Tuesday, January 15, 2008

January Blooms at Bliss

It's the 15th of the month and once again time for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I joined GBBD in February of last year when Carol of May Dreams Gardens started it, so we have come full circle. One of the reasons for GBBD was to answer the burning question : is it possible to have outdoor blooms all year round? For the Bliss garden the answer is YES. This will be my last entry for GBBD, after this post I'll have shown you all the blooms in my garden and home all year round. I don't want to repeat myself (boring!) so this is it. Enjoy!

Outdoor blooms:
Rosa Moonlight, this little trooper has been flowering non stop from April of last year. So all in all she has presented me with blooms for 10 months of the year so far. Isn't that just simply marvellous?
My runner up for longest flowering rose is rosa Guirlande d'Amour that has been flowering from last May until now. But I think that this is it for this rose. Moonlight still has a few buds but Guirlande d'Amour is down to its last flowers. Still, flowering for 9 months of the year is not bad, not bad at all. Wish all my plants and shrubs would flower that long!
The winter Jasmin is also in flower. I love to cut a few sprigs for the vase. Its little flowers are like little rays of sunshine on a gloomy day like today. And dull and gloomy days abound during winter over here, in North Western Europe.
And look what I found in the garden today; the first of the winter aconites in flower. I love these brave little flowers and dream of having hundreds of them in my garden. They are slow to start but once they're away, there's no stopping them, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
The delicate flowers of the rosemary have withstood the harsh weather we had a few weeks ago. Centranthus ruber is in flower too, to my surprise.
And lookee here, our old friends the daisies are back! Isn't that great? I love the little darlings!
Even the Penstemon still has a bloom, slightly the worse for wear it's true, but hey, in January every outdoor bloom counts! I find it particularly funny that my Penstemon still has a flower or two as it was sold to me as not being very hardy. Nature never ceases to amaze me.
And of course we have the usual suspects in flower too, our dear friends the pansies and violets. What would the winter garden be without their cheerful faces?
Did you notice how wet the earth is in the last pic? We've had quite a bit of rain lately, although we had some wonderful sunny days as well. Yesterday was very nice and sunny and also quite warm for the time of year, 10 degrees Celsius which was great as I was able to sit in the sun outside. In a very sheltered spot, it's true, but it was my first sunbath of the year!
The Periwinkle was doing its best for Queen and Country too as you can see here. It's a great plant for ground covering and suppressing weeds. I give it a haircut after it has finished flowering in April. That way it remains a nice and bushy plant that doesn't take over the whole garden.
The Skimmia japonica Rubella is another great plant to have as it ads lots of colour to the winter garden for months on end. The Camelia and Sarcococca humilis are still in flower too. The last one has a wonderful scent.

And now it's time to show you my indoor blooms.
The Hyacinths and daffodils (Paper white) fill the living room with their wonderful scent. It smells like Spring !
And in our conservatory these Hyacinths are scenting the air too. I love scented flowers and try to have some either inside our out all year round. The pink Cyclamen is showing the last of its flowers.
Citrus trees are great to have if you want a wonderful fragrance. What I love about citrus trees is that they can have flowers and fruits at the same time so that you can eat the fruits and enjoy the heady scent of the flowers. This is as close as you get to having your cake and eating it!
Last December I've shown you a lot of my orchids so I won't do that now, I'll only show you a few. As you can see the flowers of this orchid are going over but this little swarm of flowers was wonderful to enjoy and lasted more than 2 months..
The flowers on this orchid have lasted for 5 months so far, which I find amazing. I bought it at Ikea, of all places. ;-)
This is a new addition to my orchid collection. I was unable to resist buying it as it was only 5 euros (less than 6 US dollars) and I love the delicate markings on its flowers.
In the conservatory the lovely hanging plant Aeschynanthus is in flower too. It's very pretty with its curled leaves and deep red flowers. Also in flower in my conservatory is the Christmas cactus (pink).
There are plants and flowers in every room of the house, the bathroom is no exception.
I love that pretty white Azalea, it flowers for months and months so it really is a good plant to have indoors during the winter months. It likes to drink quite a bit of water so make sure that it doesn't dry out but don't overdo it, it's doesn't like to be drowned.

Azaleas come in standards too, I love them like that and I'm not the only one as you can see here.
Surprise (l) and her daughter Kadootje (=little present) admiring the pink and white Azalea.

Copyright 2008: Y.E.W. Heuzen

Quantity, not quality is often much nicer and better in a garden.
Monty Don, My Roots, 2005

54 comments:

Carol Michel said...

