February Bloom Day-A Positive Outlook

Here's what Bloom Day looks like in February at Idyll Haven this year.  Pitiful, huh?  I honestly thought I would have at least a Hellebore or two and a fully bloomimg Hamamelis 'Arnold Promise' to flaunt this month but Mother Nature had other ideas.  At least the days are getting longer and the average daily high temperature is in the rise and since I follow the meteorological calendar, the first day of spring is two weeks from today.
 

Meet Abutilon 'Lucky Lantern Yellow', one of the few tender plants I chose to save over the winter.  Every year I bring in a few of my favorites.  Usually I attempt to keep plants that are difficult to find in nurseries from year to year like Euphorbia cotinifolia or historically easy stuff to grow indoors like this Abutilon which was a blooming fool in one of my mixed containers last season.  Most years my efforts are rewarded with some nice specimen sized tropical plants come summer.

House plants are not my thing.  In fact I'm convinced that given the choice, most plants would gladly choose death by frost rather than spend the winter in my house.  Bananas, Alocasias, Colocasias, and Brugmansias luck out and get to snooze in the basement through the cold months with the canna and dahlia tubers.  Everything else is at my mercy.

In addition to my Agaves, this winter I brought in a couple of Abutilons and variegated Geraniums, a Sanchezia, a sprouted root from Euphorbia cotinifolia, Breynia 'Picta', a variegated Hibiscus, Alocasia amazonica, Alocasia wentii and a few miscellaneous succulents.  One Acalpha bit the dust.  Winter accomodations for plants in my house are spartan and include a couple of sunny windows and a few shelves rigged with fluorescent lights in the guest bedroom. 

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this monthly event.  February may have been a Bloom Day bust for me but I remain confident that March holds promise.

Stay warm!

Sue~