Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - March 2011

At long last!!

After a winter that just wouldn't quit (and is almost certainly not done with us yet),

Mid March has brought definite signs of spring to our upstate New York garden. 

Could we possibly be more grateful for this sunny March Bloom Day with temperatures approaching 50ºF/3.8ºC? I think not!


My dear hubby came home from the hospital on February 28th and, although his recovery has been slow, today's sunshine enticed him outside for a walk to the mailbox for the first time in weeks. We look forward to more sunny days which will surely help speed his progress. 
Grateful thanks to all for your well wishes and prayers. They are so very much appreciated.

Last week on Monday, March 7th we were enduring the second day of this winter's ultimate snowstorm for our area (we hope!), which dumped 2 feet of snow on us.

But today brought sunshine and snowdrops......pure delight!

I'm entranced by the way the tiny white blossoms are cradled initially in a green cup and then the little teardrop is released to finally open its petals when the sun warms it sufficiently. There wasn't quite enough warmth today for that to happen, but it will come.

Daffodils are poking through, but it will be a while before we see their golden yellow heads nodding in the spring breezes.

The resilient Hellebore has emerged from beneath its deep blanket of snow looking a little worse for wear, but do you see those few white buds? This is one tough little plant!

We know spring is near when the barn kitties emerge from their self-imposed winter confinement in the barn. Cleo followed me around today, catching up on cuddles as I hunted for blooms.

Inside the house a white Amaryllis is queen of the March bloom show.

Its first bloom opened on March 7th,

But now the second glorious bloom is open as well.

I love the contrast of white petals against the green throat.

To the left of the Amaryllis the pink Abutilon is sporting a few blooms.

The orange Abutilon is also blooming upstairs in a cool bedroom but I forgot to take a photo of it.

The two pretty pink begonias are still doing well. That's the Babywing in front with the "Rose" begonia behind.

Here's the "Rose" a little closer.
These 2 begonias have bloomed all winter.

There are bloom stalks on the Parlor Palm.

Twirly green stems dotted with tiny yellow balls.

Isn't nature amazing?

The Streptocarpus (Cape Primrose), closely related to the African Violet, has lots of lovely blue blooms.

Upstairs pink and white Wax Begonias are blooming.

As well as several overwintering geraniums.

This one is Vancouver Centennial.

The Kenilworth Ivy has tiny mauve blooms.

It loves being in a south facing window.

The lipstick red Christmas Cactus, not to be outdone by the glorious white Cactus, has put on a wonderful show.

I'm not sure if adding the humidity tray helped produce such an abundance of blossoms, but after a disappointing beginning, I'm happy to report that both plants did extremely well.

And that wraps up my March Bloom Day offerings.

To overload your senses with as many other bloom day posts as you can possibly squeeze into your day go to Carol's May Dreams Gardens where she hosts our monthy offering of blooms from all over the globe.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Two Beautiful Blooms!

Sunday, January 21st. Almost there.....

As you can see, the Amaryllis turned out to be a beautiful soft pink, with a touch of white.

Unfortunately, last Saturday, 2 of the buds were broken off ...and now there's only one left.

At first I thought Jasmine had done the dreadful deed, and was feeling more than a wee bit angry with her. She sometimes plays with the plants while she's watching the birds...and she gets a bit wild and crazy. I'm surprised I have any plants left at all!

But then Ross realized that he had probably done it....and she was saved from my wrath!
Earlier, when I was out on the porch refilling the suet feeder, I'd asked him to open the sliding door and hand me something. He had to get in between the plants and the door in order to pull it open, because it tends to stick in the cold weather. He thinks he probably bumped the Amaryllis and broke it.

We felt very sad about it, but at least we still had one bloom left!

I put the biggest of the broken buds in water and it opened the very next day! The other bud was too small to bother with.


By Monday afternoon we had our glorious (and still attached) bloom!


Here it is, looking bright and beautiful

Beauty inside and out

How lovely it is as we look out at the birds and wintery view, to see the Amaryllis offering its beauty to brighten our days and add its wonderful color to the snowy landscape.


