Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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Winter Gardening

I was a little disappointed with my Christmas cacti November through February because I got only a couple of blossoms. Well, they certainly are making up for lost time now!!!

The hoya plants I trimmed last year, because their overpowering blossoms were a bit intoxicating for us, are doing it again. Within about three days, more than 10 umbels appeared, and within a week, the number had doubled. Now they are all opening at the same time, and in the evenings, oh, how sweet but overwhelming. I think I may have to trim off some of the nodes.

Meanwhile, the cuttings I transplanted last year also are doing grand. If they all start flowering at the same time, boy, am I going to be in trouble. I keep hoping for a sunny, warm day, in which I can put the extras out on the driveway with a "Free to Good Home" sign. I promised to bring one to my mom next time I visit because she's never seen one, and she loves easy plants that flower indoors.

From the sale bulbs I bought during the winter and planted in pots indoors, I got five hyacinth stalks and one stalk of mini daffodils. All the other bulbs have green dots of growth, so they will flower at some point, but they may be waiting until I transplant them outside after it gets a bit warmer.

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Temptation

Ooooh, was I naughty!!!

No, I did NOT buy another amaryllis bulb. However...

And not just one, either. I bought two whole packages of hyacinth bulbs!

I thought they would be fun to force indoors in water throughout the winter. And, big plus, I can put the bulbs in the garden as they finish, and next year, they will delight me again!

I think I remember this happening the last time I tried indoor water forcing. I was so disappointed. I couldn't even smell the heavenly hyacinths! So, this bulb is out in the raised-bed flower garden now, and fingers crossed it might have enough oomph to bloom again in four or five months. Instead of putting the rest of the bulbs in the water one by one, I put them all in one of my salad bowls, and we'll see if perhaps I might get a bit more color and aroma from the rest.

I also was quite naughty again. I had to go to the closest home improvement store for another drainage pipe for the backyard project...

..., another squirt bottle (for the indoor plants) and a dowel with which to hang my father-in-law's Christmas present.

All kinds of bulbs blocked the store entry I normally use. Half-price bulbs. Some showing hunger to grow. I walked away with a bag of splashy daffodils. Half the bag graces the counter behind my kitchen sink now. I need to find a sunny space for another pot packed tight with more bulbs.

There were tons of tulip bulbs, and oh, how I love tulips. But deer eat tulips like candy. Deer (and rabbits) (and squirrels) don't like daffodils. I was super naughty and made another trip to buy another bag of unusual daffodil varieties after Christmas. And I was SO weak!!! I bought THREE more bags. Now I need to get rid of some of my hoya clippings and Mexican snowball containers. I don't have room for all the bulbs I'm using to brighten our winter!!!

Fortunately, I can put some of the daffodil additions into the bricks in the backyard project. (Actually, there's probably enough to put one (or more) bulb in each brick!!! I really was quite naughty. But all were half price!) Maybe daffodils might even keep the squirrel(s) out of the bricks!!!

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