Indeed you do have quite a few blooms outdoors in January. Here in my garden, even the pansies have given up, as we have cold and snow day after day.

I hope you'll reconsider and join us for more Bloom Day posts! After all, the garden is never the same from year to year. There is always something new, or a flower that blooms early or late. That's part of bloom day, too, to compare the garden from year to year, not just month to month.

I enjoyed my 'walk' through Bliss this morning. Now its off to start the day, cheered by all the flowers around the world.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Frances, said...

Oh please do continue with the bloom day posts! We never tire of seeing beautiful photos of flowers, even the same ones! We love your commentary also and want to see the latest kitty exploits.

Barbara said...

Your Moonlight rose is amazing. Mine doesn't bloom so long, but I like its rich blooms during the year untill late autumn.Well, I think our climate is a bit different to yours...and therefore there are also less flowers outside at the moment.
Have a nice day!
Barbara

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Yolanda, You have a great selection of flowers blooming this January. I like the fact that your roses bloom for so many months. I would like to have one that blooms just during the summer here. I wonder if Moonlight would do that? I wonder if it is available here?

I think you should continue to show your blooming plants. I certainly don't tire of seeing a thing of beauty such as a bloom. Like Carol stated every year is different. And certainly every month is different.

Anonymous said...

Yolanda,
thank you for comment..
We received a little bit of snow over night and it looks like winter, because it is:-))
It will take some time until I see
flowers in the garden. In our house we have spring flowers from the gardenshop. Hyazinth in every color, the wonderful scent remninds me that spring will be here one day:-))
The last pictures is great. Often discussed and the question remains, do cats smell flowers. Maxi does..
cheers Gisela

Hannele på Hisingen said...

I enjoy :)

Anonymous said...

Akonietjes, die alweer bloeien! Wat heerlijk!

Een vrolijk log met al wat bloeit in januari.

Anonymous said...

What a treat to see all of your beautiful flowers, both indoors and out. I never expected to see roses in bloom anywhere today! I'll echo the others: Please do keep posting on future Bloom Days!

Anonymous said...

Een heldhaftige akoniet en een beetje verkleumde madeliefjes- heerlijk gezicht!

Sue Swift said...

Wow - I completely forgot about GBD this month. I'll have to catch up tomorrow. Incidentally I was in the Netherlands this Christmas as we flew to Germany via Maastricht. Nowhere near you though or I'd have come to see the cats!

This is really to let you know that one of your posts has been nominated for inclusion in the next Garden Blogger's carnival - you can find out about it if you look on my site for 3 Jan 2007. I'm contacting everyone who's been nominated just to make sure that no-one wants to opt out. If you do please contact me. Otherwise your post will be included in the carnival, which is running in the week of Feb 4th. I’ll contact you again as soon as the link is posted.
Sue

Annie in Austin said...

Wow, Yolanda - the variety of plants still blooming in your garden is amazing. While pansies, last roses and rosemary are not too surprising since they're in bloom in Austin, too - you have jasmine, daisies, penstemon and aconites? Your grass is so green, too!

Happy Blooming Day to you, the under gardener and all the cats ;-]

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Anonymous said...

You shouldn't stop posting your blooms. You're one of the few that actually has a selection of blooms to choose from this time of year.

We can only look at so many photos of frozen heucheras...

Meg said...

I just followed you over here from Kylee's blog, and I am digging your wonderful house plants! That christmas cactus us amazing. And the cats are cute, too!

Unknown said...

Indeed, you have a lot still in bloom, Yolanda. I love pansies and violas, too--it was a couple of bravely blooming Johnny-jump-ups, flowering in the greenhouse during a frigid February nine years ago, that convinced me instantly that we needed to buy this place.
ORchids at Ikea?? who knew??

I love the photo of Kadootje and Surprise inspecting the azalea. I haven't had an indoor azalea in years, but maybe this is the year to get one.

Kylee Baumle said...

That azalea in the last photo looks just like the one I bought in Florida a couple of years ago! It's not bloomed since I brought it here though. I left it outside, mulched well, last winter and am doing the same this winter. I never would have thought it would winter over, but it did! Maybe this spring I'll get some blooms. I hope so, because it's so pretty!

I love your house! It looks so cheery and cozy.

Obviously you have the perfect winter climate. You get to experience winter, but it's not nearly as harsh as ours. There's no way any of that would be blooming here, but I did have a surprise this week, as you know!

Please don't stop posting for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! Do YOU get tired of seeing your blooms? I thought not. Neither do we! :-)

Connie said...

What a lovely lot of blooms...it was fun to view them, as we are in the depths of mid-winter over here. Wish I could smell your winter jasmine...is it quite fragrant?

