freesia fucata, Romulea hallii, Cyclamen coum, C. hedifolium, C. cilicum, Narcissus cantabricus, Pelargonium echinatum, Oxalis luteola, O. purpurea, O. namaquana, O. versicolor, O. imbricata, O. glabra, Crocus asumanie, Crocus laevigatus 'Fontenayi', Ipheion (or Tristagma or whatever people are calling it) uniflorum, Moraea polystachya, Iris unguicularis, Dephinium nudicaule, D. luteum, Lachenalia rubida, Haemanthus albiflos, Cyrtanthus mackenii. My three favorite at the moment are Massonia pustulata, and in the greenhouse Haemanthus deformis and H. paucifolius. Gladiolus priorii should open today or tomorrow. One advantage of growing too much is that when the birds eat the leaves and flowers of some of the things you grow, they can't get to all of them so there are still things left. Happy Holidays to all of you. Mary Sue Mary Sue Ittner California's North Coast Wet mild winters with occasional frost Dry mild summers