Part 2...

6. If you want to go native, the various Ilex X attenuata cultivars are more ornamentally competitive. This uncommon one, 'Sand Pond', was discovered by Woodlanders Nursery. It has a comically copious display of large bright berries.

7. Mahonias were shining up until a mid-December freeze. It was a really good year for them.
The open flowers seem hardy down to about 25F, maybe with the overhead cover of a big Picea abies helping. The closed ones can recover from at least 20F. This is 'Buckland'. These plants are obviously going to be more consistent performers in PNW and milder climates, but that isn't to say that they shouldn't be planted in the mid-Atlantic region. This pic from Dec 12.

8. Of course Erica X darleyensis are blooming their heads off. These have the hardiest flowers of almost any plant on Earth, I'm sure. I've seen them withstand between 0-5F multiple times. This is 'Kramer's Rote', one of the best cultivars.

9. This is 'Dream Angel', a great new cultivar available at times from Almost Eden, where I got it. It has 1/4 Camellia yushienensis, a remarkably tough species that was the first camellia at the Udel Gardens to bloom after the polar vortex winters. This started to bloom soon after the brief cold spell that knocked out those huge inflorescences of 'Buckland'. Even as a small plant, I've seen it start blooming after far worse cold spells.

10. Knock on wood but it hasn't been below about 19F here. NOAA's CPC has no bad news on the horizon. Getting a little bit of a whistling past the graveyard feeling right now but hope we get another mild winter. Anyhow, I totally forgot this pot of Aloe aristata was left outside. Granted, on a south facing wall behind a shrub. But the little alpine Aloe held up just fine. Can someone in the PNW or CA ID the other succulent? I bought it at Annie's, on site, during my X-country trip in 2011, and long ago forgot what it was. I've moved it in the garage now where it belongs. These probably wouldn't have lasted much longer.

11. Another Mahonia X media, this one an unnamed F2 seedling from Camforest, was already blooming again by January 2nd.

12. The mild winter thus far has also made Cyclamen coum start blooming earlier than ever.

13. And Camellia 'Korean Fire'. That's the remains of a vicious Smilax vine that invaded this one a few years ago. Fortunately, along with the arguably worse Celastrus and Toxicodendron, I have almost completed rid the property of these horticultural pests. Also, update on this surprisingly ancient thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1780834/pruning-a-large-camellia-for-tree-form-best-number-of-stems

(I am actually going to bump that thread later to have the discussion I had here - makes more sense)

14. Speaking of that very hardy cultivar, here's an offspring I'm raising of it. This is my first stab at hybridizing Camellias. At least you get a more satisfying and recognizable plant, much earlier, than with Rhododendron seeds!

Thanks. It does seem like some of my marescent trees become less so as they age. See it in the wild too. It's not really a good thing when there's wet snow or ice.

Oh, just to mention, my brother's Pieris Andromeda japonica looks splendid w/reddish flower racemes ready to bloom, often in Feb.

'Widowmaker' seems a rather gender-biased expression these days. Doesn't it? LOL!

I guess depending on who it knocks off, it could be called a widowermaker?