GBBD: January "Blooms"

It's time for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day once again, and even though I am late, I certainly didn't want to miss it, especially after missing it last month, the first time in nearly seven years that I didn't participate in this monthly celebration of what is blooming.  But what is a Midwestern gardener supposed to show in mid-January after a week of sub-zero temperatures and the garden buried under snow?

I know many in this region will be showing off their houseplants for this GBBD.  But I am not much of a houseplant person; I've killed more houseplants than I care to remember.  Usually I bring in a few annuals to overwinter, but I procrastinated too long on the geraniums, and the coleus cuttings I potted up mysteriously died.  Well, it really isn't a mystery--some lazy gardener forgot to water them regularly.

The only successful overwintering this year has been a dragonwing begonia that was just too pretty to leave to the cold this past fall.  Not only is it growing like crazy, but, as you can see in this not-so-great photo, it is still producing some blooms.

I usually also pot up some bulbs for forcing in the winter.  But I was so busy during the holidays that I didn't even think about it until I started seeing so many pretty amaryllis blooms on blogs and Facebook pages.  I finally remembered the amaryllis bulbs sitting in the cold garage and brought them in last week, just before we left for a week in Texas.  When we returned, I was amazed by how much they had grown already.  Last year these bulbs grew huge leaves without a single flower, however, so it remains to be seen whether they will actually bloom.  The one on the left does look promising, though.

My collection of "blooms" for this Bloom Day is obviously pretty paltry.  But that's okay.  Winter is the time when I finally get around to some indoor projects I put off during the gardening season, and it's the time when I enjoy looking through gardening books and getting new ideas for the coming season.  The garden isn't much to look at this time of year, but I do enjoy the 'Limelight' hydrangea blooms still hanging on outside my living room window.

The grasses are also pretty this time of year though most of them are weighted down by snow at the moment.

Frankly, gardening hasn't been on my mind very much for the past month.  We had a new grandson born just before Christmas, and last week we were finally able to make the 800-mile drive down to see him.  Nothing like cuddling a sweet baby for making you forget anything else!

I have not been very active with blogging in the last month or more, and here is one of the main reasons why.  I am not much of a quilter, but I do make a quilt for each of my grandchildren.  Since new Baby B arrived two weeks early, I was frantically sewing in every spare minute I could find, finishing this just days before we left.  My daughter loves elephants, so when I found this material with Dr. Seuss' Horton, I knew it would be perfect.  Among the many wishes I have for my grandson, I hope that he will grow up to love reading as much as his Grandma and Mommy do.

And so another Bloom Day passes--who knows what February may bring?  Last year we were in the midst of a snowy deep freeze, but the year before, a few crocuses were already popping up through the soil.  We'll just have to wait and see what Mother Nature has in store for us.  For more blooms across the world, be sure to check out our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

February GBBD: Deja Vu

If you have a feeling of deja vu seeing this amaryllis bud once again on Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, don't worry. This is not the same amaryllis I featured on last month's GBBD post, but rather a new one I potted up in December. I was hoping this one might bloom in time for February's showcase of blooms, and it didn't disappoint me.

This "Appleblossom" showed such promise, its leaves standing straight and tall, unlike the first one whose leaves flopped all over the place. Four or five buds suggested, too, it would outdo its predecessor in bloom production.

However, in my effort to move it to get a better photo without background clutter, it met with an unfortunate accident. When I sat it on a stool in front of the bare white wall, Sophie suddenly got excited at something outside the window and bounded forward, knocking over the plant. The result: the stalk was broken, though not detached, and at least one bud fell off. All that waiting, and now a quick death seemed certain! What to do? I thought about using duct tape to dress its wound, but I thought that might be too hard on it, so I found the next best available alternative.

Some painter's masking tape kept the tear from losing all the plant nutrients, but didn't keep the stalk upright, so I tied the stem to my sideboard with a piece of yarn. My poor bandaged amaryllis has bravely given out three blooms, but its injuries have kept it from achieving its star potential. I hope this never happens again, but if anyone has a better solution for stem injuries, I'd love to hear them.

