Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: February 2016

I can always count on a beautiful Valentine’s Day bouquet from my husband to really fill out Bloom Day in February — just in case.

Valentine's Day Bouquet

As it happens, though, I do have some other blooms indoors this February.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: February 2016

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: February 2016

The big, bushy kalanchoes that spent the summer outdoors have finally decided to bloom! One is a pale pink, the other a dark pink. (I hadn’t seen them bloom yet, so I wasn’t sure what colors I had planted together.)

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: February 2016

The tall, spindly kalanchoes that spent the summer in the sunroom are still in bloom, too. Those are a vivid orange.

Pretty sure I still have a yellow one unaccounted for, but I could be mistaken. We’ll see once the third pot of kalanchoes decides to bloom.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: February 2016

I tried my hand at forcing some bulbs this year, since I inadvertently bought more tulips and crocuses than I could fit (comfortably, anyway) in my borders. So, I forced two pots of crocuses and one pot of peony-flowering tulips.

Crocus minimus ‘Spring Beauty’ has been flowering nicely for the past three weeks or so. I’ve been surprised at how many blooms come from each bulb, and how they’ve been spacing themselves out over time. It’s been a refreshing dash of color at my kitchen table.

Unfortunately, I won’t be forcing crocuses again next year. My cat has decided that crocus leaves are tasty, and no matter where I put the pot (even on the kitchen counter, where she is theoretically forbidden), I find bits and pieces of chewed-off crocus leaves. So, while the crocuses were simple to force and pleasant to have around, next year I’ll stick with something a little less kitty-tempting.

If not for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, I definitely wouldn’t be trying to force bulbs in the winter! So grateful to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day every month!

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