Hunting For December Blooms on Bliss

At this time of year there's not all that much in bloom in the garden if you garden in a temperate or, worse, a cold climate. This seems to be a worry for many a garden blogger who has joined Garden Bloggers Blooms Day, a fun idea that sprouted (grin) from Carol's (of May Dreams Gardens ) brain. But it doesn't worry me though, because at this time of year I love to hunt for the odd bloom here and there and I was pleasantly surprised a couple of times by unexpected blooms. And, as there's not all that much in bloom outside, we're allowed to show off our indoor blooms as well. So fellow garden bloggers, don't worry, be happy! ;-)
First I want to show you the usual suspects that flower outside at this time of year: pansies!
They flower for such a long time and in so many different colours too: blue, yellow, white, burgundy and pink.
I use the little darlings where ever I can find a spot for them; in window boxes, hanging baskets and pots. Pansies and violets cheer up my garden in every season of the year. I love them to bits, small wonder as Yolanda means Violet. What's in a name, eh?
The winter Jasmin is also a plant to flower at this time of year, just as this one
my Christmas box or Sarcococca humilis. Once those flowers open the air will be filled with a wonderful scent. Another good plant for adding some colour and scent in winter is Skimmia japonica Rubella.
My old friend Periwinkle can be depended upon to put up a few bloom at this time of year too.

This is what my garden looked like this morning so I was agreeably surprised to find my Lavatera still in flower
and my lovely Rosa Magenta was also kind enough to give me a lovely rose today. Most people seem to think that roses are very delicate plants but I've found many of them to be as tough as old boots.
But today while I was hunting for blooms in my garden I came upon some very unexpected finds:
the hanging rosemary in my strawberry pot had started to flower and so was the fennel in the kitchen garden.
But I found more unexpected blooms in my kitchen garden such as the Centranthus and also the Bergenia.
I also found that this one was still outside in its pot but it should have been inside for a month at least. So far it seems to have survived the night frosts but this weekend it will go into my Victorian greenhouse to overwinter there safely.

In the south borders I found the yellow wallflowers were still in flower as they have been since last October.
I was utterly amazed to find this plant in flower too, my white Penstemon. This plant is supposed to be not all that hardy and would probably not survive a winter with some frost. Isn't it amazing then to see this Penstemon in flower in December and after a night of frost as well?
Last Spring I bought some pots with bulbs in flower and after they had flowered I put them outside next to my greenhouse and promptly forgot all about them. I had planned to plant them in my garden when the time was right. Imagine my surprise today when I noticed this:
grape hyacinths in flower outside in the garden at this time of year. I took one pot inside and the others I planted in the new border.

Another plant I brought inside is my Camellia that's been flowering for over a month now and it seems to be very happy in my conservatory.
And there are more who enjoy life in the conservatory as you can see here.
Erm, I was talking about the plant, do pay attention, please! ;-)
The Aeschynanthus produces wonderful flowers, don't you think ?

My Orchids are providing lots of colourful joy inside my home. Here are some of them. Gorgeous, aren't they?
Recently I bought a few houseplants, one of them a Kalanchoe. This one is very pretty as it has pink double flowers, as you can see here.
My Streptocarpus is down to its last flower but it has been happily flowering its little heart out for months now. It's one of my favorite houseplants.
I like to have flowers and plants everywhere, especially in places where you notice them a lot like next to the kitchen tap. It's amazing how often you use the tap, and every time you do you're treated to this sight. Not bad, eh?
My indoor blooms would not be complete without a bunch of flowers or two. This one is shop bought
and this one I picked in my front garden a few days ago. Not too shabby eh, to be able to pick a bunch of your own flowers in December. This little bunch consists of rosa Moonlight, rosa Guirlande d'Amour, rosa Sombreuil, rosa Madame Alfred Carriere, some Gaura and a few sprigs of winter Jasmin.
copyright 2007: Y.E.W. Heuzen

We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
Oliver Herford (1863-1935)

Year Round Gardening

Sunrise in December

Gardening all year long is something that I like doing. I garden in a temperate climate and that means that outside gardening is not always possible. Right now the days are very short as it gets light around 8 o'clock in the morning and dark around 4.30 in the afternoon, so that leaves very little time for outside gardening during weekdays.

People over here who work outside their homes leave in darkness in the morning and return home in darkness again at night. It's small wonder that there are many people suffering from the winter blues. The only daylight they get to see and enjoy is during the weekend. I'm fortunate in that I work from home and can work at any time during the day or night, as long as I meet my deadlines/targets.
This season so far we have had some light night frost, but not really all that much to write home about. The temperature is on average between 5 and 12 degrees C during the day, but it feels a bit colder when there's a nasty wind blowing from the north or east. It rains quite a lot here during the Autumn and Winter; in fact it rains a lot here all year round and sometimes for days and days on end which makes outdoor gardening impossible, whatever the season.
But, because I am fortunate enough to have a nice big conservatory (a big selling point when we bought this house), I can always manage a spot of gardening, either indoors or out, all year long.
In my conservatory there are many houseplants that do quite well there as it is the lightest room in the house and, as we all know, most plants need tons of daylight. It still gets to be around 18 to 20 C in the conservatory during the day when the sun is out, which makes it a very popular place to be for many plants and also for all the members of the Bliss team.
I love growing orchids in my conservatory as they do quite well there.

