Cyrtanthus mackenii

Not a lot to share for this mid-January Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day Post.  We have several pots of the Cyrtanthus in bloom now.  The nice thing about Cyrtanthus is that the blooms last for a long time.  It is a large genus in the Amaryllis family with many unique flower forms.  

Cyrtanthus are said to be hardy down to 25 degrees which would not do well with the 12 degree temperatures that we had last night.  These are some of the coldest temperatures that we’ve have the past few years.

In the greenhouse we still have the last of the white Narcissus in flower.

Narcissus cantabricus ‘Silver Palace’

However, outside there is not much to see, even if you spent time the very cold air looking.  The snowdrops are fully in flower but when it is this cold they prefer to lie down.

Snowdrops lying down on the job

One remarkable plant in the winter is the heather that we added several years ago.  The flowers seem to be governed by the calendar and not by the temperatures.

Kramer’s Rote Heather

One special event over the last week was the planting of the Concolor Fir that was our Christmas tree for this year.

Planting our Christmas Tree

We have been planting our Christmas trees for 46 years.  I would say that about 30 percent have survived.  It’s a really nice tradition.  If you looked out of the back door a week ago, you can see two of the trees.

Backyard Christmas Trees