I know, I know....I photograph this dogwood every winter

....and it's flashy, it's gaudy, it's, it's, it's....I don't know. I don't think it's vulgar or tasteless but I may be in too deep to trust my own judgement. I do know I love coming home in the evening down the street (from west to east) and seeing it lit by the setting sun. I bought it as Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter's Fire' and I expect that's what it is. The Witch hazel is 'Diane' which is one of my favorites not just for these incredible flowers but also for equally flamboyant fall color.

Winter is slowly moving out but that's okay. Last year we had no winter here and spring began just about three weeks early. I'm happy to take a slower approach to warm weather. It might be nice to stay out of the teens to conserve spring blooming camellia flowers but I'll take whatever comes. We can only hope that some of the lower temperatures we've had this winter had some degree of lethal effect on the insect, tick, etc populations.