Belated Bloom Day - February 2011

I had intended to have a post up for February Bloom Day but fate intervened and my dear hubby took another ride in an ambulance to the hospital with pneumonia again on the evening of the 15th.

The pneumonia is gone, I'm extremely thankful to report, but he's still recovering his strength in the hospital and we hope to have him home on Monday. 

On Bloom Day this Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera or Zygocactus) had one bloom open, but now, 10 days later, it's loaded with blooms and is the belle of the ball!

Aren't these flamboyant white blooms, with the touch of fuchsia pink, absolutely glorious? 

Just what we need to brighten these late winter days and remind us that lots of color lies ahead when spring finally breaks through.

We've had the worst snow storm today that I've seen all winter.
Last Saturday I drove the 35 minutes to the hospital in very nasty weather...snow and very high winds...scary conditions.
But today I stayed home.
Hubby rested and read a lot....and watched cars sliding up and down the hill opposite the hospital from his 5th floor window view. He was glad I stayed safely at home. So was I!!! We missed our afternoon visit but the roads were just too horrible to risk driving.
We had blowing snow all day, with very low visibility, and ended up with about 9 or 10 inches accumulation, on top of what we already had. I felt very bad for everyone who had to drive in those conditions.

There are quite a few more blooms to show, including the lipstick pink cactus, but they'll have to wait a while. The lovely white cactus deserves a post to itself anyway, for putting on such a beautiful display.

I hope everyone in the path of this latest storm stayed safe.

Remember that Carol of May Dreams Gardens has a long list of bloggers offering their February blooms for your enjoyment. Just click the link to see them.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - January 2011

All blooms shown on this frigid January Bloom Day are inside, and we are thankful for each and every one of them.

The brave little Hellebore is buried under at least a foot of snow, but on January 1st, when I last saw it briefly uncovered, there were still blooms - albiet most of them tattered - but there were also buds showing promise of blooms to come. It'll be interesting to see how it fares after so many weeks under a cold, snowy blanket.

This lovely African Violet/Saintpaulia is the current star of this bleak mid-winter Bloom Day.
My past track record regarding bringing African Violets into bloom has been dismal, which is why I'm thrilled to pieces with this gorgeous plant.

I love everything about it, including those healthy heart shaped leaves.

My dear gardening friend, Jean (who will turn 90 next week), brought the plant to me when she and her daughter-in-law visited last October. It was a seedling separated from one of her plants and was blooming a little when she brought it. This is a second batch of blooms, but so many more this time.

I haven't been so lucky with the Christmas Cactus/Schlumbergera/Zygocactus. There's only one bloom on the white flowered plant and none at all on the pink. I fed them during the summer but I'm wondering if they need more humidity in order to set buds.

 (so I just did a little research)

Yes, they need humidity! Place a tray of water beside the plant or you can make a humidity tray by placing the pot on a saucer that is filled with gravel and halfway filled with water.

They are also supposed to be kept in a dark place (a closet or unused bathroom are ideal) for about 12 hours each night for 6-8 weeks or until you see buds forming.

I forgot to do this. 
I wonder if it would still work.

The dear little "Rose" Begonia is still going strong. These blooms last a very long time.

If you click to enlarge this photo you'll see just how much they look like tiny, full-blown roses. 

This Begonia is a "Babywing"

I'm overwintering this pretty Wax Begonia (plus some white ones upstairs).

I particularly love those burgundy leaves.

The Hoya has 2 bloom clusters at the moment.

Just a couple of blooms on the Streptocarpus/Cape Primrose.

One of my favorite Christmas gifts was this lovely Holly plant.

The fake berries were added by the florist to dress it up for the holidays. 

I planted three Paperwhite bulbs in mid-November and they bloomed during Christmas and for a few weeks afterward.

The lovely blooms are spent now but they were such a cheerful sight for several weeks and their scent was delightful. 

I have a number of Amaryllis growing in pots but none are even close to blooming at the moment.

A few Ivy geraniums upstairs have blooms and there's a pretty pale pink zonal geranium blooming in the cellar "garden". 

