Yesterday I took a soggy stroll around the garden and noticed that a bucket I left out the week before Christmas, to measure how much rain that week would bring, is still sitting out there collecting water. We’ve had plenty of rain since. It was over a foot of water when I kicked it over, and that would have been nice last April when everything was brown but I’m sure it serves some purpose now as well. Maybe. Now that everything is dormant…
Coleus cuttings were potted up last month after about two months in water. They look much happier now and I suspect by the time spring rolls around I’ll have plenty!
Besides kicking over a bucket of water the daily garden tour was mostly uneventful. I did it mostly as a goodbye tour to wish the snowdrop sprouts good luck as colder weather moves in for a few days. For ten days starting this morning temperatures are supposed to sit below freezing and give the impression that winter is going to make a go of it after all and not be lazy about the cold like all of the last two months. For the sake of the snowdrops I’m relieved. The latest warm deluge had them thinking April showers, and even the more hesitant bulbs were sending up shoots, so this cold should at least freeze a few inches down and cool their engines.
This bromeliad (neoregelia ‘variegated Fireball’ I think) has faded a bit under the growlights, but still seems happier inside rather than out.
So now we have ten days of winter. Six of the ten have temperatures which actually drop below our average, which is reassuring since the next two weeks should be our coldest of the year, but they’re still just barely enough to make me close the coldframe and finally move the potted rosemary into the garage. -and move myself into the winter garden 🙂
This echeveria (E. diffractens?) always treats me to a nice New Years bloom. It’s cheery color for when the days are so short.
I’ve been enjoying my winter garden for a few years now. It started innocently enough when a few plants overwintering in the back of the garage earned a spot under a shoplight, and has now escalated to eight lights, all with plants, and the workshop has become a plant room. The coldest days of the year are far less painful with all these goodies growing under lights, and with free heat from the adjacent furnace room the electrical costs for 10 hours of lights is probably still much less than the heating costs for a greenhouse.
Last winter the pale blue of streptocarpella ruled the winter garden. This year it’s one cutting in one pot which almost didn’t make it. Fortunately it’s chosen life, so maybe by May there will be enough of it to start a few more cuttings.
So my winter garden is a cost saver? Yeah…. sure…. just ignore the world of houseplants which has opened up for me now. Houseplants were frowned upon in this house for their dirt and bugs and the lack of decent windowsills, but now there’s room. Friends give me cuttings. I buy a plant here and there. Maybe the winter garden isn’t the brilliant money-saver that I imagine.
This winter I bought a sansevieria (s. ‘Fernwood’) and normally I would judge anyone who buys a sanseveria rather than rooting their own or having one given to them, but it was a nice greenhouse and I was bored and they looked really cool… except for the trick where these were rooted leaf cuttings rather than one plant but whatever…
Money saver or not I enjoy it. It’s a good spot for puttering away an hour or two during the latest winter downpour.
The coldest corner of the workshop is reserved for hardy cyclamen and other forced bulbs which don’t mind a frigid draft or dip close to freezing.
The only problem with the winter garden is that I keep neglecting the snowdrop, cyclamen, and somewhat hardy daffodil selections. I love having them here with me inside but always neglect them come May… and then forget them come September when they need a little attention.
Narcissus romieuxii ‘Craigton Clumper’ would most likely not enjoy a position in my outdoor garden, but is as easy as anything here in a cool spot under lights.
Tragically this winter I have no snowdrops potted up. I’ll have to hope other things distract me enough to ease that pain, and so far the blooms of Cyclamen coum have done the trick, but this garden could really use a few more cyclamen to distract. This year I will be diligent in pollinating blooms and beating the mice to the seedpods… which has been a problem the last two years.
My few pots of Cyclamen coum look much more impressive close up. They will bloom for the next few weeks and should wrap up just as the ones outside begin to flower.
