GBBD: January "Blooms"

It's time for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day once again, and even though I am late, I certainly didn't want to miss it, especially after missing it last month, the first time in nearly seven years that I didn't participate in this monthly celebration of what is blooming.  But what is a Midwestern gardener supposed to show in mid-January after a week of sub-zero temperatures and the garden buried under snow?

I know many in this region will be showing off their houseplants for this GBBD.  But I am not much of a houseplant person; I've killed more houseplants than I care to remember.  Usually I bring in a few annuals to overwinter, but I procrastinated too long on the geraniums, and the coleus cuttings I potted up mysteriously died.  Well, it really isn't a mystery--some lazy gardener forgot to water them regularly.

The only successful overwintering this year has been a dragonwing begonia that was just too pretty to leave to the cold this past fall.  Not only is it growing like crazy, but, as you can see in this not-so-great photo, it is still producing some blooms.

I usually also pot up some bulbs for forcing in the winter.  But I was so busy during the holidays that I didn't even think about it until I started seeing so many pretty amaryllis blooms on blogs and Facebook pages.  I finally remembered the amaryllis bulbs sitting in the cold garage and brought them in last week, just before we left for a week in Texas.  When we returned, I was amazed by how much they had grown already.  Last year these bulbs grew huge leaves without a single flower, however, so it remains to be seen whether they will actually bloom.  The one on the left does look promising, though.

My collection of "blooms" for this Bloom Day is obviously pretty paltry.  But that's okay.  Winter is the time when I finally get around to some indoor projects I put off during the gardening season, and it's the time when I enjoy looking through gardening books and getting new ideas for the coming season.  The garden isn't much to look at this time of year, but I do enjoy the 'Limelight' hydrangea blooms still hanging on outside my living room window.

The grasses are also pretty this time of year though most of them are weighted down by snow at the moment.

Frankly, gardening hasn't been on my mind very much for the past month.  We had a new grandson born just before Christmas, and last week we were finally able to make the 800-mile drive down to see him.  Nothing like cuddling a sweet baby for making you forget anything else!

I have not been very active with blogging in the last month or more, and here is one of the main reasons why.  I am not much of a quilter, but I do make a quilt for each of my grandchildren.  Since new Baby B arrived two weeks early, I was frantically sewing in every spare minute I could find, finishing this just days before we left.  My daughter loves elephants, so when I found this material with Dr. Seuss' Horton, I knew it would be perfect.  Among the many wishes I have for my grandson, I hope that he will grow up to love reading as much as his Grandma and Mommy do.

And so another Bloom Day passes--who knows what February may bring?  Last year we were in the midst of a snowy deep freeze, but the year before, a few crocuses were already popping up through the soil.  We'll just have to wait and see what Mother Nature has in store for us.  For more blooms across the world, be sure to check out our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Wildflower Wednesday Wanderings

Don't let the title mislead you--it is Wildflower Wednesday, the monthly celebration of all untamed beauties.  But the wandering is a mental rambling of this and that, not a physical journey.  I had planned to take Sophie to one of our favorite places, the nearby forest preserve or the prairie park for a walking adventure in search of late-blooming wildflowers for this month's post. But a nasty sinus/respiratory/icky something infection has kept me inside more than I would like for the past week and too drained of energy to do more than what is absolutely necessary.

So instead I wandered around the farm, looking for possibilities.  The pickin's were slim.

I found only a small remnant of last year's October subject, the Aster pilosus, otherwise known as frost aster.  Last year there was a swath of these airy blooms around the outbuildings, providing some late flowering interest.  But a zealous trimming/weeding this summer by Mr. Procrastinator eliminated all but this small stem that escaped the powerful weedeater.   

Ah, to paraphrase the old saying, "One woman's wildflower is another man's weed."

Speaking of weeds, nearby in the butterfly garden, a late Aster-maybe is nearing the end of its blooms.  Its blooms are much smaller than the rest of the native asters and despite the photo's presentation, a pale pink in color.  I have no idea what type of aster this is and whether it even is an aster--or ex-aster for the experts.  The stems and branching habits are somewhat different than the New England asters, and in fact, I thought it was a weed of some sort.  It resisted pulling, so I left it alone.  Its late delicate blooms make me glad I did, although I may be sorry  if it tries to take over this garden next season like some of the other natives.

One of those thriving natives, the New England asters, have completed their show and already setting seed.  I did say a while back I was going to keep these from going to seed, didn't I?  Oh well, spring will be a good time for pulling unwanted seedlings, and I do like the looks of dried seedpods in the winter garden.  Hmm, this reminds me I still need to buy marshmallows for our weiner roast on Saturday.

Before we leave the butterfly garden where most wildflowers/natives reside, I want to show you this photo taken a few weeks ago.  It's a Penstemon X (the proper name escapes me now) given to me two years ago by our generous wildflower hostess Gail.  It's a spring bloomer, but never before have I noticed how lovely it looks in the fall--just look at that burgundy foliage!

Letting the feet and mind wander away from wildflowers now . . . two nights of frost last week have finally done in most of the annuals.  The once multi-hued zinnias are now all a uniform color, in varying shades of brown.

Some annuals are more cold-hardy than others, however.  The white 'Snow Sonata' cosmos in the same garden are still providing a feast for the hungry bumbles and honeybees.  Many of you have commented on these cosmos in my last few posts, and I will agree that these are definitely must-haves in my garden from now on.  I only wish I had saved more seeds from them, but they should be readily available again next year from Renee's Garden 

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I've been giving a lot of excuses in the past month or two for why I haven't completed all my intended fall gardening chores, and here's one more.  I spent many hours over the past several weeks completing this crib quilt.  I'm no master quilter--that's my mother's forte--so this piece is not perfect, but lots of love goes into making one of these every few years.  This is the sixth baby quilt I've made, each one for a special grandchild.

And did I forget to mention I have a new grandson??  Already a month old, here he is at one day old.  Grandma is anxious to get over this icky virus to get some new photos and spend some quality cuddling time with him again.

Thanks for indulging my ramblings this morning; for more informative posts on this Wildflower Wednesday, be sure to visit the ever-enlightening Gail at Clay and Limestone.