Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - January

Yesterday was the official Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, but it was a busy day for me, so I'm a day late!

Carol of May Dreams Gardens began GBBD almost a year ago and you can see what's blooming in other gardens if you click her link.

This is my first BD post because during the warmer months I'm usually too busy in the gardens to commit to a scheduled day, although I do love to see what's blooming in other gardens. So I'll give it a try and endeavor not to be tardy next month....if anything at all is blooming then.

Here's what it looks like outside - absolutely nothing is blooming! The snowy caps give the Sedum Neon Stonecrop a bit of pizazz though.

However, inside we have a little colorful activity going on. This "Kristen's Pink" Abutilon (AKA Flowering Maple, and several other names) which I'm wintering over is blooming like crazy!

Even though the lower leaves have fallen off, the plant is looking healthy and has 6 beautiful blooms open at the moment, and more to come. It's the first time I've tried this plant and I'm very pleased with it. Seeing it bloom in winter is a very pleasant surprise! I had it in a container last summer, but I'm thinking of trying it in the ground this year.

This palm is not blooming yet, but it has three flower heads loaded with tiny buds.

The plant has flowered several times in previous years, and while the blooms aren't particularly showy, they're a welcome sight when blooms are scarce.

I'm overwintering my wonderful Marimba Ivy Geranium for the second year. I took several cuttings last spring and will do so again this year.

This calibrachoa (Million Bells) is an experiment in overwintering. So far it's doing well, and has had a few blooms, although none were expected, so this has been another happy bonus. There's only one at the moment, but it's a bright little beauty.

My friend Marie, who is a Master Gardener, and freely shares her vast store of knowledge (thank you Marie!), mentioned overwintering her wax begonia so I decided to try that too, and so far it's looking good.

The Columnia still has a few blooms.

This Marinka Fuchsia is another treasured plant and, like the ivy geranium, this is the second year I've overwintered it. I took cuttings from this also last spring and have a second plant coming along nicely. I keep most of these hold-over plants in a couple of unused bedrooms upstairs (now that the kids have flown the nest), where the temperatures are much cooler.
If any of the family comes home and wants to use the bedrooms we might have a problem, but we'll worry about that when we have to.

Last, but not least, this lovely Poinsettia is still a nice splash of color, brightening the house with it's pretty red bracts.

Did you notice the Garden Bloggers' Spring Fling button on my sidebar? If you visit Pam at Digging you'll find out what those enthusiastic Austin garden bloggers have in store for you, coming up in April. I wish Austin wasn't so far away from NY. It sounds like it'll be a blast!

I can't wait for spring to arrive!

Meanwhile, I'll just have to be content dreaming over the piles of seed catalogs and garden magazines, and making plans for next year's gardens, like the rest of you. It's a little easier on the back anyway :)