Not expected, but welcome

I've mentioned a few times already that our winter here in St. Louis (like in many parts of the country) has been very mild this year. I fully expect to get the cold and snow later this month and in February, but so far it seems like Winter just isn't coming, at least for more than a couple of days at a time.

Some plants are definitely benefiting from this, taking advantage even. For instance, my variegated vinca which surrounds my large raised planting bed.     Flowering.      In January!

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This is one of those "filler" plants that I sometimes think I should tear out. It's usually quite nasty-looking at this time of the year, with most of the foliage and stems dead and brown.

In fact, I remember getting a warm day in January a few years ago that I took advantage of to clean up the vinca -- got to tackle that job early rather than waiting until spring.

This year though, it's looking as good right now as it does at any time of the year, and is even flowering again!

This isn't just a case of finding a single bloom that I hungrily photographed from every angle either. No, there are several blooms right now:

This is quite an unexpected taste of beauty, when what I'm usually used to seeing in winter is more like this:

It's certainly welcome though!


(I'm really curious to see what the rest of the winter will be like. Will it be bitterly cold and cancel out the mild start, or will it stay "warm" throughout?)

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