As is usually the case, there is a surprise or two when Garden Bloggers Bloom Day rolls around. There isn't a single thing blooming outside that I can see, and that's because if there are any blooms, they're buried under the snow. So we'll have to check on what's blooming inside.
Once again - same as last month - the hoya, three kalanchoes, heliotrope, and the yellow abutilon are blooming. The variegated abutilon bloomed a couple of weeks ago and will be in bloom in another week or so, but there are none of the orange blooms open right now. The three African violets are still in bloom.
The Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea 'Clear Sky') has a big fat bud ready to pop, with a few more coming on. This will be the first it's bloomed since early summer! Last winter, it was in bloom all the time.
Two of the amaryllis are putting forth flower stalks - 'Apple Blossom' and 'La Paz'.
The coral-colored Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii) has a few blooms, which it usually does throughout most of the winter, although not as many as it does in summer when I put it outside.
The surprise for me was when I noticed my Jerusalem Cherry (Solanum capsicastrum 'Variegatum') had two blooms. I bought this small plant at Winterthur when Mom and I attended GardenFair in September 2006. I had moved it away from the rest of the plants on the Baker's rack because I noticed it had some sort of teeny tiny bug on it. They are prone to whiteflies, but these looked tinier than the ones I was bothered with last year on the brugmansias.
It's in a very small bonsai pot that has holes on each side, so it dries out quickly and when I took it to the sink to water it well, I noticed the two white blooms. As soon as I saw them, I could see its Solanum connection. They're very similar to the eggplant blossoms I had last summer in the vegetable garden. 
One of the very first houseplants I ever owned was a Jerusalem Cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum), which I'd bought at Frank's during my first year of college. It wasn't variegated like this one, but it had orange marble-sized "cherries" and I hope my variegated one will get them, too.
Maybe by next Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I will have some outdoor spring flowers to show, as some of our fellow garden bloggers further south are having now.
"Bejeweled"
14 comments:
Even though your blooms are indoors they are quite beautiful and colorful. Very much apprecieated.
Might I assume you have plants blooming often? (What with the multitude you have to care for!) ;-)
Have a great day!
Lisa ~ Thanks! It doesn't seem like there are that many this winter, but any and all are welcome!
Shady Gardener ~ I really don't have too many blooming at once, compared to how many plants are in here. But I love looking at the foliage, too, so I still get lots of enjoyment out of them. Flowers are a bonus!
You must take very good care of your indoor plants. I brought a seedling of the passion vine inside to save for a friend and can barely keep it alive, let alone bloom! The greenhouse/sunroom is very moist for the orchids, not all plants like those conditions, I don't think african violets would like it in there either. Thanks for brightening our day.
Frances at Faire Garden
I envy you that you can have plants in the house AND cats. *sigh* Never had I had a naughtier cat than Dee Dee when it comes to indoor green anything. So I'll just to be satisfied to enjoy yours. ;)
BTW, I picked up a bareroot Disneyland rose!!!!! I'm so excited! I also got an Our Lady of Guadalupe and a Ronald Reagan rose. Hubby was with me so they were 100% Hubby Approved! He's as excited about the Disneyland rose as I am!
Hugs,
Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage
Most of my flowering plants are in my office, so they stay looking great (I shut the door when I'm not in there), and Kylee, my African violets are all cathair free at this point.
You way well have flowers outdoors by next GBBD--I sadly will not. Maybe by April....
With all that snow outside it would be a bit much to expect you to have outdoor blooms but your indoor ones look great and cheer a person up!
I like your Jerusalem Cherry, its flowers are like those of the potato, the climbing solanum and the eggplant too. It's fun to see from what plant family it hails.
Hopefully next time you'll be able to show your outdoor blooms too!
You are the Queen of Houseplants! It's nice to have indoor blooms now, with nothing going on outside. They do keep us (mostly) sane. Thanks for joining us for bloom day again!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Nice job with your indoor plants. I have a crown of thorns and it's never bloomed. Also, I'm so jealous of your abutilons! I love those, maybe I'll try another one. My son accidentally killed my passion flower while we were on vacation a couple years ago. Your plants look fantastic.
Isn't the Euphorbia a strange plant? it always looks to me as if someone's made the flowers out of paper.
Sue
Very pretty. I have some life coming through in my garden too.
Frances ~I just have my passion flower in a south window in the living room. I don't do anything special, but it does like a lot of water. I hadn't fed it for awhile, which may be why it hadn't bloomed. About three weeks ago, I gave it some fertilizer, and now it's putting out flower buds, so I really should feed it more often!
Cindy ~ You are going to LOVE 'Disneyland'!! So many pretty colors on one bloom and one plant. It reminds me of the pictures I've seen of 'Joseph's Coat' except that it's floriferous and healthy. It's ALL good! I'm glad you got one! Mine arrived here last spring in bareroot form, too.
Jodi ~ I have to remove cat hair occasionally from a couple of the AVs, but it's not much of a problem fortunately. Glad you're able to have some anyway!
Well, March AND April will be here before we know it. Hang in there!
Yolanda Elizabet ~ Yes, I think it's fun to look at a plant and its parts and be able to tell which family it comes from. And once you know that, it tells a lot more about its "personality."
Carol ~ You mean I have another title? You know I'm also The Queen of Procrastination. And my sanity is certainly in question at any given time. LOLOL
Kim and Victoria ~ Welcome to Our Little Acre! Oh you really should try abutilons again! In the summer, I put mine outside and this year I'm going to transplant one of them from the pot to the ground for the season. I found with the brumansias, it made a HUGE difference in growth, so we'll see if the same is true of abutilons.
I've had several failures with plants that I now grow successfully, so try again with the ones that you've lost before. You just never know!
Sue ~ Euphorbias are definitely unique and that's probably why I love them so much. The hardy ones are some of my favorite plants in my outside garden.
Welcome to Our Little Acre!
Barbara ~ Not much life outside here yet, but in another month I think it will be popping up all over the place!
Hi Kylee,
I love the coral colour of the Crown-of-Thorns plant. It is beautiful. The Fantail Willow is really attractive ... I like the arrangement!
The violet and coral are such vibrant colors and so much appreciated at the moment! I saw an eggplant flower on Stuart's GBBD post today and it looked just like your J Cherry except for the color. Yes, it's fun seeing the related plants :)
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