Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - January 2008

I've got blooms! I've got blooms! OUTSIDE!

I actually broke this news two days ago on Green Thumb Sunday. The English Daisies (Bellis perennis) I grew from seed last spring are blooming NOW. I just can't figure out how or why they're doing this. We've had two major snowstorms and many days of temperatures below freezing, even a couple times dipping below zero. We've got a bit of snow now, with temperatures in the low 20s.

But wait! There's MORE! The violas are still blooming, too!

I'd expect to see such behavior out of the hellebores, but they're being a bit reticent. Maybe I'll see some action out of those by February or March when Garden Bloggers Bloom Day rolls around. Meanwhile, in the house we've got some nice flowering going on.











There are three African Violets in bloom right now and a couple more with some buds coming.




'Lemon Lime' amaryllis is still blooming (second flower stalk), and now both stalks of 'La Paz' are in full bloom. I really love the spikey look it has.




The yellow Abutilon is about to burst into bloom again and the variegated one has flower buds on it, too. A yellow kalanchoe that's had buds for over a month now has been brought up from the basement and put in a south window in an effort to get it to finish what it's started. The hoya is still blooming, too, and has more clusters in process.

The heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens 'Fragrant Delight') is blooming, although it's a little less intense in color than when it's outside. Its fragrance makes up for it though.

Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' is still eking out a weak bloom here and there, but my intent for those is just to get them through the winter until it's warm enough to plant them outside again. I've got several more amaryllis that I'm going to pot up tomorrow. Next month, there might be some pretty blooms to show from those!