Miss Rosemary is not in bloom, but with so little greenery in my house (Houseplant Census: a measly 10), she deserves her photo featured on this Bloom Day. Besides, I'm so thrilled to have managed to keep her alive this winter--notice the leaves straining toward the window to get every sunny ray they can.

Rosemary's roommates include five geraniums also overwintering here. Again, I'm happy to have kept them alive thus far, even if these two little blooms are the only signs of color among them.

Another survivor, the Begonia "Dusty Rose," has one solitary bloom that has finally opened. I love this delicate little blossom, but even more so when this is the extent of all the blooms in February here at the Prairie.

Needless to say, there is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, blooming outside right now. These last two photos are for Gail, who recently posted about studying mosaics and thinking about an art project for her garden. I don't have an artistic bone in my body, unfortunately, but we do have an artist-in-residence here . . . Jacques Frost:)

Of all his work, I particularly like his ice scupltures. I'm sure the art terminology is not correct, but I've titled this piece "Clematis Frieze."

For other Bloom Day posts, be sure to visit our hostess, the plant guru Carol at May Dreams Gardens. And the best part about this February Bloom Day?--It's only 28 days until March GBBD!

GBBD: Dreary December

Today is December 15, and you know what that means--well, yes, you do have only 10 more shopping days until Christmas. But in the gardening world it also means this is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, the day each month when garden bloggers all over the world show off what's blooming in their gardens. For Northern gardeners, it's also a time when we have to flex our creative muscles. Unless you have a collection of houseplants, there's not much to show in the garden after the temperatures have plummeted to below freezing and winter winds have ripped off any remaining blooms.



Unlike many other Midwesterners, I don't even have the benefit of snow to make dried blooms and wilted foliage look appealing. Instead, my garden is simply brown and muddy. Going outside in hopes of finding the one bloom remaining, I found that even the purple primrose that appeared last week had given up and gone South for the winter. At least its leaves are still a lively green, and, of course, the heucheras nearby add a little more foliage interest.




Apparently, though, there is a little more green in the garden than I thought. As I walked quickly back to the house and out of the cold, Sasha pointed out that the Nepeta "Walker's Low" still has some fresh growth--just enough for a little bit of cat heaven.





I am not a houseplant person anymore, so there's not much to see indoors. However, when Youngest Daughter moved out and I turned her room into a guest room, I had an epiphany. This room has lots of natural light and was perfect for overwintering plants! After my Thanksgiving guest, Arizona Daughter, left, I set up a table and moved in the geraniums and my rosemary plant from the garage. Arizona Daughter had politely asked about my little "tree," and when I suggested she sniff it, she recognized it immediately. She may not be a gardener, but she is a cook and was excited when I cut off a few sprigs to send home with her to use in her kitchen.







Also now residing in the guest room is the begonia I showed off several times this summer. This one was just too pretty to let die over the winter. It seems to prefer its new cooler home to the overheated office and has set a few new buds to show its appreciation. I have a feeling you're going to be seeing a lot of it as well as the rosemary and geraniums over the next few months of winter Bloom Days!





And, of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without at least one red poinsettia to make the house a little more festive. In the midst of this busy time, I hope you all have time to stop and smell the proverbial "roses" and enjoy the beauty and peace of this season.




Today is also the eve of ABC Wednesday, and GBBD has inspired me to write a silly little poem about the garden, which I will post later today. In the meantime, take a few moments to visit our Bloom Day hostess, Carol at May Dreams Gardens, and see what is blooming all over the world.

November GBBD: End of the Season?

Every Midwesterner knows that November can be an unpredictable month. Often gloomy with gray, wet days that never end, this is one month I've often wished could be wiped off the calendar. Last year, however, was an exception. I remember planting bulbs, warmed enough by the sun that there was no need for a jacket, all the way till Thanksgiving. This year November has been a welcome surprise and relief after an unusually wet and dreary October. Although we have had frosty mornings, the sun usually brings the temperature up to a comfortable warmth. For example, yesterday I sat through yet another disappointing Illinois football game wearing only a sweatshirt and jeans.



