Thursday, February 19, 2015

Oops, I did it again: Bloom Day, February 2015

February's Bloom Day has come and gone, and here I am posting late - again. I'm not even going to bore you with so-called excuses (like the Northwest Flower and Garden Show) from last weekend. I'll just launch right into my flowers.

Many of the "almost" blooms of January are beautifully full this month. Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' is perfuming the entire back garden. Just one bloom cluster brought indoors is an intoxicating harbinger of spring.

Also pretty in pink, Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths' is attracting fat, black bumblebees this month.

It's a welcome sight out our deck door.

An unknown Hellebore, trying not to be noticed in the back of a bed.

Here's the Hellebore I showed in bud last month, now fully in bloom and suffering a bit from slugs.

I had to take these photos of our two NOID Camellia japonica out the living room window where the blooms first showed - I couldn't get to them from outside.

I apologize for the distracting reflections, but it was the only way I could capture anything of these big blooms that face the house.

Camellia x 'April Kiss' is blooming in her perfectly symmetrical whorls.

The tiny urn-shaped flowers of Vaccinium ovatum are making an appearance.
 Loropetalum chinense 'Sizzling Pink' is sending out a few thready blooms.

We also have quite a few indoor blooms this month.
This orchid (the tag long-since lost) was blooming when we returned from California, and it continues to brighten our dining room.

The last two blooming stems of Clivia miniata are almost done. I'll miss their gorgeous clear orange flowers when they're gone, although their strappy, deep-green foliage is a nice consolation.
We are lucky to have blooming stems of Streptocarpella many months of the year.
 Can you guess what plant is sending out this long bloom stalk?

The flower's mix of red-orange and yellow is one of my favorite color combinations, but they are unassuming little blossoms about the size of my little fingernail.

If you guessed Dyckia, you were right, although I don't know the species. See the stalk going up on the right?

I'm going to leave you with the fluffy little flowers of dwarf Papyrus, Cyperus involucratus 'Baby Tut', that have bloomed for months now. I love how they remind me of summer's warmth.
Despite my poor example, Bloom Day is hosted on the 15th of the month by Carol, at May Dreams Gardens. She has lots to see there, so if you haven't already, do pay her a visit.

Happy Belated Bloom Day!

8 comments:

  1. Happy GBBD! The Camellias are gorgeous, even with the window in the way. I was very interested to see the Dyckia flower. I have one, and can only hope it some day does that.

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  2. Oh that dyckia bloom is just fabulous! As are the arctostaphylos, isn't it amazing how much the bees love those little flowers?

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  3. You may be late, but spring is early. Love your blooms.

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  4. Over two feet of snow covering the ground and currently -9F here. I can scarcely fathom your kind of winter. I'd never even heard of Dyckia. This is what I like best about GBBD, getting to visit gardens in very different climates.

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  5. That Dyckia stalk is fantastic! Never seen anything like it before. You're always the inspiration - I broke down and bought one of those Clivias this past fall, but I doubt it will bloom like that - yours is beautiful, as are the abundance of other blooms too. A very happy belated Bloom Day (and birthday) to you, dear!

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  6. You've got some lovely blooms for February, inside and out. The Clivia is gorgeous. As for being late, with us lateness is a chronic condition. In fact we refer to ourselves as "the late Kay-Hertz family."

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  7. I think my favorite is that perfect vaccinium bloom. So pretty!

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  8. So loverly! The only orchid I can convince to bloom is a silk one that never disappoints. What a fab collection of greenery to wake up to every day. :o)

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