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Welcome to my zone 9a habitat garden near Houston, Texas.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - January 2011

Ah, Bloom Day! That day each month when our imaginative hostess Carol of May Dreams Gardens invites us to share what is blooming in our gardens. Or not, as the case may be. In January in my garden it's mostly not.

I scrounged through my garden, trying desperately to find some blooms I could show you today. I'm here to tell you the pickings are slim.

The vegetable garden actually gave me the most hope.


To help out the few bees who visit the garden in January, I've allowed one of my broccoli heads to bloom. Turns out that bees loooove broccoli! Especially when there's nothing else to sip from.


In the mesclun bed, some of the arugula has bolted and started to bloom. I really like these delicate little blossoms.


Okay, I know it's not a bloom, but I'm desperate here, and I just happen to love the look of this giant red mustard. It's too decorative to hide away in the veggie garden.


These poor little mums have a right to look bedraggled. They've been in bloom for months.


The coral honeysuckle, on the other hand, has just tentatively started blooming.


The winter-blooming leatherleaf mahonia is sloooowly opening up its little bell-shaped blossoms.


The rudbeckia, black-eyed Susan, has been in bloom since summer and stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that it is now winter, still sending out a few blossoms to brighten my days.


The 'Red Lion' amaryllis is almost there. Just like spring in Southeast Texas. In the midst of winter, it is the promise of spring.

Thank you for visiting my winter-sleeping garden this Bloom Day. Please come back soon.

18 comments:

  1. Wow, that's an early honeysuckle bloom! Bolting winter greens provided one of my bloom day photos, too. Your amaryllis looks like it's going to be gorgeous. Happy GBBD!

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  2. Same to you, Amy. Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. aloha,

    looks amazing to see your honeysuckle still coming out...wow!

    i've never seen broccoli blooms before, they have the same flowers as mustard it looks like.

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  4. Yes, the flowers are much the same. All the brassicas' flowers are very similar. And aloha to you, too, noel. Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. Honey your garden is more "awake" than mine here in Tennessee! What a blessing to see those blooms you have. Loved it!

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  6. Wow, I'm surprised by your honeysuckle too! The black-eyed Susan finally gave it up this past week in my garden! Thanks for stopping by. It's nice to meet a fellow Texas blogger in zone 8b. I'll add you to my blogroll.

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  7. Well, at least we haven't had a foot of snow this week like some in your area, Jennifer! I'm just happy to have blooms of any kind at this time of year.

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  8. Thanks, WG. I'm honored to be on your blogroll and I'll add you to mine!

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  9. Hello Dorothy...There are not many of us "Dorothy's" out there so good to see you! Your veggies are faring much better than mine. Is your honeysuckle the color of the new 2011 color of the year, Pantone's "Honeysuckle"? I keep reading that it is all the color rage for this year and will "lift our spirits"...but that is what gardening does for me!

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  10. Hey, we Dorothys have to stick together! I've been reading a lot about honeysuckle the color, too, Dorothy. The Houston Chronicle, our local paper, had a story about it about a week ago. My impression is that it is a bit more pinkish than the coral honeysuckle bloom. If it will lift our spirits, then I'm all for it!

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  11. I think your mustard is the star of the season right now though I'm sure the flowers will be catching up soon enough. And the broccoli is cool too. Once I took a head in full bloom as a cut flower into the office. It was a hit and the non-gardeners never guessed what it was. Happy belated bloom (and veggie) day!

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  12. Thanks, James. I find broccoli blooms - and brassicas, in general - quite attractive. I'm glad to meet a fellow traveler!

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  13. Wow, your coral honeysuckle is already blooming! Mine won't start until March (if it follows previous years).

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  14. It just has a couple of premature blooms actually, Kathleen. I don't know what persuaded it to start so early.

    (By the way, I loved your piece about Palo Duro in the Chronicle today!)

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  15. Some interesting ones! I love the giant red mustard.

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  16. Hi, Dorothy, I especially like the coral honeysuckle. I planted a couple this past summer and am looking forward to their flowers - and the hummingbirds! - when it warms up again. I am sure the bees appreciate your broccoli. :)

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  17. Not only is it attractive, Mac, it tastes good, too!

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  18. I'm fond of the coral honeysuckle, too, Ruth. It's blooming a bit early this year and is most appreciated in my currently almost bloomless garden.

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