Bloom Day-January 2010

From In the Garden

This month's bloom day sees very few blooms outside here at Tiger Gardens, but there are a few. Blooming outside are a mahonia (Plant of the Month), the vernal witch hazel, and a few pansies but that is about it. Inside the house we have some red geraniums, pink impatiens, a hot pink Christmas cactus, and an oxalis blooming. The sweet little oxalis flowers are pictured above. I am fortunate to have a sunny southern facing window in order to grow these plants or I don't think I'd have any blooms! But to tell you the truth-shhhhh-I only have plants inside in the winter because they can be put outside during the summer. I truly don't care for houseplants but will admit they are a welcomed bit of green so I keep them here.

Since this month is such a slow month as far as blooms go I thought I'd share with you a few blooms you can expect to bloom in the garden during the next few months. I've been working on an Excel spreadsheet for a few years that depicts the bloom dates of all my plants but I sometimes miss a few. However, I do have a pretty good list so I thought I'd share it with you this year. If you are a local gardener or a gardener who gardens in conditions similar to mine (Zone 6B, Middle Tennessee) this list is for you. If you live a few hours north or south in say Zone 6A to 7B your plants will be blooming either a few weeks behind or ahead but you can expect pretty much the same sequence of bloom so be looking for the flowers. This list might be helpful to you if you are planning for year round blooms-you'll know what to plant if you live in this area. If you already grow these plants then you can know when to look for the blooms:)

Without further ado here is a list of plants you can expect to bloom in January:

Mahonia (began blooming in December)
Vernal Witch Hazel
Hellebores

And since I have some extra time let me add what you can expect to bloom in your garden in February:

'Diane' Witch Hazel (and perhaps other 'intermedia' cultivars but I can only vouch for 'Diane' since it is the only hybrid I grow)
Crocuses
Hellebores (still)
Daffodils

And I still have time since these month's lists are kind of short I thought I'd add some more plants in for March:

Some cultivars of Camellia sasanquas
Forsythia
Pulmonarias
Scilla
Quince
Glory of the Snow
Muscari
Hyacinths
Flowering Almond
Vinca
Pieris
Silene
Tulips
Kerria
Crabapples
Flowering Plum
Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts

Disclaimer: The lists are in chronological order. I keep records every year and some years the dates vary by one or two weeks depending on the weather. It is possible something that blooms on 26 March 2009 (crabapples for instance) may not bloom until April this year so expect some variations since history does not always predict the future.

Additionally, there are several other plants and bulbs missing from here that I only just planted last year, therefore I do not have the dates of bloom for them. Some of the plants and bulbs include: fritillaria meleagris, winter jasmine, snow drops, and winter aconite. I will update them as they bloom....

in the garden....