Garden Cats + Crafts said...

Oh Yolanda, sooo viel Englisch! Aber ich sehe, dass in Deinem Garten schon so einiges hervor linzt. Die kleinen Daisys luken auch bei uns schon hervor. Das ist aber leider auch so ziemlich alles.
Dein Post macht Vorfreude auf den hoffentlich bald anstehenden Frühling.

Liebe Grüße, Birgit

Anonymous said...

Hier nog geen Winterakoniet gezien, heb er ook niet om gezocht overigens.
Het kan natuurlijk ook nog, heb even snel gekeken en vorig jaar was hij er halverwege februari, hij is bij jou gewoon vroeg. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Wat een bloemenweelde daar bij jou! De een nog mooier dan de ander en onvoorstelbaar hoe lang sommigen bloeien! Ook je "binnenbloeiers" zien er mooi uit Yolanda!

Groetjes,
beuzeblaadje

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Please keep posting on Bloom Day, at least for those of us new to the Garden Blogosphere. (I dipped in my metaphorical toe starting last June.) Aren't Winter Aconites cheery little things? I planted some next to Snowdrops, but the dorky Aconites don't start blooming until after the Snowdrops have finished. They're more Spring Aconites.

Aiyana said...

I didn't realize Azalea could be grown indoors. The standard is just gorgeous!
Aiyana

Anonymous said...

ja zeg met jou l.. ik niet meer !!!
is gewoon onbeschoft ...
zoveel blommen ...
tsssssssssssssssssss
arrogant gewoon !!!!!
oneerlijk verdeelt op deze aardkloot ..................vertel nou je geheim maar es !!!
nou ???

Molly said...

Roses in January in Holland? Amazing.

Your conservatory looks like the most wonderful place in the world to wait out a winter storm.

Christa said...

What a delightful post. My favorite photo is the last one -- your two kitties admiring the azalea. LOL!

Rusty in Miami said...

I have a Rosemary bush that is about three years old and it never had any flowers, I am glad to see what they look like. An orchid that lasted 5 months!!!! It most be a record.
I hope you reconsider and continue posting on GBBD we will miss your post.

Anonymous said...

YE: How lovely your blooms look both inside and out! If we get to vote, I vote that you continue with GBBD. As Carol says, no blooms look the same from year to year! Thanks for sharing.

Meems said...

Yolanda: what a lovely post for GBBD. I don't think there is anything sweeter than the scent of orange blossoms ... I never knew they could grow indoors. The Hyacinths and Paperwhites are luscious looking too. Thanks for the tour of so many lovely blooms.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Blooms Day Bliss!

*Carol: have a wonderful walk through all the gardens and homes of those who participate in GBBD!

* Frances: there will be lots of pics of beautiful flowers and gorgeous kitties too, never fear!

*Barbara: yes, we have very different climates. I live close by the North sea and the seawater helps create a milder winter over here. My Rosa Moonlight is such a delight and a revelation to me too.

* Lisa: I don't know if Moonlight is available where you live, but you could always contact your local rose nursery. Guirlande d'Amour is also a strong one, both are climbers and scented too.

* Gisela: I'm sure that cats are able to smell the fragrant flowers but unlike us, they don't have to sniff them as their noses are far superior to ours.
Hyacinths are wonderful to have indoors, I agree.

* Hannele: good! ;-)

* Brimstone: ze bloeien dit jaar voor het eerst (ik had zaailingen van vrienden gekregen) dus ik ben er erg blij mee, vooral dat ze nu al bloeien.

* Nan Ondra: where are you hiding my dear? I've been trying to find you but the link doesn't work.
That some of my roses are still in flower (only a few blooms here and there) is an unexpected treat for me too. ;-)

*Marl1: tja, het is nog wat koud dus ze staan er een beetje dapper maar rillerig bij. ;-)

* Sue Swift: Maastricht is indeed a long way from my home. I've checked it out and it's fine with me Sue to use one of my posts for your carnival. Now I'm just very curious as to which post it is. ;-)

* Annie: the jasmine is a special winter jasmine that flowers from November to February here. My grass is almost always that green as we get so much rain here, just as in England.

* Jim: yes, looking at pics of frozen heucheras becomes a tad boring after a while. ;-)

Ewa said...

so many blooms in January - maybe I shall think to move to your climate? I would prefer much more such mild winters.
I liked best:
skimmia
moonlight
guirlande d'amour
winter jasmin
winter aconites
rosemary
daisies
penstemon
pansies
periwrinkle
daffodils
hyacinths
citrus
orchids
aeschynanthus
azalea

and

Bliss Team

did I miss something?