This has been a very cold and snowy winter so far and there certainly doesn't seem to be a break in sight, so we're hunkering down for the duration.
Dreams of daffodils, tulips, green grass and summer gardens will have to sustain us until our corner of the world spins toward the sun again.

 

Meanwhile, be sure to visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens to feast your eyes on what's blooming in warmer parts of the globe and in other indoor gardens.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - March '10

Mid March in our upstate NY garden is a rather dismal affair.

The gardens have just emerged from their snowy winter mulch and are looking bedraggled and much in need of tidying. 

The roses are still enclosed in their winter collars and covered with compost. That will come off soon. There are tiny snowdrops blooming in this garden.....

...but they kept their sweet little buds closed on this cloudy day. Perhaps they'll open tomorrow if the sun decides to shine down on us. Last week's beautiful spring-like weather dissolved into a cloudy, drizzly weekend with heavy, bough-breaking winds which took us right back to winter. That's the way March is...and April can be the same.

I noticed buds on these daffodils today. I think it'll be a while yet before they open as it seems very early for them yet.

Just around the corner the daffodil shoots are still just peeking through.

And down in the Fence Garden they're even smaller.

But inside we still have bright colors to fortify our souls.

I finally found a couple of Cylamens

This glorious pink,

And a smaller plant with rosy red blooms. They start out a bright rosy red and fade to a lighter shade.

Notice that the begonias in the background are still going strong. They've bloomed all winter!

   
These two Oxalis plants (aka Shamrocks) are new as well. 

With their shamrock shaped leaves they make a pretty display for Saint Patrick's Day.

I particularly love the purple. Both the dainty flowers and those beautiful leaves close at night. The 3-lobed leaves droop down...a phenomenon I haven't seen before.

About six weeks after I planted these Paperwhites they finally stopped looking like little ducks and began to shoot up, but alas, there are no blooms! They're duds! They were new bulbs this year. I wonder if they weren't cooled properly before being boxed. I'll plant them in the ground later on and just let them do their thing. Perhaps they'll bloom in a future spring.

The bright bouquet of daffodils is still beautiful, thanks to being kept on our unheated, covered side porch. I've used them to decorate the church for 3 Sundays!

Hannah takes a break from watching the birds to give herself a bath.

To see what's blooming for gardeners near and far, or just to satisfy your color craving (especially if you're living in a snowy region), visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens whose bright idea it was to start Bloom Day back in February 2007.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - February '10

It's still too early to look for signs of life in the snowy February garden.

 No tiny green stems of snowdrops poking out of the frozen ground yet, and the sedum in the dish garden wears a crown of snow over its wizened brown stems.

But in an upstairs window the red-flowered zygo cactus is blooming beautifully.

These lovely flame colored flowers are a sight for sore eyes.

The pretty vine intermingling with the cactus has been given a name! My dear friend, Merle, of Merle's Third Try in sunny Melbourne, Australia, tells me it's called Kenilworth Ivy. Blog friends are so helpful. Thanks so much, Merle! 

It even has tiny flowers blooming! Aren't they sweet?

Ivy Geranium Belladonna is the only geranium blooming at the moment.

A pretty cyclamen is brightening the plant table.

The new Amaryllis bulb, Minerva, has a bloom stalk, but no leaves. It should be opening soon. The 4 older bulbs have lovely green leaves but no bloom stalks. Perhaps, with a bit of luck, they'll come later. 

This white Wax Begonia is putting on a lovely show.

The pink Babywing Begonia behind it has just a few blooms.

Last month's star, the Clivia, is holding out with one last lonely bloom. This plant, with its 13 blooms, has been such a delight for the past month. They've lasted for all those weeks and have only just fallen off, save this last one which opened later than the others.

And there's sweet Molly, still in the same spot, watching the birds. None of us are moving too fast around here!

Pretty Tink, Molly and Hannah's mom, sits on the step outside in the snowy yard next to a pot of sleeping pansies. Only time will tell whether or not they'll wake up in the spring. I know I'll feel a lot more energetic when the warmer weather and brighter days arrive. Winter makes me sleepy. I think it's that urge to hibernate.

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for gathering us all together for Bloom Day. Go and visit her to see what's blooming in other corners of the world.

Happy day after Valentine's Day everyone!
Seize the Chocolate!