Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - February 2009

Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens!

Though the first half of February has teased us with some sunny, mild, nearly spring like days, it is still winter here, so the floral action is almost all inside in my USDA Zone 5 garden.

One of the stars right now is my row up of hyacinths ‘on vase’, just starting to bloom.

Because of their strong floral scent, you notice them as soon as you enter the house.
Unlike those soldierly rows of hyacinths we often see bedded out in the garden, these hyacinths all seem to be doing their own thing, both in height and in bloom time. I think I’ll have hyacinths blooming for quite some time.

In the sunroom Narcissus ‘Grand Soleil d’Or’ has started to bloom.
I was encouraged by Elizabeth at Gardening While Intoxicated to purchase these bulbs from Brent & Becky’s Bulbs. They take a little longer to bloom than the paper whites sold in stores around the holidays but are well worth the wait. They also have a subtle scent, in sharp contrast to that overpowering, “what is that smell” scent of other paper whites.

Other blooms in the sunroom include:

Ludicia discolor - Jewel Orchid
Stenosarcos 'Vanguard' - Hybrid variegated leaf orchid,
Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’
Euphorbia milii, Crown of Thorns
Oxalis regnellii triangularis
and more Hyacinths

It’s nice to go in there and enjoy the plants.
If you squint just right while sitting at the table, you can almost imagine being outside in a warm garden.

Elsewhere inside, the Amaryllis, Hippeastrum ‘Blossom Peacock’ (pictured) sent up a second bloom stalk, as did Hippeastrum ‘Green Goddess’ (not pictured).

I also bought these bulbs from Brent & Becky’s Bulbs after reading about some of the Amaryllis that Cindy at My Corner of Katy had purchased.

The third Amaryllis that I purchased at a big box store had just one bloom stalk topped with a quartet of muddy red blooms. While I know it is easy to pick up amaryllis bulbs at the big box stores, and I often do, I encourage those interested in something different to check out specialty bulb growers.

Outside, a lone snowdrop (Galanthus sp.) presented itself on Thursday and is still blooming valiantly, even though it is alone and it is cold out there.

I hope, I know, it will soon be joined by Crocuses, Irises, Daffodils, and more Snowdrops.

And I’ll be outside with it more in the coming weeks, too, as winter loses its icy grip and spring takes hold in my garden, a place I like to call May Dreams Gardens.

*****

This February starts the third year of Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, a tradition of posting on our blogs about what’s blooming in our gardens on the 15th of each month. For those who have kept up with this tradition from the beginning, you now have two years of bloom day posts to go back to and compare your blooms from one year to the next.

All are welcome to post for bloom day, whether this is your first time or your 25th time, whether you have a garden blog or some other kind of blog.

It’s easy to join in. Just post on your own blog about what's blooming in your garden right now, outdoors or indoors. You can include pictures, lists, common names, botanical names, whatever you’d like to do to showcase your blooms.

Then leave a comment and put your name and a link back to your bloom day post in the Mr. Linky widget, so we know where to find your blog and can visit to see and read about your bloom day blooms.

“We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence