The Bulbs Are Planted

Here are a few of the plants that I am waiting on. They will be blooming before too long, all except the one on the far right..a Clivia. That's a fairly new plant to me and I have just been growing it for a few months. I'm not sure when it will bloom. There is a Hyacinth in the water vase, my shallow planter with Paperwhites, My new Amaryllis, and then the Clivia.

Things are growing downstairs under the lights and near the big windows. It isn't a fancy set up, but sufficient for me. They are houseplants and if they behave and get a blossom or look especially pretty...upstairs they go to help beautify our home.Some of these will decorate my porch and deck in the summer. The ivy didn't grow fast enough to cover the wreath shaped frame for Christmas...maybe next year. It will go out on my porch this summer. the one geranium that I brought in...a white one...is hanging on in the cool, cool basement. It reaches for the light and sometimes a blossom will go right into the fixture above it. I don't know why I saved this particular one...I don't usually like white geraniums...by the time the plant starts to look nice...the early ones have brownish petals and are beginning to fade. This one was just hanging on, when the cold weather started and looked so sad out in my driveway garden...that I just dug it up and saved it. I told it that it had better bloom...or out it would go. It has had a little bloom ever since I brought it in. Sometimes scare tactics work :)

My plant rack with the cacti on it. The two shelves below will hold these plants when I start the zinnia seeds later on this Spring. They won't mind the shift, because the lights below will be turned on for them to enjoy.

That clump of viney vines behind the Ivy, is my Mandevilla from the yard. It has lost all of it's leaves this year. I was going to toss it when I noticed new growth...I'll give it a reprieve for a while to see if it will start growing. I have pots of Hyacinths and a couple of other bulbs like my 4 Amaryllis just starting out. I love flowers in the house during the winter. It is hard for me to pick the flowers from my yard though...I love to see them in their natural setting. The Bouquet of the Month project that Noelle started has helped me pick some flowers and enjoy them in bouquets. Soon we will see Tulips and Daffs in the grocery stores. There will be pots of Shamrocks too. I'm thinking of the day when little nubs will start poking up through the earth in my yard. Little Snowdrops and Crocus too...It's snowing again and more predicted for the weekend. I guess I will have to be patient and just baby the plants that are in my care, here in the house, for the winter.

Balisha