Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - March 2011

At long last!!

After a winter that just wouldn't quit (and is almost certainly not done with us yet),

Mid March has brought definite signs of spring to our upstate New York garden. 

Could we possibly be more grateful for this sunny March Bloom Day with temperatures approaching 50ºF/3.8ºC? I think not!


My dear hubby came home from the hospital on February 28th and, although his recovery has been slow, today's sunshine enticed him outside for a walk to the mailbox for the first time in weeks. We look forward to more sunny days which will surely help speed his progress. 
Grateful thanks to all for your well wishes and prayers. They are so very much appreciated.

Last week on Monday, March 7th we were enduring the second day of this winter's ultimate snowstorm for our area (we hope!), which dumped 2 feet of snow on us.

But today brought sunshine and snowdrops......pure delight!

I'm entranced by the way the tiny white blossoms are cradled initially in a green cup and then the little teardrop is released to finally open its petals when the sun warms it sufficiently. There wasn't quite enough warmth today for that to happen, but it will come.

Daffodils are poking through, but it will be a while before we see their golden yellow heads nodding in the spring breezes.

The resilient Hellebore has emerged from beneath its deep blanket of snow looking a little worse for wear, but do you see those few white buds? This is one tough little plant!

We know spring is near when the barn kitties emerge from their self-imposed winter confinement in the barn. Cleo followed me around today, catching up on cuddles as I hunted for blooms.

Inside the house a white Amaryllis is queen of the March bloom show.

Its first bloom opened on March 7th,

But now the second glorious bloom is open as well.

I love the contrast of white petals against the green throat.

To the left of the Amaryllis the pink Abutilon is sporting a few blooms.

The orange Abutilon is also blooming upstairs in a cool bedroom but I forgot to take a photo of it.

The two pretty pink begonias are still doing well. That's the Babywing in front with the "Rose" begonia behind.

Here's the "Rose" a little closer.
These 2 begonias have bloomed all winter.

There are bloom stalks on the Parlor Palm.

Twirly green stems dotted with tiny yellow balls.

Isn't nature amazing?

The Streptocarpus (Cape Primrose), closely related to the African Violet, has lots of lovely blue blooms.

Upstairs pink and white Wax Begonias are blooming.

As well as several overwintering geraniums.

This one is Vancouver Centennial.

The Kenilworth Ivy has tiny mauve blooms.

It loves being in a south facing window.

The lipstick red Christmas Cactus, not to be outdone by the glorious white Cactus, has put on a wonderful show.

I'm not sure if adding the humidity tray helped produce such an abundance of blossoms, but after a disappointing beginning, I'm happy to report that both plants did extremely well.

And that wraps up my March Bloom Day offerings.

To overload your senses with as many other bloom day posts as you can possibly squeeze into your day go to Carol's May Dreams Gardens where she hosts our monthy offering of blooms from all over the globe.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Belated Bloom Day - February 2011

I had intended to have a post up for February Bloom Day but fate intervened and my dear hubby took another ride in an ambulance to the hospital with pneumonia again on the evening of the 15th.

The pneumonia is gone, I'm extremely thankful to report, but he's still recovering his strength in the hospital and we hope to have him home on Monday. 

On Bloom Day this Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera or Zygocactus) had one bloom open, but now, 10 days later, it's loaded with blooms and is the belle of the ball!

Aren't these flamboyant white blooms, with the touch of fuchsia pink, absolutely glorious? 

Just what we need to brighten these late winter days and remind us that lots of color lies ahead when spring finally breaks through.

We've had the worst snow storm today that I've seen all winter.
Last Saturday I drove the 35 minutes to the hospital in very nasty weather...snow and very high winds...scary conditions.
But today I stayed home.
Hubby rested and read a lot....and watched cars sliding up and down the hill opposite the hospital from his 5th floor window view. He was glad I stayed safely at home. So was I!!! We missed our afternoon visit but the roads were just too horrible to risk driving.
We had blowing snow all day, with very low visibility, and ended up with about 9 or 10 inches accumulation, on top of what we already had. I felt very bad for everyone who had to drive in those conditions.

There are quite a few more blooms to show, including the lipstick pink cactus, but they'll have to wait a while. The lovely white cactus deserves a post to itself anyway, for putting on such a beautiful display.

I hope everyone in the path of this latest storm stayed safe.

