Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for December 2024.
Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 6a garden in central Indiana, we went from a slow, meandering fall that seemed like it would go on for quite a while to…
….welcome winter!
With its cold—some nights and mornings have been in the teens—and bits of snow, though honestly, there has been nothing snow-wise to write much about, yet.
Outside, as one can imagine, there isn’t much bloom to see, so I thought I’d start indoors with some waxed amaryllis bulbs.
These are the very same waxed bulbs that Dee Nash and I have been talking about on the podcast for weeks. We may even have persuaded a few other people to get some too. (Which episode, you ask? Any of the last three or four, I think.)
Elsewhere indoors, I’m still enjoying a vase full of lavender that I picked in November.
I’m also keeping watch on the poinsettia I over-summered and brought back inside. It has just a tiny bit of color so far.
There are actually four leaves coloring up, and I’ve done nothing special so far except put it in a south-facing window, per the instructions of Daisy Thompson Abbott.
I also followed instructions to get my Lego Poinsettia to flower!
Now, bundle up and let’s go outside where just two flowers are blooming.
Some snowdrops…
And some Christmas roses, Helleborus niger.
The Christmas roses were much prettier last month.
And now, for the first time ever, I present my “garage flowers!” I cut back some pelargoniums late in the fall and stuck them in the garage. They get virtually no light and no water but still managed to flower a bit.
There are also some violas flowering in the garage!
Last week when it got really cold, I remembered these pots of violas were still outside, so I grabbed them and put them in the bed of the truck where they’ll stay until I clear out some space to set them somewhere in the garage. They are still blooming so they count for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
What’s blooming in your gardening for this middle-of-the-month round-up of flowers that I called Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day back in 2007? We’d love to see! Join in by posting on your blog or social media or wherever you post online, then come back here and leave a link in the Mr. Linky widget so we know where to find you and a comment to tell us what you have.
All are welcome!
“We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence
(For more tidbits about my garden, check out my weekly newsletter, In the Garden with Carol.)
You really made me smile with your Lego Poinsettia-you are quite the talented one! The Amaryllis are also nice this time of year and the wax ones are excellent and so fun to grow! Indoors here the Thanksgiving Cactus are still blooming. Happy Bloom Day and happy holidays to you!
The part about the Lego poinsettia made me laugh. I may go buy one of those. I’ve seen them in several stores. A fun project. ~~Dee
I’m not posting mine today. Just a few tattered calendulas, soggy blanketflower, and last alyssum. I see last December I had some rosemary and a Thanksgiving cactus. I don’t know where the Thanksgiving cactus is! Really! I took things out of the “spare” bedroom to make room for a temporary resident, and don’t know what I did with it. It was summertime then. Wherever it is, it’s probably dead…
That Lego is nice!
Thanks for sharing your experience with the waxed bulbs of Amaryllis. I’d been reluctant to try them.
Thanks so much for hosting, Carol. Not too much blooming here, but the few indoor flowers are worth celebrating. Happy Holidays!
I received one of those waxed Amaryllis bulbs as a gift last Christmas, and it bloomed over a good long time, almost two months. After it finished blooming I took it out the wax covering and planted it in a pot. It grew well outdoors over the summer and was brought in before our first frost. I’m curious to see if it will re-bloom when I start watering it again in a couple of weeks.
Running late on my comment but ‘tis the season! Love the waxed Amaryllis in your beautiful containers idea. It has stuck with me since seeing you post and listening to you and Dee on the podcast. Unfortunately I don’t have a Costco membership and there haven’t been that many waxed amaryllis in local stores. So I bought a kit. The peat moss stays so dry it needs water every day or two. Most sites say water every week or two. Should I water when needed or wait? I really value your and Dee’s advice. Your podcast is the best! Wishing you a very merry Christmas! June
I would tend to keep it a bit on the dry side. Those waxed bulbs don’t get any water.
I also checked with Dee. She wrote, “I only water once until the flower starts growing. Then I water once a week because the pots are small and as it grows, the bulbs sucks up more water.”
Hope this helps!
Hi Carol, I see that your weather, like ours has limited what is happening outside. It made me focus on the greenhouse results. We will see if we get a surprise warm spell this winter.
Thank is a great idea to group the waxed bulbs together, Carol. My mother got me one last year and it bloomed and rebloomed over four months – amazing. I just set mine on a saucer, but I like yours tucked in bowls. Happy GBBD a few days late!
Adding plants that bloom indoors reminds me of the coming Spring!