Ki said...

I knew you'd have a nice selection of flowering plants and your photos didn't disappoint. Impressive amount of outdoor flowering plants! What zone are you in? The Rosa 'moonlight' is especially radiant.

Sweet Home and Garden Carolina said...

A rose that has been in bloom since May ?! Now that's my kind of plant. Your garden is just incredible which is why you cannot stop showing it to us.

Dave said...

You certainly have quite a variety of flowers showing! Nice job! Your cats look very happy too!

Anonymous said...

Your world seems always filled with flowers and cats no matter what time of year it is. I'm so glad we share the rosemary blooming. I love having a connection to your garden which is so different than mine.

gintoino said...

Your garden looks lovely all year round Yolanda. Such beautifull orchids! And roses...It amazes me that you seem to have roses all year round. Sorry to year youl plan this to be your last GBBD post, I'm always delighted to come here and see whats blooming in Holland :-)

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Blooming Bliss!

* Meg: welcome! Glad you like both my houseplants and the kittycats.

* Jodi: Orchids at Ikea were an unexpected find for me too. Over here they have a plant department now where they sell pots, vases and quite a few plants too.
I have azaleas indoors every winter. They are great plants; easy to grow and long flowering too.

* Kylee: here's hoping that your azalea will flower for you next spring. You are right, as a rule we don't have harsh winters over here, all thanks to the North sea.But the sea also makes sure that our summers are not that warm and it gives us lots of rain too.

* Connie: the winter jasmine doesn't live up to expectation I'm afraid. Judging by its name it should be fragrant but it's not.

* Birgit: glad you enjoyed the few outdoor blooms that I have. Spring is on its way, it's true!

* Jalos: mijn akonietjes staan zeer beschut en op het zuiden, dat verklaart veel, denk ik.

* Beuzeblaadje: het is voor mij ook een enorme verrassing dat sommige van mijn rozen zo ontzettend lang bloeien. Uiteraard nu maar met een enkel trosje bloemen, maar toch...

* MMD: I love winter aconites, they glitter like gold in the sun. Wish I had a whole field full of them.

* Aiyana: azaleas are tough plants and can be grown indoors too. Come next May I'll put them out in the garden and pop them back inside again in October.

* jaloerse Lenie: hihi, beetje last van jaloezie? Een beschutte tuin doet wonderen en verder gewoon lekker veel binnenplanten kopen, he? ;-)

* Molly: it is quite unexpected, I agree. Most of my roses don't flower anymore but these two still do. The conservatory is a great place to be although not when it's hot outside, then it's like an oven in there.

* Christa: we share the same favourite pic!

* Rusty: how odd that your rosemary bush hasn't flowered yet. Five months is a very very long time. I even checked to see if it was a real plant, not a fake, but yes, it's real. I never knew they could flower that long either.

* Layanee: glad to share both my indoor and my outdoor blooms with you!

* Meems: orange blossom has indeed a blissful scent and we enjoy it very much. I've had some of my mini citrus trees for 4 years or more. During winter they are inside (because of frost) but as soon as it's May, out they go. In October I pop them back inside again.

Robin's Nesting Place said...

You still have so many lovely blooms. It almost doesn't seen like it's the dead of winter there. You definitely maximize your growing potential considering your space and weather conditions.

Shirley said...

Hi again, Yolanda :-)

Congratulations on your year of blooms! What an excellent selection yet again for your final post :-D

Once again we have some flowering plants in common with the skimmia and the penstemon. It has been very interesting to compare - thank-you for sharing :-D

Anonymous said...

Yolanda, wow. Your roses are beautiful, I can almost smell those hyacinths from here, and those orchids - wow. I've never been able to nurture orchids to bloom again. Well, except one that blooms for me twice a year. I learned that the trick for that particular orchid is to pretty much do nothing except water regularly and give it a few pieces of new bark every month. LOL. Doesn't like orchid fertilizer!

Thanks for visiting my bloom day post!

Reflection Through The Seasons said...

Yolanda...
What a wonderful variety of flowers to enjoy during one of the dreariest months of the year in the garden. Such a great breath of spring you’ve treated us to.
Its always a joy to see the cats too. Marion

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Blooming Bliss!

*Ewa: LOL, no you haven't missed a thing! And yes, it would be a good idea to move to a much milder climate. ;-)

* Ki: Don't know which zone I'm in, that's more an American thing, not European. So I can''t help you there, sorry.
Rosa Moonlight was one of the best buys I ever got for my garden.

