Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for December 2010.
Winter has arrived here at May Dreams Gardens in USDA Hardiness Zone 5, bringing sub freezing temperatures and four or so inches of snow, so far.
I took one look outside at the cold snow covering the garden, felt that wintry blast of wind on my face, and quickly decided to just take a picture standing at the back door. I never even ventured outside to see if there was a bloom somewhere under all that snow.
Then I bravely stepped outside in front and took a picture of the Rosa ‘Radsunny’ Knock Out® Roses, which I’ve featured in my bloom day posts for several months in a row.
That’s enough outside! Brrrr!
Inside in my sun room, I found some blooms, including those on the ever-blooming Crown of Thorns, Euphorbia splendens var. milii.
Of course it’s blooming. It’s always blooming. I’ve noted before that it is sort of an emergency bloom day flower, one I can count on for a bloom nearly every day of the year.
Another flower blooming is a new African Violet, Saintpaulia ‘Neverfloris’ that I picked up from Optimara at the Garden Writer’s Association symposium in September.
We’ll call this a bloom even though they describe it as “hundreds of tiny buds which will NEVER flower”. They are marketing this more for florists to use in foliage arrangements, but I like it because it is green and unusual.
One final bloom for December… the traditional Christmas poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, with un-traditional pink mottled bracts.
It was a gift and I’ll enjoy it for as long as it provides me with color, a nice contrast to the white winter wonderland outside my window.
How is your garden blooming this month? Are you snow covered or still enjoying outdoor blooms?
Whatever your circumstances and however your garden looks during these December days, I hope you’ll join us for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day this month.
All are welcome!
It’s easy to participate. Just post on your blog about what is blooming in your garden on the 15th of the month and then leave a link in the ‘Mr. Linky’ widget below, plus a comment to give us a hint as to what we might find in your garden in December.
“We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” – Elizabeth Lawrence
Brrrr — I'm cold just looking at those snowy photos, Carol! Cold temps here in CT, but just a dusting of snow. My GBBD post is about indoor plants out of necessity. I may still pick up a poinsettia (yours is beautiful), but I have a habit of forgetting to water them.
Hi Carol, This month contains dried arrangements by nature, hellebores, snowdrops, camellias, and an assortment of plants that won't give up although 15 degrees last night has given them a run for their money. Thanks, Carolyn
Oohh, it looks chilly out there! I can understand why you prefer indoors. I have to say though that a snow-covered tree and rose bush do look lovely to someone who never sees snow.
Beautiful Euphorbia … and what a fabulous Saintpaulia! That's a new one for me! The Poinsettia is so pretty in pink … great blooms.
Brrr…you guys are making me cold! I happened upon a little happy at my local nursery and am posting about its cheery blooms! Carol, I love the bracts on your poinsettia – very soft and romantic. Thanks for hosting and Merry Christmas!
The snow on your landscape is very beautiful. I have never such a pale coloured poinsettia and it is very special. Thank you for hosting GBBD and Merry Christmas!
Like you, there are only indoor blooms here. Your violet is new to me but I like it, even if it never blooms. It has such an anticipatory quality. Your poinsettia is so softly colored, much more attractive than some of the brassy pinks!
Brrr…it must be chilly there!I love pictures of snow since I don't get to see it here. I liked the delicate colour of your poinsettia.
Thank you for hosting GBBD again and I hope you GBBD is a good one. See you have got the snow as well. Pretty images.
Thanks for hosting GBBD, Carol! Oh, seeing your post, makes me miss my Crown of Thorns. I propagated it from a cutting, and it grew and bloomed like crazy. Then I put it in my tiny (unheated) greenhouse last winter, and since we had a "real winter" for the first time in 30 years, it bit the dust when it got bit by the freeze. I'll have to try again. I left a post about the blooms that remain in my garden. I'll send some 77-degree wishes your way (our forecast for tomorrow — now that's my kind of December!)
Well you don't have flowers outside but your photo of snow is lovely. We usually get the kind of snow that turns to grey slush and maybe worse to ice very quickly. a beautiful blanket of snow is protecting your plants. It does make me think of Christmas too so Happy Christmas to you and your family until next year's first bloomday. Christina
My link goes to an old GBBD. Is there anyway to fix this. I tried putting in the URL again and it rejects it. Please help if you can. Thanks GWGT
http://gardenwalkgardentalk.com/2010/12/15/gbbd-december-magazine/
What a contrast between the indoors and out! Thank you as usual for hosting this day. And for you in the cold, May really isn't that far away! Enjoy.