It even has a very delicate perfume

This picture was taken tonight. I hope the bloom lasts for a good while longer.

The broken bloom was spent today, but I was happy that it bloomed at all......and it gave us a whole week!

I hope you all had a lovely Saturday!

Promises

Amaryllis, december 6th, '06

I'm eagerly awaiting the blooms of this Amaryllis, which will add some color to the small jungle that sits by our sliding glass doors.



January 11th '07 (note the long-awaited snow on the porch)

An Amaryllis shoots up so fast, it seems you can almost see it growing!

January 14th

I don't know if these blooms will be pink or red. I have both, but one isn't doing anything. I doubt it will offer to bloom at all this season, probably due to improper treatment and neglect.

At the end of last summer I read an article on how to properly care for these lovely plants after they bloom, so as to carry them over the summer and get them to rebloom the following winter. I've had both plants for several years and they've rebloomed several times, but only through dumb luck, and not always when expected. The pink one bloomed again in June in 2003!

Here's what the article said: Cut off the flower stem a few inches above the bulb after the flowers are spent. Don't remove the leaves. Water regularly and fertilize once a month. You can move the plant outside (in its pot) to a partly sunny location once the warm weather returns. Before the first frost bring it inside. Stop watering and fertilizing around September 1st. Let rest in a cool location for three months. On December 1st unpot the bulb, clean it up and repot in fresh potting soil. The top 2 inches of the bulb should be above the soil line. Water well and place in a cool, yet sunny spot. Water as needed until the first green shoots appear from the top of the bulb, which should happen in 2 or 3 weeks.

In 4 to 6 weeks, you should have several magnificent, velvety flowers.

New baby December 6th, '06

I was amazed and excited to see this new growth emerging beside the old stem of this Dracaena. For months I've been debating what to do with this plant because the leaves have been turning brown and shriveling up. It looks a bit like a palm tree with a very skinny trunk....not very attractive at all. The top of the plant looks very healthy and keeps growing taller, but the lower leaves are still turning brown.

January 6th

But now here comes a new baby! Perhaps I'll cut off the old trunk when the new one grows a couple of feet tall. Any suggestions would be welcome.




Tall & Skinny



Jasmine birdwatching

One of Jasmine's favorite passtimes is to watch the birds.

While I was at work on Wednesday, Ross said she was watching a couple of mourning doves cleaning up dropped seed on the porch. She began throwing herself against the door trying to get at them. After She'd done this several times the doves started buzzing her. Ross thought they looked like they were teasing her.
He finally stopped her and chased the birds away because he was afraid she'd hurt herself. Of course he was highly amused by the whole show :) I wish I'd seen it.

And finally we have last year's Paperwhites. I did a post about them here. It was a bit of a funny story :)

I didn't expect to see them growing because I neglected them and let them sit on the enclosed side porch in the pot all summer with very little water (I usually just pop them in the ground somewhere outside and forget about them). Apparently they didn't mind the neglect, because not too long ago I noticed new growth on the bulbs so I began watering them. I brought them into the dining room just last week and they've grown very quickly since then. It remains to be seen whether or not they'll produce flowers. It's a mystery to me. I've never tried to get more than one season's bloom out of paperwhites before. Have any of you tried

that and had success?

Dreaming......

Winter has truly arrived in NY this week! Last Monday we were a balmy 45º while Sue in California was freezing! That's a switch! But then the cold hit us and the temperatures plummeted.

The ice storm on Tuesday affected some of the surrounding areas, but here on the farm it wasn't bad at all. We had a little on the trees, but it had melted by 10:00AM. Annie in Austin, Texas, was inundated with ice, and has posted some pictures of the sights she woke up to. Her friend Pam at Digging has some wonderful ice pictures too, that you'll really enjoy.

I hope all my blog friends in cold areas are staying warm, and the ones in hot places (all you Aussies) are staying cool!