Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Bloom Day from the Greenhouse

A friend told me today that one of the things she liked about greenhouses was their quiet energy.  My greenhouse quiets my soul.  It makes me feel serene and helps to eliminate the stresses of my day for a little while.  There's so much beauty to be found and today I'd like to share some with you.

Mother of Millions is a common plant that is easy to share with others.  Many baby plants are born on the leaves of the mother plant, and when they fall to the ground each one sprouts into a new plant.  This plant was shared with me in this way.  I was given multiple babies and they grew and grew until finally this winter they flowered.  It was quite unexpected, and because it was unexpected, it was all the more special.




In a heated greenhouse environment, hibiscus never stop blooming, but it doesn't make them any less beautiful.



Propagated from a cutting during my Master Gardener class in October 2011, Country Girl mum is about as cheerful as they come.  My little cutting has grown up and is already blooming.  They grow up so fast.  Sigh...



Bougainvillea are rather ubiquitous here is Texas, but there are probably not many blooming in February like this specimen.

I bought this abutilon from Barton Springs Nursery where they used to have a magnificent specimen growing in a moist, shady spot.  I think it died last winter during the 17 degree cold snap.  You normally can grow these in the ground, but I've never been able to keep mine watered enough, so I've been growing this one in a pot.


During an upper east side garden tour, some generous home owner gave me my first angel wing begonia cutting.  I carried it around all day in a diet coke can till I could get home and plant it.  Today, I have many of these easy to propagate plants, which I share with anyone who asks. 

This desert rose, adenium obesum, has not stopped flowering all winter.  It really likes life in the greenhouse.

Globe mallow is not a greenhouse plant, but this guy has been living the high life in the greenhouse for months. I'm going to plant it outside in the garden soon.  I've heard these plants are reliable bloomers that will continue to bloom during a mild winter.

The wonderful smell of this Meyer's lemon in bloom promises many juicy, sweet lemons to come.

While neither of the next two plants are blooming, I just had to share them.  The first is a new addition to my collection called a paper spine cactus.  The spines are not sharp and this plant is just too cool!

My final plant is one of my all time favorites.  This is Persian Shield.  Technically not in bloom, this plant can put a lot of blooms to shame.  Grown in the shade, this plant really pops.

I hope you enjoyed these beautiful flowers from my greenhouse.

Happy Bloom Day!  Please visit May Dreams for more great Bloom Day blogs.

25 comments:

  1. You may get to see blooms on your Persian Shield before winter is over. One of mine has buds. The flowers are much less spectacular than the foliage, but it's a novelty to see the blue 'conehead' blooms.

    Happy Bloom Day, lots to see at your place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My greenhouse is new and this will be the first time I've over wintered a Persian Shield. That would be very cool if it bloomed.

      Delete
    2. When I went out and looked around, I found some Persian Shield blooming.

      Persian Shield Blooms

      Delete
  2. I'm coveting your greenhouse:) Everything is so beautiful. Great photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for stopping by and enjoying the flowers with me.

      Delete
  3. I have never heard of 'Mother of Millions'. Looks like an interesting plant! You have some very nice flowers for Bloom Day. I just bought a dwarf Meyer lemon tree a few days ago to grow in a pot. It came with one ripe lemon and several babies. I'm looking forward to growing it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck with your lemon tree. Home grown, ripened on the tree citrus is hard to beat.

      Delete
  4. How very wonderful to have a greenhouse!
    Makes a lovely retreat - like a mini-vacation!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're so right. Even just a short 5-minute mini-vacation can be very rejuvenating. Happy Bloom Day!

      Delete
  5. So nice that you have a greenhouse. They do have "quite energy." That's a great description of the life in a greenhouse. I so wish I had room for one! Fabulous blooms for bloom day and beyond.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I could bottle that "quiet energy" or figure out where it comes from, but I guess some things were meant to remain mysteries.

      Delete
  6. All of that is blooming in your greenhouse right now?! How lovely. I can 'feel' it through the pictures and descriptions.
    Cindy S.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All that and more is blooming right now. It's amazing, isn't it? I just wish I could event smell-o-vision, so you could smell all the citrus blooming.

      Delete
  7. Beautiful blooms. I really like that abutilon.
    I like the persian shield, too. I've grown it the last two years. It'll go along really well...then, all of a sudden, up and die. I can never figure it out. I like it well enough to keep trying, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The heat of the summer can make my Persian Shield look a little ratty. I think it's hard to keep them moist in our furnace-like Texas summers. I'm attempting to propagate 5 cuttings right now. We'll see how that goes.

      Delete
  8. I'm really interested in the mother of millions. Can this be the same as mother of thousands. I have this but never a flower. Yes, do share. Your greenhouse must be a wonderful retreat with all that bloom. enjoy it over the next few days when it is raining outdoors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, this plant also goes by the name mother of thousands. I'll be happy to give you an offspring of this plant if you think it might have a greater chance of flowering. With a name like mother of millions, you know there's plenty to share.

      Delete
  9. That Mum is so charming...love the simplicity of those blooms. I've always admired that silver spotting on the Angel Wing Begonia...so striking :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Two of my favorites for sure. You have great taste!

      Delete
  10. Your greenhouse is a little oasis! I think you're going to love your mallow. It's been so reliable and sturdy through all the freak weather we've had of late.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I like to hear. Reliable and sturdy sounds like my kind of plant.

      Delete
  11. Your green house seems like big as the sky and the flowers are also bloomy and your persian shield will definitely keep on glowing A home greenhouse can be a freestanding structure or can be attached to a house or garage.

    different types of greenhouses, green house features

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My greenhouse is freestanding, but if you would like to see for yourself, I posted some photos of the construction progress in October and November 2011. If you're interested, I hope you will check them out. Here's a link to the final completion: http://www.gardenally.blogspot.com/2011/11/greenhouse-build-week-four.html

      Delete
  12. Wow, your blooming flowers are looking great. These pictures have inspired me to think about getting a backyard greenhouse and getting some cuttings from friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Friends are a great source of plants for propagating. Fellow gardeners are usually a very generous bunch. I hope you get that greenhouse.

      Delete