Helleborus niger ‘HGC Jacob’
This lonely Christmas Rose is representative of what is going on outside for this January’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. The temperatures got down to 2 degrees after Christmas and have only just begun to recover. We did get a few days in the fifties but now it’s gotten cold again. It was just enough to get the first snowdrops to declare the end of winter.
1st snowdrops
But mostly this image of a Camellia flower more accurately states the wintry conditions.
Camellia japonica which was red last month
As usual I retreat into the greenhouse for flowery solace in January. The Narcissus ‘Silver Palace’ has been blooming for a month.
Narcisus catabricus ‘Silver Palace’
And it’s now joined by one of its yellow flowered brethren.
Narcissus ‘Roy Herold Seedling’
There is one peculiarity that I noted in walking the yard today. The Witch Hazel Diane which normally blooms after the more common Chinese Witch Hazel has already bloomed on some of it’s branches but they are yellow. This is really strange for a plant known for it’s orange-red flowers.
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’ with yellow flowers
Other branches are getting ready to bloom red, and I know these yellow branches have been red in the past.
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’
I am mystified.
I’ll close on this cold January day with the sparkling red of last year’s Arisaema fruit and the promise of Adonis blossoms to come.
Arisaema sikokianum fruit
Adonis buds