Thank you for posting this. I was wondering if there were any other plants blooming. My mahonias are not blooming - I don't think they like my yard since they all bloomed the first year but none since then.
The only things I can add to the list are camellias and chimonanthes praecox, both of which are in bloom in North East Texas right now.

The first flower Mahonia bealei is totally new to me. The fragrance should be better if you keep the flower indoor in a vase(?). The vivid color and flower formation would be very attractive in the winter. Excellcent picture! Should it be perennials?
My Daphne is not blooming yet but it is fixing to go.
My Winter Honeysuckle is blooming.
My three of four-seasons types Osmanthus of Chinese origin are flowering even from very young bushes.
My pure yellow and purple heart Wintersweet are still in full bloom at my back hill.
Many of my fragrant camellia seedlings in pots are taking a number in line waiting to bloom in my living room.
Remember being "Semi Amish" myself, I don't work that hard but enjoy more.

So, God is indeed fair even during the winter.

your mahonia may not bloom if it doesn't get some direct sun. they are well suited to growing in shade but appreciate some sun to encourage flowering. mine are in a mostly shaded area(summer) under deciduous trees and get sun during winter and fall.

longriver,
the flowers on this one would not lend themselves to cutting, i think. the flower spikes are not that long (about 4") and radiate from a central spot at the branch end. the canes do not branch on their own as other shrubs do. besides, those spines on the leaves are intimidating and painful if touched!
also, it produces attractive blue fruit after flowering which look good hanging on the plant and the birds are fond of them, too.

i have a wintersweet plant that has bloomed (sparsely) only a couple of times. i have it in a woodland setting which i thought it would appreciate in my hot zone. do you think it needs more direct sun to flower? i also wonder if it is even suited to my climate.
and, yes, even dull winter days can be more appealing if you have some color and fragrance thrown into the mix of gray and cold.

My pure yellow Wintersweet is blooming. Usually I have a few plants at different locations. Here is a picture. Is it too sparsely to you or not?. I know that my purple heart Wintersweet is full of flowers which is located at more sunlight area. Generally speaking sunlight would promote flower buds formation. My yard is at hill land, lots of shade. Even for shade loving plants such as camellias and Rhodis they do need sunlight for producing flowers.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Jeff,
As far as the wintersweets are concerned, I purchased 3 and put them in 3 totally different spots because I could not find any information for them at the time. One died, one is 1ft high and hasn't bloomed, and one is 7ft tall loaded down with flowers. The tall one with flowers is in almost full sun. The other two were in morning sun or dappled sun areas.
And even though I knew this, I bought another wintersweet that was supposed to be evergreen and put it in a morning sun area...
They are very easily rooted, so you could root the one you have and put the new plants in sunnier locations.
Longriver,
Do you know which wintersweet that is? The flowers are much more yellow than the ones produced on my wintersweet. The flowers I am getting are more of a pale creamy color, almost transparent yellow.
Longriver,
The mahonias are evergreen shrubs. There are many different kinds. I have a few of them rooted if you would like to try them. The flowers are followed by powdery blue berries that are very beautiful.
Jeff you are probably right, the mahonias are probably not getting enough sun. Drats, I already moved them once and don't want to do it again.
The sweet olives at my house are not even thinking of blooming! It has been too cold. But the daphne buds are starting to show color!
One more plant I just thought of, sarcococca, is in bud and will bloom pretty soon. The sarcococcas are a family of evergreen shrubs that have tiny fragrant white flowers in the winter. The fragrance is light, but the mature shrubs are nice and full and look good even without flowers.
Longriver,
As many camellias as you have, I bet that winter is just as exciting as summer! I bet your land is delightful this time of year.

On the other side, if someone has lots of space, it is nice to place a group of flowering plants together to produce a special effect. CWeathersby: One of pale cream and transparent yellow is the standard of Winersweet. You have "the One". The color can be varying slightly due to environmental factors. However, there is a long story about camellias. I make it short. Camelllias has over 2000 cultivars in different size, color and flower forms. I do not need to produce another typical camellia, too many there already. But about 99% of them are not fragrant. Therefore I plan to breed more fragrance camellias. It is not easy and very time consuming( takes 5 year from a sprouting seed to see the first flower, extra three to five years to evaluate the flower). Besides only 1/100 seedling flowera is considered to have the quality for registration. Nevertheless it has a better chance than Lotto. For me, knowing all the short cuts and my tricky methodology, My chance will be even slightly better. It is just for fun.

This seedling camellia of mine is opening in my living room, very large,about 6 inches in diameter, tinge-pink white but no fragrant. It is not, so far I feel, good enough for registration.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Longriver,
That camellia is beautiful! I've never seen one with a flower as large as you are describing. Are you hybridizing sasanquas or japonicas or one of the other types of hybrids?
I commend you for making an effort at making camellias better by concentrating on fragrance. Maybe you can do with camellias what David Austin did to roses. He is the one that hybridized the old rose fragrance and form back into modern roses. His results were astounding.

This is a hybrid of C. reticulata parentage. The species comes from Yunnan province of China. Most people do not know there are about 250 species camellias with countless genetic traits such as yellow, purple color, huge flower, tiny flower, mass flower, long blooming season inclding in summer time,very hardy ---etc. Commonly known Camellia, C. japonica is only one out of 250 species. Over 95% species are growing wild in China. Only a few selected species are fragrant. Two are very fragrant. A newly discovered species from Hunnan province is a great fragrance producer. The profile of the fragrance is intense and desirable. I have two flowers opened this year already and one more flower bud left. The small amonut pollen I collected would be enough to cross over 100 flowers. I have to be a very efficient operator. Hopefully years later, there is one seedling having real nice flower and having real wonderful fragrance.

I like to share people with what behind the fragrant camellia flowers. so gardeners would gain extra sense of appreciation.

I have been told that the reticula buds and flowers will not hold up to our winters. They are better suited for zone 9.
I did not realize that there were more than 3 species!

Here's some pics I took yesterday!
Yuletide Camellia

One picture is better than one thousand words.

I have a camellia species called C yuhsienensis. It can be slightly to obviously frargrant pending on the cultivar. It is an cxcellent species, better than many other camellia for home garden and landscaping. It will produce continuous flowers of mass bloom. Because there are 3 to6 flower buds at each branch node. I have a bush blooming for two weeks and I am taking a picture today. This species is originally from "Yuh County" of Hunan Province, China. I am sure that the habitat area has occasional snow. You can buy this Camellia species at 626-794-3383 of Nuccio's Nurseries. If you like, give it a try at your area

Here is a link that might be useful:

Yes,Sasanqua camellias have superb fragrance.I also enjoy Violas(in full bloom right now here)typically the yellow and white ones smell the best.Snapdragons are smelling good now,along with Sweet Alyssum,Stock and English Primroses.Some Carnations are blooming now with kind of a spicy scent.

I'm reviving this old thread because I'm hoping some of you folks are still around who know something about Tea Olive Trees and where best to purchase them. I'm looking for vendors that carry several varieties.

I'm especially smitten by two varieties I saw on Dave's G-website:

Osmanthus fragrans "zao hong" Early Red"
O Fragrans "Zhuangyuan Hong Gui" First Red"

I live in central Texas (zone 8/9) and don't know yet which
varieties would be best for these more alkaline soils.
Any information about this tree or vendors would be gratefully appreciated!