There’s crappy weather in travel-significant places across the US, but here in the Valley of the Sun we have warm spring-like weather. Most years right around the first or second week of December we’ll get one or two nights in a row where the temps hit freezing or slightly below and kill off the flora, but not this year. Hence, the bougainvillea remain as colorful as ever.

Several years ago I planted two gold bougainvillea on the opposite side of the wall from where a red bougainvillea has flourished for years. The gold bougainvillea have it tough – that becomes a very hot sun corner during the summer, with only the A/C unit fan around to circulate air. One of the bushes is pretty much dead, but the other has done pretty well – enough to create some lovely Christmas colors on a lovely late December day.