Hi Carol, I like to see those snow images on your trees. I guess its because its scorching hot over here. Thank you for hosting GBBD. This time around I'm posting on wild flowers.
Isn't it wonderful the way that we gardeners are such irrepressible optimists? We don't just see a blanket of snow, we see all the sleeping plants tucked up waiting for spring and carpets of flowers to come … It is getting cold even her in Italy now and snow is forecast in Rome tomorrow. Stay warm,
Yvonne
How nice to have something always in bloom like your Crown of Thorns, Carol. And that African Violet is certainly unusual. My garden looks much like yours, and there's more snow in the forecast tonight. Hope you stay warm!
Hi again Carol. My link is to August bloomday (I messed up, somehow)hopefully I'll get it right now. Thank you again for hosting GBBD. Christina
Hi Carol – snow's come early for us in the UK but we have a brief respite for Blooms Day thank goodness otherwise I'd have snowy scenes just like yours.
It's been interesting to see how quickly some plants have recovered from their winter chill this month.
Happy Blooms Day everyone and Seasons Greetings to all 🙂
Brr, Carol that looks so pretty but so cold… I wimped out of GBBD this month as I only had the Mahonia and Fatsia flowering and it was a horridly grey overcast day. But thank you for hosting, I love it, and I hope you have a fabulous Christmas with your family and friends. Stay warm!
This December has been a little tricky to find something to post for Bloom Day, even here in the south. Thank goodness for those indoor plants to help us out. Your pointsettia is a lovely color. Happy Bloom Day! 🙂
Frances
Merry Christmas Carol!
I have a rather modest offering this time. A number of plants neatly fit halfway between Bloom Days and I also found myself running out of time/sunlight/good weather to take photos.
Thank you for braving the cold to get a few shots outside. It is not often that your zone 5 garden and my zone 8 are in a similar situation, but this month they have more in common than not.
Thank you for hosting this wintry event. I hope you have the merriest Christmas and a prosperous new year.
Thanks for hosting and bringing us the chance for flowers each month. You are a brave gardener! Merry Christmas. :0)
David/ Tropical Texana/ Houston
Winter sure blew in with a vengence in the midwest Carol! Brrrr! I'm avoiding outdoors as much as possible lately. It's below zero here this morning.
What an unusual AV – I've never seen or heard of that one before. Love the crown of thorns!
Happy Bloom Day, and thank you for hosting!
It looks so cold, but it is so beautiful! The blooms in your sun room are so lovely, especially the crown of thorns. Merry Christmas!
It is cold and windy here with a dusting of snow on the ground. My abutilon is my go to plant for Bloom Day. Maybe I should get a Crown of Thorns.
Happy bloom day! Love your winter photos! It usually doesn't get that cold here in South Texas to see snow, although we do get freezing nights. All that's left in my garden right now is one head of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots and some red and gold beets.
Hi Carol,
That's an interesting African violet. You have more blooming inside than I do.
I was only willing to stand on the porch to take photos this weekend, but was able to go around and take some for bloom day yesterday. There were no living blooms, but some color and some seed heads.
Have a great Christmas!
Happy Bloom Day Carol. H.
Hi Carol, Thank you for hosting Bloom Day. I am participating today for the first time. My garden is as snow covered as yours. You know the cold is bitter when evergreens shrink inward and turn blackish green. Brightening these freezing cold days is an ivory amaryllis that is blooming on my kitchen counter. That is what I would like to share with your readers today.
I love that pink poinsettia. The only blooms I can find at this time are the ones I buy! I should get an "emergency bloom day" plant.
I'm feeling like this is the month where "nearly every month" applies from your Elizabeth Lawrence quote. Having the impossible task of finding a bloom today helped me recognize why art schools give so many unappealing assignments. There is nothing like a challenge to make you think outside the box. Thanks! I really enjoyed my photography session this morning. 🙂
I love the idea of you standing at the back door to take your pictures! I think that much snow would be too much challenge… for my poorly circulated toes.
Morning Carol, I may have found an African violet I really like~African Violet, Saintpaulia ‘Neverfloris’ ~wowzer! have a great day~gail
My Christmas Cactus is the only thing really blooming; however, the lavender plants outdoors, buried in heavy snow, give off the best fragrance in winter time. It's a balm to my soul. Winter garden scent.
Your first snow picture is stunning. Maybe I will print it out and put it on my fridge to give me a sense of winter wonder! And I love your concept of an "Emergency Bloom Day Flower," that's hilarious. Have a good and warm bloom day.
