Holiday Blooms: GBBD, December 2020

This is the time of year when having flowers in bloom is a challenge for me. My Maine garden is now tucked in under a blanket of snow for its long winter nap. Indoors, although I unpacked my potted amaryllis bulbs from their period of storage in the cool and dark several weeks ago, they are always slow to wake up from dormancy in my cool Maine house and will not bloom until later in winter.

In addition to amaryllis (Hippeastrum), three plants are sold here as potted houseplants for holiday blooms: Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), Cyclamen (C. persicum), and Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera). My holiday cactus bloomed in November and has now finished for this year. But I have a poinsettia, a gift from a friend, gracing my kitchen table. And on the window ledge in the living room, where my cyclamen plants bloom much of the year, one is providing me with beautiful blooms and the other is full of buds that will begin opening soon.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is hosted on the 15th of each month by Carol, formerly at May Dreams Gardens, now at her new Carol J. Michel website. Visit her blog for links to others’ holiday blooms.