The Garden in December

Here's what's flowering in the garden today. Be warned - there are a lot of pictures of flowers here!

Parrot's beak (Lotus berthelotii):

Echeveria:

The bergenia still has a few flowers:

I will have to split this clump soon, it is taking over this corner of the garden.

The pansies are not doing brilliantly this year:

Something seems to be nibbling the flowers before they open properly. This one is hiding under the leaf of a hellebore. None of my hellebores flowered this year!

Geraniums and pelargoniums are flowering profusely in a few spots round the garden:

Rugosa rose:

Daylilies are popping out all round:

Three in one photo - penstemon, kangaroo paw and lamb's ears:

Roses:

Red hot pokers that are actually yellow:

There are red and orange ones elsewhere in the garden.

This orange freesia surprised me as I didn't know it was there:

Tag is buried somewhere in this mass of flowers. A native like billy buttons:

Chincerinchee:

Can't find the tag for this one either:

A bee and a skipper butterfly of some variety enjoying nectar from a succulent:

The skipper on its own:

A bee in one of several salvias starting to flower:

Nepeta:

Cistus petals looking like they need a good iron:

A surprise agastache growing behind a shed:

I didn't know it was still there! Two or three were planted a few years ago (before the shed was there) then disappeared. I assumed they had died but apparently one was still growing behind some other plants.

This escallonia was a gift from the next door neighbours:

Phygelius aequalis "Yellow trumpet":

One of several echiums flowering, with a bee gathering pollen:

Almost the last of the pigface, with a surprise caterpillar visitor:

English lavender with bonus skipper butterfly:

Other plants flowering but not shown here include waterlilies, sweet peas, hebes, citrus trees, aloes, philadelphus, and probably others I've forgotten. The first gladioli are just peeping out of their buds and will be open in a few days. And I didn't even go into the fruit and vege garden, where there are sure to be lots of other flowers happening.