Carol although I find the 'Neverfloris" interesting, I don't think I could ever get used to a plant who's buds never opened. I would think I failed it or something.
It was indeed a cold and freezing time to venture outside. We've not had much snow but I felt chilled to the bone after coming back inside. The compensating thought, after touring about and finding only a couple of flowers, is that we are only 9 weeks away from when I expect to see crocus popping up… 🙂 Best GBBD wishes to all you snow bunnies…
It's chilly here, too, but I do have some indoor blooms!
Neverfloris is a bit of a bummer of a name!
Hi Carol,
Here in Malaysia where the sun is so hot, it is indeed a lovely change to see snow on the plants.
Rosie
So envious of all your snow! So Christmasy! Here in the Pacific NW I'm hopin' and dreamin'…but white Christmases are few and far between.
I have the same hellebores blooming that were blooming for November. I think they are in frozen animation.
I like the idea of an emergency Bloom Day plant. I guess the Oxalis has to be mine. Stay warm!
Hmmm… I kind of love the non-blooms on that African violet of yours… Which is weird because all of a sudden I'm upset by blooms that can't be pollinated. (I'm sure I'll get over that before the winter is out.)
I decided to go completely bloom-less and focus on my Red Twig Dogwoods. Almost dug and gave them all away last year, glad I did not!
Goodness! Look at all your snow! There is no snow (or any precipitation)down here in Central Texas. It's just dry, warm, and windy. As a result, I still have some blooms in the garden.
Happy Bloom day!
I have never before adored a poinsettia, but your pink one is truly lovely! The color I found in my garden this morning is all in the roses – frozen quite stiff, but pink and red and pretty.
This December is looking to be the snowiest ever recorded here in Rochester. We are just about four miles off Lake Ontario and get blasted by 'Lake Effect' snowfall.
Just very wet here, wish it was snow rather than just rain though.
The Crown of thorns is really pretty, I was at a nursery yesterday and they had a fairly large one growing in their atrium. At the time I couldn't remember what it was, but now your post has reminded me.
Stay warm!
Smart to have an emergency back-up bloom! Especially when you have all that snow, you were a brave woman to venture out as far as you did to capture its beauty (I say that because it's there not here, not so sure I would call it beautiful if it were here).
Enjoy the cold and snow for me in Z 5, as the growing season becomes all that more special. Easy for me say, since I am 2+ zones warmer!
Dear Carol, Lovely posting! Believe it or not, we haven't yet had a measurable snow in the Poconos. But the subzero temperatures and gusty winds are enough! I didn't attempt to take pics. in my garden for Bloom Day.
Thank you so much for hosting this monthly event. I look forward to checking out everyone else's December garden. Happy Holidays! Pamela x
Your wintry wonderland garden looking the kind of look a Christmas should be..
I didn't think I would find any blooms this morning but out with camera I went. Luckily we have no snow but the rain has been hard on the garden, more of a swamp, lakes in my garden. I did find some Primula, Skimmia, Viburnum and Heathers in bloom.
I loved your rose shot! I have one that looks similar, only we didn't get quite so much snow and then it blew around until it pretty much wore out. But it's still cold!
I need to get one of those crown of thorns. All I really have blooming right now are poinsettias, but I dearly love them and if some of these make it to spring I'll plant them outside. They make amazing shrubs during the summer.
Thanks for hosting GBBD, Carol.
I have a couple things blooming prolifically right now; one of them is a kind of sunflower. Discordant for December, I know.
Thank you for hosting my favorite garden bloggers' meme, Carol, and a happy holiday season to you. I don't have much to show this month but my post is up and ready for visitors.
December can be a challenge. I still haven't bit the bullet and bought pointsettias. There's a pointsettia shrub down the street I've been meaning to photograph. The light pink gives such a different effect. Happy bloom day!
Nice to see so many posts at such a busy time of the year. Happy Holidays to everyone and hope you enjoy your garden whatever color it is.
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Nothing going on in my garden right now…zero…zip…nada… I do however have a few interesting tropicals blooming inside.
I confess I wouldn't mind a bit of your snow, Carol. But I'm sure it gets old after months of it!
I have nearly nothing blooming here in Portland, even though our temps are more moderate. I resorted to almost-blooms and indoor-blooms for most of my post!
I almost forgot about Mr Linky!
I love that Saintpaulia 'Neverfloris'. It looks so frosty and wintery.
Hi Carol,
The rest of the CobraHead team is buried under the snow in Wisconsin, but I have only had a couple of light frosts in my Austin garden.
