Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Garden Blogger Bloom Day December 2011


The roses are blooming nicely despite night time temperatures that keep hovering at or just below the 32 degree mark. Not lots and lots of bloom but pink Flawless, above,  Flower Girl, below, and miniature rose Demitasse all have several blooms each.


Osmanthus heterophyllus, holly leaf osmanthus, has just begun blooming. Planted as a possibly useful plant for holiday decorating, the disappointing reality is that many of the leaves are not holly-like at all. Still, it is a nice border shrub and smells delightful when in bloom.


Plumbago auriculata has grown up into the arbor that supports two Banksia roses. The evergreen roses protect the more fragile plumbago and for now it is still blooming. It should eventually go dormant for a couple of months although the cold nights we've had this month haven't made that happen yet.

Anisodontea is in full bloom, the cold nights are of no apparent concern.

 Abutilon Souvenir de Bonne has several blooms and buds.


Workhorse Argyranthemum frutescens blooms much of the year and is useful for little bouquets. It is actually happier now than it was a couple of months ago in the heat.


Allysum blooms here and there, adding a bit of color to the sunny winter days, which should be rainy winter days. Hopefully we will be getting rain for Christmas, with delivery scheduled for the beginning of January.


Camellia sasanqua Kanjiro is still blooming...this is the best year it has ever had. I have been keeping my coffee grounds out of the compost and putting them directly on several of the acid lovers in the yard. They have all responded with vigorous growth and increased bloom. For those dealing with alkaline soil I highly recommend this trick.





There are also a few pelargoniums blooming, wax begonias, solanum jasminoides, a few salvias, pansies, and good old dwarf carnation Evermore. As I write this there are clouds moving in...will Garden Blogger Bloom Day bring us rain? I sure hope so!

To see other blooms from near and far please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens and check out what is happening around the world as the year winds to an end. Just because the year is ending doesn't mean the blooms have stopped!

13 comments:

Christine @ The Gardening Blog said...

Oh you have so many lovely blooms given your temperatures! I love the Anisodontea - very pretty and I simply adore the colouring of your Abutilon!
Happy GBBD :)

Andrea said...

Hi, this is the first time I'm here. Does it snow also there? The word Davis seem to be very very familiar, as our beloved lady boss long ago was an alumni of your famous university.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful, beautiful blooms! Thank you for sharing them, and for the tip about the coffee grounds and acid loving plants. I have been dumping my coffee and tea grounds directly in the garden. Now I can make sure I dump on the azaleas!

Layanee said...

Oh, roses in December. You are lucky.

growingagardenindavis said...

Hi Christine...I'm surprised that the blooms keep coming although the days have been mostly sunny and 50 degrees or so. But our nights are colder than normal.
Welcome Andrea! We only very rarely, every 10 years or so get snow. And it never stays. It is always very exciting when it happens.
Great plan Curtissann! The coffee grounds idea was suggested to me by the authors of What is Wrong With My Plant during a Garden Rant discussion. It has worked wonders for me!
I know Layanee! I do appreciate it.

scottweberpdx said...

Lovely post...I've never planted alyssum in my garden, but whoever lived here before me must have, I'm always finding it in the most unusual places...always makes me smile :-)

Fairegarden said...

How wonderful, Leslie! I love all the pinks and imagine the Alyssum's fragrance add so much to the beauty.

Dorothy/Gardening with Nature said...

Oh my goodness, what a pretty garden you have here in the middle of December. Your pictures make me smile.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Such pale, pretty things in bloom in your garden! Thanks for the tip about the coffee grounds. I'll try that with the blueberries next year.

Kathy said...

What a sight for deprived eyes! Roses are one of the last plants to stop blooming in my garden. A light frost doesn't really faze them. I suppose it has to be the right kind of roses.

bookworm said...

I have...gardening envy! To live in a place where things bloom in December and it rarely snows. Oh well! I enjoyed your photos very much. I'll have to remember about the coffee grounds trick. Happy GBBD.

Patsy Bell Hobson said...

When I open your blog, I am instantly smiling. I love your blog. It is beautiful.

Gail said...

Goodness Leslie what wonderful blooms and beautifully photographed. I loved seeing the sky in the rose photo. I miss flowers in the garden~Something tells me this is going to be a long winter! gail