Will It Bloom Some Day

The lycoris bulbs that came from my grandmother's garden in Florida are having a good foliage season in the absence of winter. It would still be better if they waited until spring to put up their leaves. They are not in Florida anymore.

I have no idea if these are the pink naked ladies or the red spider lily kind. My childhood was a long time ago in a distant galaxy. The fact that they are still alive and trying after three frozen dead attempts at leaves gives me hope that maybe one day they just might acclimate and bloom.

I bought eight discard rack Hesperaloe parviflora this year. They are all looking quite fine so far. The tag said they would be cold hardy here zone wise. The internet was a little less committed to that. They may not get tested this winter if this no winter trend lasts the entire season. It is annoying though when a plant survives one or two winters only to get killed in the third.

I won't know if they will survive up here unless I try.  If they send up their red bloom spikes at the same time as all my Yucca filamentosa, that could be quite the show.

If they survive and prosper, the Hesperaloe will make fat evergreen clumps of foliage to become a component of the winter under garden. The Taxus cuspidata 'Emerald Spreader' is the one plant I have used on this slope that seems to be doing poorly.

I don't know what its problem is. It is rated to zone 4 to 7. That indicates it wants cool and cold and is not fond of hot. That's what I got. They just sit there doing nothing, mocking my vision of a low mounding tapestry of texture and color to take me through the winter.

I have been blessed with an unusual ever blooming orchid. This discard rack purchase has been in bloom pretty much continuously since I bought it. It took a month off this fall then commenced blooming again. The other discard orchid I bought at the same time hasn't done squat.

This orchid is all I have for Bloom Day. Not to worry. Visit Bloom Day Central and you will find flowers galore.

Can you tell I like my finished basement patio? If I added a couple more bricks along the stem would it be a red brick rose with leaves or thorns? It looks a bit like a fern frond unfurling now.

The only thing that gets added is a table and chairs. The planting pocket will have greenery, mostly when there is greenery around. I will do my best not to store tools down here anymore. Red and amber polished glass glitter is still calling me.

I may not have lots of blooms in December, but I can still have beauty.