Ah, to have real December weather! Love your untraditional poinsettia; I'm always drawn to the unusual versions of usual plants.
Nothing blooming here in Central IL, so I went with a Ghosts of Blooms Past theme. 🙂
In just another moment my Christmas lights will come on, that's about it for me and blooms in the garden right now. No snow here, like you have, but ours came early and really made the garden sad fast. And, geez, winter isn't even really (technically) here yet is it?!
Carol,
Love your poinsettia and your snow pictures. Wish we would get a little snow this year.
My Bloom Day post is up now, too.
Jan
Always Growing
Does an onion that's sprouted count?
I think we've successfully killed off everything in our garden. And tonight's ice/rain/whatever they're calling for now will finish whatever we've missed!
Carol: It is cold outside even in Florida (well, at least for floridians), and I decided to join your GBBD for the very first time! Thanks for hosting it, and it is fun to look the flowers in others' gardens all over the world!
I've been wanting a Crown of Thorns for some time now. Your other blooms are pretty, even if you really don't have a bloom on that violet! Surprisingly I don't have many blooms either but I'm thankfully without four inches of snow!
Wow, Carol, over 100 bloom day posts! I am truly impressed, thanks so much for hosting. Glad you stayed inside — I was cold just looking at the photos.
My African violets are in bloom now-this is their time! But I didn't show them because you've all seen them before.
I'm sneaking in before midnight…no turning into a pumpkin for me tonight!
I love your frosty pink Poinsettia. What a lovely gift. The African Violet is amazing with those spidery little 'blooms'.
I must get a Crown of Thorns. A plant that's always blooming is something to treasure!
Believe it or not I actually have a plant blooming beautifully outside in the snow and frigid temps, even after more than a foot of snow last week!!!
Happy December Bloom Day, Carol, and thanks for hosting.
#104: From the southern lands comes some 'Snow-in-Summer'. They are always a fantastic display and a reminder of the season.
This is just one of many with more just down the road a bit. Even showier when there are several in a row.
Very picturesque, and no sign of real snow.
I like that pink poinsettia, Carol – it's got some elegance to it. And the Saintpaulia ‘Neverfloris’ is pretty cool.
We've had repeated light freezes in Austin, but there were still lots of flowers to photograph for December GBBD – from Camellias to Lions Tail.
Happy GBBD!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I just love that first photo. We rarely see snow like that in these parts. Happy holidays and thanks for hosting GBBD!
Carol, We don't have snow here in southern Pennsylvania, but we've definitely been getting the arctic cold (with very nasty winds). I'll probably find my Maine garden under snow when I get there at the end of the week. Like you, I rely on flowering houseplants at this time of year. Your crown of thorn flowers are lovely. -Jean
Is Mr. Linky getting smarter? He knew who I was when I got here. Why isn't there a picture of your bone dry driveway? I would have like to seen that. Blooms, blooms, what about blooms? I got snow and a couple of other things.
It's only 20 minutes into the 16th day of the month…! I just could not get to this in time but I'm here, at least! Your Crown of Thorns and the pink Poinsettia are beautiful and so cheery. Hope you are enjoying this holiday season!
This is my first time joining in on the fun that is Bloom Day! We had a light snow, so nothing blooming outside. The silhouette of a giant maple tree against the sky was gorgeous however. Inside, my amaryllis is in full bloom and trying to use the computer it would seem since it is leaning so much towards it.
What a beautiful poinsettia! I'm sad that I didn't pick one up this year. And that violet is so very interesting. I think I need a sun room – maybe down south.
The one thing I miss about the snow, is that it takes care of cutting back everything that needs to be cut back. Gardening in San Francisco, I always have to be reminded to do that part, which is so important! I posted a double link by mistake, cause the autofill entered last month's entry. Sorry! Wendy, aka the lazy composter.
hi carol! i've got FRASS in my post… i bet your garden has a lot of it, under all that snow, working it's magic for your spring flowers. it'll be here before you know it. happy holidays! -andrea
We have some snow too but the flowers inside can still bloom. And how pretty they are.
I reckon you folks trapped in winter wonderlands needed some good ole Californian sunshine!
We woke up to our first 4"-5" of snow in CT on the 14th and have had temps in the teens. I've been struggling with a new greenhouse furnace and seem to be running late as usual. I noticed that last year's December Bloom Day didn't go up until the 19th as well … (the post is on my Posterous site…)
I know, I'm late again. I've always posted my blooms at the end of every month. I should try to get on the same schedule as everyone else! 🙂
http://getbusygardening.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-whats-bloomin.html
~Amy