Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, December 2010

I'm back in the blogging fray with a Bloom Day post, and a "thank you" to those of you who inquired about my status. Life intervened, but I hope to be more regular again now.

It may be Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, but there is only one plant blooming in the garden this month. And there are a few promising buds I can't resist showing as well.

Fatsia japonica got slammed by our early cold snap, but amazingly, its slightly-tired blooms have been holding on through the ensuing rain and wind. I love their goofy, sputnik shapes.

Vaccinium ovatum 'Thunderbird', the evergreen huckleberries from the UBC botanical garden are getting ready to bloom. Those two seem to be a little ahead of the other evergreen huckleberries that have been in for three years now.

Also looking promising for next month is Arctostaphylos 'Martha Ewan'. It is so heartening to see these Pacific Northwest hybrids taking our weird weather patterns in their stride.

Moving indoors the almost ever-blooming Streptocarpus, or Cape Primrose (a gift, so no variety name) is doing its darndest to brighten up a corner window.

In sharp contrast to the ebullient primrose above is the quiet bloom of this Aglaonema. I even had to lift some leaves to expose it for this picture.

Lastly, a stunningly-colored oncidium whose tag, if it ever had one (you know how Trader Joe's is!) is gone. This is the second time this little orchid has bloomed, and the lovely color combination brings out my inner gypsy.

Over winter, when gardening is at a minimum, it's so good to have these indoor plants to reward us. Although our last house got good daylight, we find our houseplants seem to respond even better to the big windows and bright life here at Longview Ranch.

To see what else is blooming today, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.