On yet another cold and blustery February day in Austin, Texas, I’m participating in the monthy Bloom Day hosted by Carol, May Dreams Gardens.
There were a few surprises as I strolled through the garden looking for any blooms. Mostly I found tips of bulb stalks peeking above the dirt, so the anticipation for the March bloom day is high. But I did find a couple of things for today.
First, this Marilyn’s Choice Abutilon has been in the ground for only a few months, and despite record low temperatures and consistenty lower than average temperatures at night, it has steadfastly held on to its gorgeous blooms. This species of Abutilon was found only a few short years ago at an old church site in Lafayette, Louisiana, and has quickly become a garden staple in Austin because of her hardiness and continual bloom cycle.
I apologize for the blurriness of the next several photos. The wind came in big-time with this current blue norther’, and the plants preferred dancing in the wind rather than holding still for their portraits.
The same Abutilon full size.
This tiny Hellebore in deep shade is only about 3 inches tall with maybe 6 leaves total; not much bigger than when I planted it. But it has 3-4 buds on it, ready to give me a show soon. This is my first ever Hellebore, so I’m excited to see what the bloom will look like. Found locally last year at Natural Gardener, I’m hoping they chose a hardy one for our climate changes.
Yesterday when I was pruning many of the perennials in my yard – we finally had a few hours of sunshine – I was surprised to see one of the many Loropetalums in the yard ready to burst into bloom. One of the buds is already open.
This ice plant was a passalong from a friend who found it abandoned at a rental home he moved into. It hasn’t stopped blooming since he gave it to me, and I love the blooms. Today, of course for Bloom Day, it chose to only have one bloom instead of the 5-6 it has been consistently having. (Sorry for the poor pic)
With all the freezing nights we’ve had this winter, my container Meyer Lemon has spent most of the past 2 months indoors. Despite that, I have buds, blooms, and even a lemon starting! The scent of the flowers is amazing.
Thanks for visiting on this cold winter’s day. Despite the colder temps, Austin is finally recouping some of the moisture we needed so badly after our 24 month exceptional drought. I’m crossing my fingers that spring is going to be lovely this year!
Getting Grounded 