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Winter seems to have arrived early and with a vengeance. After a good early soaking December rain, the temperatures have plummeted and we've experienced snow at the Garden. Happily, little serious damage seems to have ensued thanks to the timely covering of vulnerable specimens from Southern California and the deserts.

As soon as the days warm a bit, come and stroll through the Garden. Although it's true that we have a minimum of plants in flower, there's lots to see including the varied twig structure, tree shape, late fall leaf color (on the black cottonwood, Populus balsamifera trichocarpa), flushes of lacy ferns, and colorful bark. And enjoy the varied leaf textures and colors on the plethora of evergreen shrubs and trees. If you choose your visit for a cloudy day, the uniform light will highlight these features even better.

Despite the downturn in weather, there are the usual dependable late fall/early winter flowers. Look for the small clusters of pale yellow flowers on the California bay (Umbellularia californica), the nodding trusses of pink to white urns on manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.), the elegant chains of gray-green catkins on the silk tassel bushes (Garrya spp.), and the pendant spikes of pale pink flowers on the chaparral currants (Ribes malvaceum). Soon other gooseberries and currants will join the parade including the red jewel-like flowers of fuchsia-flowered gooseberry (R. speciosum) and--if conditions warm up--the harbingers of the rose-pink blossoms of pink flowering currants (R. sanguineum glutinosum).

Finally, enjoy the fragrance of the conifers throughout the Garden. Rain washes out the fragrant oils to make the experience even more compelling. California is noted for its great diversity of conifers, and the Garden provides the opportunity to learn a good number of them from such diverse habitats as high desert, north coastal forests, subalpine heights in the Sierra, and hot dry foothills.

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