There are many plants to be found in my conservatory, even a big tree. I like trees of all kinds and shapes and sizes except for the Monkey Puzzle tree. For months this year I've been trying to find the right bottles to make myself a fun bottle tree for my garden. I've wanted one ever since I saw a pic of a gorgeous bottle tree on Pam's Digging blog, but so far no luck. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to be happy with the tree in my conservatory I have at the moment and it's a very special tree indeed, as you can see here. ;-)
My indoor cat tree; charmingly decorated from top to bottom with: Kadootje, Merlin and Dolly.

As I wrote before I love growing orchids in my conservatory and they do surprisingly well here. When I buy a new orchid it is usually put in either the living room, kitchen or bedroom so I can enjoy lovely orchid flowers dotted all over my house. As soon as an orchid has stopped flowering, I pop it into my conservatory and mostly forget about it. I water it from time to time and so far I've managed to keep most of them alive and well. Some of my orchids I've had for years now and they keep producing flowers again and again, year in, year out.
This one for instance, is producing some more flower shoots even as we speak and I've lost track of how often it has done that. I bought it years ago for only 5 euro (slightly more than 5 US dollars) at a market stall in Rotterdam years agoand think it's great value for money as its flowers last for months on end.
I'm utterly amazed that my orchids are doing so well as I'm not really all that green fingered and have managed to kill off a fair share of the houseplant population through the years.

This orchid growing thingy is new to me and rather exciting; I love it that I have orchids in flower all year round. Those gorgeous exotic blooms give me such a sense of luxury, especially during wintertime.
A very cute mini-orchid flowering for the third time.


The conservatory is also used for propagating plants. The above plants are kept in a mini Victorian greenhouse so that my cats will leave them alone and won't eat them. The spider plant on the left is grown for one purpose only; it will be eaten by my cats once it has grown a bit more. I like providing my cats with some grass to munch on during the winter season and this one is a firm favorite with them and o so easy to propagate. On the right is a botanical Cyclamen that I've grown myself from seed of which I'm very proud.

Apart from the lovely loads of daylight and the nice warm temperature, there is one more reason why both my houseplants and kittycats love the conservatory:
the indoor fountain that keeps the humidity up and provides my cats with drinking water. Of course, the sound of running water is wonderful to listen to, as it is so soothing. I love being in my conservatory this time of year. It can be a bit hot during summer in there, but during the rest of the year it's a great place to be.

And perhaps surprisingly, I also do a spot of harvesting from time to time in my conservatory. These mini-oranges and the many fruits on my little kumquat tree where ready for picking. But what to do with them?
The mini oranges are not sweet enough to eat just like that so, after giving it some thought, I did this with my harvest of kumquats and oranges.
Marmalade!

So, you see, it is possible to garden all year long even when the climate you have is temperate or even cold instead of hot.

copyright: Y.E.W. Heuzen. 2007

The simpler effect is always obtained by means of temperate and wise restraint.
Gertrude Jekyll

Birdwatching

is something that I like to indulge in, especially during wintertime and I'm not the only one, the Bliss team loves live bird TV too. A few years ago the under-gardener made king size windowsills so that all the cats can safely sit or sleep on the windowsill without the fear falling off or cramping their style in any way. In summertime they love to sit and do a spot of sunbathing and during winter they love lying there, basking in the heat from the radiator beneath the windowsill. I usually sit near the window so that I have a lovely view from my garden and when the cats are not on the king size windowsill, they are on the footstool in front of my chair.
I've placed a big garden table in front of my living room windows with a nice display to cheer us up during these dark and gloomy days before Christmas. There should always be something of interest in your garden, whatever the season. And this way I can look at it and enjoy it from the comfort of my own chair, without getting cold or wet.
Of course you noticed that all the cats were fast asleep but when it's lunchtime for the birds and they all come to feed, it's a different story altogether. Gone are the sleepy heads, all the cats are wide awake and very keen to watch their daily programme of live bird TV. Here's a pic of Merlin avidly watching the birdies! Well, maybe not so much. ;-)

Above the garden table is the pergola that the under-gardener made last Spring and from it dangle quite a few bird feeders, not forgetting my bird chandeliers from Ikea, of course.
Here's a pic of my latest bird feeder that I bought last weekend. So far no bird has approached it yet, but these things take time. First the birds have to get used to it and then they will come and feed from it.
This new one is for the big birds to use, for the smaller birds I have a special peanut feeder just for them alone and they can eat there to their hearts' content without being afraid of being chased away by those pesky big birds.
Only small birds can slip through the bars of this birdcage and feed. Great, isn't it?

Another very popular feeder is this one, the little sparrows just love it, but oh what a mess they make while feeding; seeds are literally dropped all over the place.
But not to worry, there are plenty of little helpers about who love to clean up the mess the sparrows have made, like my friends the turtle doves,
mrs Blackbird,
mr Blackbird,
and this finch here too. I even saw some sparrows helping with the cleaning up, which was kind of them.
The suet balls containing loads of seeds prove to be very popular too with many birds. Today I saw some starlings pecking away at them, a couple of sparrows and some blue and other tits as well.

It's fun watching the birds feed and also what they do after their bellies are full; it's snuggling up time!

Lately I have been very busy unfortunately and unable to respond to all the many wonderful comments, best wishes, compliments and congratulations I received for both my birthday and for getting my first garden article published. So thank you all very much, I appreciate it a lot; reading all your kind words made me a very happy bunny!


BTW Next year another garden article of mine will be published in the first Tuin&Co (=Garden&Co) magazine of 2008.

copyright: Y.E.W. Heuzen.2007

Let us not always say
'Spite of this flesh today
I strove, made head, gained ground upon the whole!'
As the bird wings and sings
Let us cry 'All good things
Are ours, nor soul helps flesh more, now, than flesh helps soul.'
Elizabeth Barrett Browning