December. Time for the holidays, and for indoor flowers, here in the Binghamton, New York area. And, it is time for
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, brought to us by May Dream Gardens, where gardeners from all over the world gather to show what is blooming for them on the 15th of each month.
The May Dreams garden in Indiana is covered in snow. So is mine, near Binghamton in upstate New York.
So it is time to bring the flower focus inside.
Technically, this gerbena daisy is not in my house, but it is my plant. It was a gift this spring from an in-law. It sat in a pot, in my back yard, all summer and didn't bloom, not one time. I brought it inside when frost threatened but it wasn't happy in my house. I transported it to my office and it loves it there. I came back to work one Monday and found that, almost overnight, it had produced two flower buds. One started to open about a week ago. Here it is, now, in full bloom, as of Friday.
We bought this lenten rose plant during a "holiday showcase" on November 16 (along with the Christmas cactus in the background) and decided to have it as a houseplant, at least for right now. If we have a few mild days in a row (mild for the winter, that is) my spouse will plant it outside. In the meantime, it is blooming nicely for me.
I almost killed these poinsettias from last year when I forgot they were on a new windowsill and didn't water them. Now, the leaves are growing back in with the colored flower bracts - one plant is white and one is red.
I still have geraniums in a hanging basket.The plants are still alive and well, and flowering.
One of my houseplants, an airplane plant, has a bloom where a new airplane "baby" will eventually appear.
Switching the focus to outside...
This is what my garden outside looks like. One thing I wanted to show you was our blackberry lily. After blooming, the pods developed and opened and the "blackberries" have lasted such a long time. I love this plant, and I intend to get more of them.
Finally, these are a couple of our hanging baskets.
Now, please visit some of the other sites that participate in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and see the beauty of this December 15.
What is blooming in your house, or garden, this December 15?
Lovely blooms. Your Lenten Rose is probably really the Christmas Rose, a close relative, especially since it is blooming now. I love them!
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled that you visited my blog, Carol. I looked at the tab on my plant, and it is a Christmas Rose. "HGC Jacob". Thanks for your ID!
DeleteHow nice to have something blooming in your office! And everything else is lovely as well (and look at that snow! Ours is melting today here in MD).
ReplyDeleteThank you, Erica. Your pepper inspired me - I am going to post about my indoor pepper in the near future.
DeleteThey are beautiful. I kill all plants that are inside. My mother has a Christmas catus that is all in bloom. Thanks for sharing these pics as it is snowing very hard here in Northern Maine.
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas cactuses. If you ever decide to try houseplants again, this might be a good choice. Believe it or not, I had a "black thumb" once.
ReplyDeleteGerberas have such happy blossoms. They always make me smile, and yours is very pretty, providing sunshine on a cloudy day.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to bring some sunshine to your cloudy day. We know too much about cloudy days here in upstate New York.
DeleteLoved the photos. My Christmas roses on the pitiful cactus are flowering in the bathroom at the moment. Outside the study window, a single pale pink rose has almost opened. The bud on Queen Elizabeth has been pink for a couple of weeks now. Perhaps the combination of the cold and the mild weather has delayed the plant from dying off.
ReplyDeleteI wish your blooms the best. I would love to have roses in mid December in our climate. Virtual roses are the next best thing.
DeleteYour garden is looking absolutely beautiful! :) Our plants look quite dull at the moment!
ReplyDelete