Mahonia in Winter

When I looked out the window the other morning,  I noticed the Mahonia in bloom. This is one of my favorite plants in winter.  It begins to bloom in late December to early January with lovely spikes of yellow flowers that have a delicious fragrance.  This is one of the few plants in our yard that flowers in the winter.   The dark green leathery, prickly evergreen leaves give texture to the garden.  

Each of the small yellow flowers will produce a purple fruit and the strings of these fruits remind one of a cluster of grapes.  A common name for this plant is Oregon grape, of course, it isn't a grape at all.  Birds love the fruits.  This is a plant that does well in a shade garden.

Yellow flowers of Mahonia.

Mahonia fruit.

Autumn in Our Yard

The red of the dogwoods.

I love the colors of autumn.  Here are some photos I made at the end of October in our yard in Raleigh. 

Purple Viola in garage window box.

Purple and green of Zebrina leaves.  Time to move Zebrina into garage for overwintering.

New green cones of Cryptomeria tree.

Mahonia will have little yellow flowers in February.

Red leaves of Virginia creeper creeping up the fence.

Red berries of Foster's holly waiting to feed the birds in winter.