Saturday, January 15, 2011

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day-January 2011

Happy New Year, everyone!  Let's see what the torrents of rain have brought in the way of blooms recently.

I can't believe my Pink Quill (Tillandsia cyanea) is still blooming.  I thought everything would be blown out and faded by now, but as you can see, there is still quite a show going on.

I know it looks dark, but that was the setting I had to go with to get an accurate representation of that purple, and the pink is accurate too.  Isn't that a great combination?  

Similar in structure, but totally different in pallet is one of my most consistent bloomers,  my golden shrimp plant (Pachystachys lutea (hee hee-it sounds like it's related to a pachyderm)).


Well, unlike a pachyderm, the flowers on my polka dot plant are teeny tiny and freakin' hard to focus on when there is any sort of breeze in the yard (which there always is when I'm trying to get my GBBD photos! Not that I'm complaining-it's awfully muggy without it.)


In the same pot and also with great foliage and tiny flowers is my coleus. It's hard to focus on the flowers with such pretty leaves below, but they are an awfully nice purple. 


And, speaking of purple, my African Daisy (Osteospermum) still has a few nice blooms on it and even a couple specks of pollen in the middle for contrast.


My bougainvillea is beginning to fade a bit, but I still found one creamy flower very much on display for GBBD.


And, finally, I've shown you what my red ginger (Alpinia purpurata) does when it's done blooming.  It starts putting out new foliage to grow new plants...except when it puts out new flowers instead.  See the gangly, spent flower coming up out of the middle and falling over toward the left?  All the other flowers are coming out from around the base of that one. I haven't yet figured out when it makes foliage and when it makes flowers-anyone out there know?  


To see what is going on in other gardens around the world, or to share what is going on in your garden, visit our Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day host, Carol, at May Dreams' Gardens

7 comments:

Carolyn @ Carolyn's Shade Gardens said...

No blooms outside with deep snow cover, and none inside either, but I really enjoyed seeing your contribution to GBBD.

Darla said...

Very pretty blooms. My hypoestes (polka dot plant, pink blush) is planted in the ground and does quite well. Most people do not let their coleus flower, I do, they are the sweetest little blooms.

Anonymous said...

That Pink Quill is a gorgeous plant. I am one who removes coleus flowers. I guess it is just a habit, but the flowers are delicate and pretty.

Cat said...

Such a nice visit to your blog for GBBD and so many beautiful flowers! My coleus is pinched until late fall when I let it flower...the bees love it ;)

Wendy said...

That pink and purple is amazing! It's like a pretty little thing with a bow on top.

Dreamybee said...

Carolyn-You may not have any blooms now, but I enjoyed visiting your blog and seeing what you *will* have blooming later in the year.

Darla-Thank you. My polka dot plant (thanks for the "real" name-that's one that I didn't have in my files) is in a pot along with my coleus. If I happen to be outside with the clippers I'll trim the blooms off my coleus as well-I like the flowers, but it reminds me too much of basil bolting, and I always think it's a bad thing!

gardenwalkgardentalk-I think the Pink Quill is one of my favorites because it's always such a nice surprise when it finally blooms.

Whimsical Gardener-I haven't noticed the bees on my coleus. (LOL-that sounds terrible if you don't know what a coleus is!) I'll have to pay more attention and see if they like it or not.

Wendy-That's a perfect description!

Care said...

oh, thank you! Such a beautiful thing to see when all we have is snow. Thank you for these photos. Made my day.