Oh well - I offer the very last few Bomarea edulis flowering in the unheated but bright garage, and one flower stalk of Kniphofia sarmentosa, still all green, rising about 10 cm out of the leaves. About half of the weather models predict double digit negatives °C for the first week of January, so i might have to evacuate some of the plants in there - alternatively, I'm thinking about buying a frost monitor (correct word? Frostwächter in German)... Outside, there's virtually nothing. Cyclamen hederifolium is long gone, Galanthus nivalis not showing up yet. The most attractive geophyte right now must be the seed capsules of Asclepias tuberosum. And even cheating with non-geophytes is pointless: not a single Primula vulgaris in flower, and Heleborus orientalis is weeks from flowering. I'm already fed up with winter , and we're just past the point when the cool-down doesn't accelerate anymore (= winter solstice), still 2 months to go with the constant possibility of freak freezing events... Martin. Am 28.12.2016 um 22:00 schrieb David Pilling: > Hi Jane, > > On 28/12/2016 20:42, Jane McGary wrote: >> Not geophytes but rather shrubs are pleasing at this time of year, > > If you're going to cheat - I'll raise you winter flowering jasmine, > Fuchsia, passiflora caerulea > > -- Martin ---------------------------------------------- Southern Germany Likely zone 7a