The cold of October has brought the garden nearly to an end. Yet there are a few things still to enjoy for this November Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day:





There are the usual suspects for this late in the season, like the fall pansies sitting on the steps.

Or the potted mum carelessly planted in a container to replace the dying zinnias and heliotrope.

Or the lavender mum in the shade garden partially obscured by the dried feathery plumes of the heuchera.

More typical scenes in my garden, though, are like this one. Some of the Victoria Blue salvias are still showing some signs of their vibrant purple of early autumn, but most are fading to a silvery hue for the winter.

The hydrangeas are wilting and turning brown, but "Let's Dance in the Moonlight" is determined to give one last colorful hurrah before ending its season. I know you're probably tired of me showing yet another photo of this plant, but this fall I have been enthralled by the hydrangeas that have been almost as colorful in their final days as they were in their summer prime.

Looking for something--anything at all--still blooming in the shade garden one morning, I was sad to see that the Brunnera "Jack Frost" had finally succumbed to the frost. Or so I thought . . .

The next day, after a few hours of warm sunlight, I was surprised to see a full recovery! "Jack" is typical of what it is still blooming in my garden--what I call the "hangers-on."

Still hanging in there, protected on my back porch, is the Desert Rose begonia. This is one of the few plants that will be taken in the house for the winter--I've never had a begonia do so well for me as this one.

Another hanger-on is the "Homestead" verbena. It seems to actually enjoy the cooler weather, but here in zone 5 it is an annual so its time is limited.

The lamium, specific name now forgotten, is another plant unfazed by cool temperatures and is still setting blooms. If covered with leaves, it wil usually stay green all winter.

A few stray petunia blooms are also hanging in there, along with the helichrysum. Someone asked me about this plant on a previous post. It often goes by other names, such as licorice plant or mouse ears, and it is one of my favorite accent plants in containers.

Another tough plant is the sweet alyssum. I think all of these re-seeded from last year. They were getting rather leggy this summer so I gave them a "haircut," which gave them a new burst of energy for this fall.

There are a few surprises for this time of year, though. This is the first year I have planted lemon verbena, purchased early in the season from the local Herb Society's plant sale, and I don't think I've ever featured it here before. According to information on the Missouri Botanical Garden website, lemon verbena, Aloysia triphylla, reaches a height of 2-4 feet. Not to brag, but my plant is at least 5 feet tall! (Wish I'd moved that trampoline out of the background, though.)

However, the website also mentions that it has showy white flowers from June to September, but mine never bloomed. I'm not too disappointed, though, because this plant has done so well otherwise and provided much more than blooms. Every time I was in the Butterfly Garden I couldn't resist pulling off a leaf or two and taking in its heady lemony scent. While it can be used in making teas or desserts, I have only dried the leaves in hopes of making some potpourri. Unfortunately, while lemon verbena is a perennial in zones 8-10, it won't survive in my zone 5 garden. But I am going to attempt to root a cutting, and if that fails, I'll be back at the plant sale in the spring for a replacement.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the new lush greenery and pink blooms of the Achillea, or yarrow. This is a tough plant that is one of the first to bloom in the spring and one of the last in the fall.

But I was surprised to see these little violas blooming in the pot of now-spent dianthus. Did I plant these in here last spring and they've come to life again? Or did I throw out the dead spring blooms in this catch-all pot? Sometimes there are advantages to being forgetful.

Yes, the season is winding down, and for the next few months, I'll have to use some ingenuity to come up with a Bloom Day post at all. I'll enjoy the garden for as long as it lasts, admiring the seedheads of the daisy "Becky" and discovering right next to these dried up blooms . . .

A brand new "Becky" bloom!

You may have noticed a common theme throughout this post--throughout my flowerbeds are leaves, leaves, and more leaves.

Sometimes, though, it pays to pull back a few of those leaves to discover a final surprise underneath--a few primroses are blooming again! This can only mean one thing--only a few more months until spring!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is the brainchild of the always entertaining and energetic Carol of May Dreams Gardens. For more Bloom Day posts from around the world, be sure to visit her.