No, it isn't a typo - it's just Iris germanica 'Summer Olympics' behaving as though it's already spring rather than January. With the recent rains and mild temperatures, I'm afraid my entire garden will be seduced into this irrational behavior only to be smacked down by a late freeze or two. Such is gardening in Central Texas. The foliage of this gaura has usually frozen to the ground by now. Not this year. Instead it's putting on a show and feeding the occasional bee. Only this single bloom has appeared recently on the coral honeysuckle, but the foliage has remained thick enough to provide a hiding place for anoles, opposum, and neighborhood cats. Normally the foliage thins out quite a bit over the winter, sometimes even dying back to the ground. The local wildlife seem to appreciate the warmth generated by the sun heated water in the rainwater tank underneath it, even if they may not like the company they encounter. This milkweed ( Asclepias
If you're particularly interested in rainwater harvesting, see these posts: "900 and Counting" on 4/28/08, "First Crop" on 4/10/08, "Ongoing Saga of the Rain Tank" on 3/2/08, and "The Debate" on 2/7/08. Vermiculture was covered 8/12/08. Pond construction was covered in "The Heart of Our Garden" on January 22, 2008.