dianaschnuth

Outside, in my garden, nothing is in bloom. A few things are green — pachysandra, lamium, yucca, arborvitae — but no flowers have escaped the onset of winter here in Zone 6b.

Inside, of the few things that could be in bloom, only one has a teeny tiny bloom: the sedum cutting I took this fall.

My African violet’s blooms finally faded a few days ago.

My Thanksgiving cactus had one spectacular bloom on Thanksgiving Day that lasted for a few days afterward — then, after I pinched off the spent flower, all the other flower buds wilted and fell off. Not sure if I changed my watering pattern or if bloom time was just over and done.

My kalanchoes are still relatively young (potted in April from cuttings taken in February), and I haven’t seen them bloom yet. I know from the parent plants that I should have yellow, orange, and pinkish blooms someday.

Just this weekend, I brought in one of the containers of grape and pink hyacinths that I’ve been forcing in the garage. The sprouts are still little, and I wonder if I brought them inside too early, but I just had to try. This is my first year forcing them — I took dozens and dozens of tiny bulbs out of the area where I’m planning to put my herb garden this year (and still missed some!), so I figured I’d give it a shot.

A photo posted by Diana Schnuth (@dianaschnuth) on Dec 18, 2014 at 3:32pm PST

Despite having many windows in my home, not many of them are prime locations for plants, due to orientation (no south-facing and no good north-facing windows), interior design (some tables in prime window locations are needed for setting down drinks and snacks), and just by virtue of having a cat and a three-year-old. I have every intention of adding to my collection of sturdy plant stands as time goes on, but for now, I’ll be happy with the houseplants I have, and not be adding any amaryllis or other winter-specific blooms to the fray.

Eventually, someday, I will enjoy blooms every month of the year!