* Carolyn Gail: since April even. ;-)Wonderful isn't it, when plants flower for most of the year.

* Dave: I try to have flowers both inside and out all year long. The mild climate I garden in is a big help of course.

* MSS: I feel connected with other garden bloggers too when I see we have the same plants in flower at the same time even though we're thousands of miles apart. Flowers are connecting people, isn't it wonderful?

* Gintoino: my roses have amazed me too but I must admit that a mild winter is a big help. ;-)

* hi Shirl: thanks! We are not all that far away from each other (relatively speaking) so it stands to reason that we should have at least some blooms in common and we have!!! ;-)

* Melinda: some orchids are very easy to grow, I've found that out too. Isn't it marvellous? You hardly have anything to do and it still flowers for months on end year after year.

* Marion: during the wintermonths I cheer myself (and my fellow garden bloggers) up with lots of spring flowering bulbs inside my home. Lots of purrrrrs from the Bliss team!

Tracy said...

So wonderful seeing all these blooms in January--especially outdoors! I noticed some primrose still hanging onto flowers in bloom in our garden this morning and there's a lot of green here & there. Your orchids are splendid. As are your azalea. I've not had much luck with azalea indoor, sadly. Happy Day ((HUGS))

Whyite said...

Beautiful flowers in bloom. I really love the winter jasmine.

I too would like a climate change and be a little warmer. Even though on some days or weeks, winter isn't winter here in Oklahoma. Sometimes it's more like spring.

Kylee Baumle said...

Yolanda Elizabet ~ According to this map, from Garden Web UK, you are in Zone 8. Now I know how you're able to grow the things you do and for so much of the year! Lucky you!! *serious zone envy* ;-)

Naturegirl said...

Certainly you have surrounded yourself with blooms throughout the year!!I love the last photo with your cats!! You have a NEW look here to your blog! I don't remember ads before ..you'll have to let me know if they are worth featuring. Always a joy to come by. hugs NG purzzzzzzzzz

Anonymous said...

I'm going to join everyone else and say keep on keeping on for GBBD! (I plan on repeating myself - why not!) I'm forever amazed at the length of your growing season. Do you have problems with scale on your citrus? Do you have any tricks for keeping it looking so healthy and happy or is it just a magic touch?

kate said...

I enjoyed seeing the winter Aconite poking out ... they are adorable. I hope that they continue to spread about. Winter jasmine is such a treat to see - I love it. I'm amazed at how your roses keep right on blooming through the winter months as well as the penstemon. Well, I love any outdoor blooms in winter since I will never have them here.

Your indoor blooms are gorgeous, especially the orchids. I would love to have citrus trees.

Strawberry Lane said...

What an inspiration you are with those beautiful photographs and amazing flowers blooming everywhere. Just a joy to see.

Nora Lee said...

Oh my, what beautiful plants and blooms! I am so glad I stopped by to visit. I can't hardly wait for spring to come around my way to try and get a few things to grow...there is snow on the ground right now.

Stop by and visit sometime.

Sandra

Betty said...

Yolanda,
Gosh, all your flowers are beautiful but the interior of your home is very calm, serene and peaceful...I believe you use a very soothing pale blue color.....

A treat to visit in all aspects...Betty

Kerri said...

You are surrounded by beauty inside and out! The Aeschynanthus reminds me of my Columnea, and I can almost smell the hyacinths and paperwhites!
You certainly have a wonderful variety of plants there at Bliss!

Entangled said...

All your blooms are beautiful, but it's especially uplifting to me to see the ones that represent early spring here - winter aconite and winter jasmine in particular.

I'd like to add my request that you keep posting your Bloom Day flowers. I love to see them, even if I don't always get here on the 15th ;-)

Green thumb said...

It has become a habit- time and again- on every 15th of the month- to see the wonderful blooming flowers with cute cats swaggering around the Blissful blooms. Now that we are addicted to GBBD at Bliss, there will be some withdrawal symptoms on not finding your GBBD post. But GBBD or otherwise, we love everything at Bliss and may you continue with your bloomig posts for a long long time...

SchneiderHein said...

Auch wenn Blooms at Bliss nun beendet sein soll, so wäre ich doch daran interessiert, wie lange Deine Moonlight noch weiter blüht. Es ist wirklich unglaublich. Aber Rosen verwundern mich von Jahr zu Jahr mehr!
Liebe Grüße
Silke

Anonymous said...

Hi Yolanda,
Amazing you still have so much flowers in your garden at this time of the year. In the garden I mean of course.
Hope to see your flowers yet again in februari. I'm surprised wat will bloom in that period.

Bye,

Bert