Remember that Carol of May Dreams Gardens has a long list of bloggers offering their February blooms for your enjoyment. Just click the link to see them.

Not so Common Redpolls

I photographed these cute little birds at our feeders on January 5th and 7th.

Common Redpolls, as they are known, live in the boreal and taiga regions of Canada but are not so common in our area of upstate New York.

Sometimes though, we get lucky.

This happens when supplies of tree seeds in the boreal forests are low and they need to find food sources elsewhere.

When they move south to our northern states it's called an 'irruption' and typically occurs every other winter. We didn't see them at all last winter, but a few visited in early 2009.

  

The male has a red breast as well as a red cap, but the female only has the red cap.
You can see a mixture of males and females on the tray. Click on the photos for a closer view.

They are perky little members of the finch family. The same size as Goldfinches, they are often seen feeding with a group of 'Goldies'.

Another 'irruptive' finch that we love to see at our feeders are Pine Siskins. I was lucky enough to catch them on November 2nd 2010, but sadly, haven't seen them since. As you can see, they are very similar to Redpolls but lack the red markings.

There was a huge irruption of Siskins during the winter of 2008-09 and we enjoyed these gregarious little birds for most of those winter months. None were seen the following winter and we missed their friendly presence.

There's a post about this winter's Redpoll irruption on the new Project Feederwatch blog here if you'd like to read more about these birds and find out where else they've been spotted.

Here's another little 'lady' Redpoll.

I hope both these uncommon visitors will stop by again before the winter is over to liven up our feeders and brighten our days. 

Jasmine and Hannah might even rouse themselves for such an event!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - January 2011

All blooms shown on this frigid January Bloom Day are inside, and we are thankful for each and every one of them.

The brave little Hellebore is buried under at least a foot of snow, but on January 1st, when I last saw it briefly uncovered, there were still blooms - albiet most of them tattered - but there were also buds showing promise of blooms to come. It'll be interesting to see how it fares after so many weeks under a cold, snowy blanket.

This lovely African Violet/Saintpaulia is the current star of this bleak mid-winter Bloom Day.
My past track record regarding bringing African Violets into bloom has been dismal, which is why I'm thrilled to pieces with this gorgeous plant.

I love everything about it, including those healthy heart shaped leaves.

My dear gardening friend, Jean (who will turn 90 next week), brought the plant to me when she and her daughter-in-law visited last October. It was a seedling separated from one of her plants and was blooming a little when she brought it. This is a second batch of blooms, but so many more this time.

I haven't been so lucky with the Christmas Cactus/Schlumbergera/Zygocactus. There's only one bloom on the white flowered plant and none at all on the pink. I fed them during the summer but I'm wondering if they need more humidity in order to set buds.

 (so I just did a little research)

Yes, they need humidity! Place a tray of water beside the plant or you can make a humidity tray by placing the pot on a saucer that is filled with gravel and halfway filled with water.

They are also supposed to be kept in a dark place (a closet or unused bathroom are ideal) for about 12 hours each night for 6-8 weeks or until you see buds forming.

I forgot to do this. 
I wonder if it would still work.

The dear little "Rose" Begonia is still going strong. These blooms last a very long time.

If you click to enlarge this photo you'll see just how much they look like tiny, full-blown roses. 

This Begonia is a "Babywing"

I'm overwintering this pretty Wax Begonia (plus some white ones upstairs).

I particularly love those burgundy leaves.

The Hoya has 2 bloom clusters at the moment.

Just a couple of blooms on the Streptocarpus/Cape Primrose.

One of my favorite Christmas gifts was this lovely Holly plant.

The fake berries were added by the florist to dress it up for the holidays. 

I planted three Paperwhite bulbs in mid-November and they bloomed during Christmas and for a few weeks afterward.

The lovely blooms are spent now but they were such a cheerful sight for several weeks and their scent was delightful. 

I have a number of Amaryllis growing in pots but none are even close to blooming at the moment.

A few Ivy geraniums upstairs have blooms and there's a pretty pale pink zonal geranium blooming in the cellar "garden". 

This has been a very cold and snowy winter so far and there certainly doesn't seem to be a break in sight, so we're hunkering down for the duration.
Dreams of daffodils, tulips, green grass and summer gardens will have to sustain us until our corner of the world spins toward the sun again.

 

Meanwhile, be sure to visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens to feast your eyes on what's blooming in warmer parts of the globe and in other indoor gardens.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!