So cold is here, the lights are on, and the winter garden delights. Not bad. Not bad is also the ‘Ten Days of Plantness’ my friend Kimberley and I have decided to celebrate this year. For the ten days before post-solstice (another personal holiday we made up) we celebrate by buying a new plant each day. That would be Jan 12th to the 21st if you’re wondering, and even though I haven’t bought anything for the first two days all that means is I can buy three plants today if I so chose, all completely guilt-free since it’s for the holiday and not just because a new plant is wanted. Plantness plants don’t even need a spot or a plan, you could even buy an orchid even if you’ve killed the last three so enjoy!
On the third day of Plantness my self gave to me… an orchid!? We will see. I might have to stop by Aldis.
sorta like suburbia 
Goodness, you do have a nice collection of coleus. They brighten up the basement and will do so again this summer in the garden.
I really like that Bromeliad. The color is striking and and shape of its leaves are interesting too.
What can I say other than I love seeing blooms when the snow is covering the ground. There is nothing better to give you the feeling that summer will return.
Have a great week…
Stay warm! Yes, I know what you mean about snow on the ground. We had a couple inches last week and within 12 hours I was restless and in the winter garden repotting and sowing seeds. Even a soggy, gray garden is a little better than being stuck inside!
The coleus come and go. I think I remember buying one or two a couple years ago but these days more are just passed on to me by friends or strangers. Hmmm, I should be more supportive of my local nursery… I guess that’s one more new plant I can buy this spring!
The bromeliad was maybe $1 or free at a plant sale and I don’t know why I picked it up but I did, and as it’s grown I’ve become more and more obsessed with it. I’m afraid what will happen if someone who collects bromeliads comes my way because a few more would be fun 😉
Oh that echeveria is gorgeous. I’ve got a huge Begonia overwintering in the living room and three Amaryllis fading away now that it’s January. I am trying winter sowing which is pretty popular here. We’ve had a week of snow which should insulate things for a while. Really glad it arrived as this week is going to be crazy cold. It was -9° when I got up this morning (feels like -27° the weather app said). Since I don’t have a beautiful winter garden like you do, I am going to be forced to look at nurseries online and you know where that leads. Or maybe I will dash out next week when it is warmer and buy some houseplants. . .
You just reminded me that I have a flat of four inch pots in the garage which need to go out in the cold before they start sprouting too much. Our first snowstorm had me winter-sowing and of course I was too lazy to finish it off and put them out for the winter!
Yes, get out there asap for a new houseplant. Watering and tending my winter garden has probably saved me from hundreds of dollars of online purchases! Even a few houseplants are still much cheaper than the orders you put together on a desperately cold night… and then have to plant when the boxes start piling up at the front door 😉
This is very inspirational. I also like to employ shop lights in my house for my indoor plants in the winter. Looking at all of your wintertime colors really brightened my afternoon. God bless you.
Thank you! Even the smallest thing growing and thriving under your care indoors can be an inspiration during the colder months
Growing under lights in winter is something I have never done here in Ireland and I don’t know of anybody who does. Winter continues reasonably mild with us though we have a forecast for a few very (for us!) cold days this week with temperatures down to -4C, 25F. The snowdrops will simply remain closed for those days and pick up again when it warms again. Enjoy the lights and the plants indoors.
As I compare the snow covered ground outside to your pictures of snowdrops in bloom I can understand why you wouldn’t bother with the effort of indoor growing. Maybe in a stretch I could see adding a few lights just for a brighter indoor environment, but overall a few dreary, damp days are more of a break from outside rather than something so bitterly cold you need an escape room!
I do like to have a few plants to flower indoors – Velthemias are waiting to come in at the moment. I leave them to form buds in the glasshouse and then bring them in to open.
What a nice workshop. I can get behind the idea of buying a new plant every day, hahaha.
I’ve never really had an excuse to go overboard with plant buying. It was fun!
[…] And now it’s mid-January; the decorations are back in the basement, the colored lights are unplugged, and we face what may be the bleakest, coldest time of the year. Seems like the only logical thing is to invent a new holiday! Thus, I introduce to you the Ten Days of Plantness, the brainchild of my friend Frank over at Sorta Like Suburbia. […]
I just noticed something . . . Kimberly says it was your idea and you say it was Kimberly’s idea . . . hmmm.
I was in the grocery store the other day and a pale yellow mini-phalaenopis jumped into my cart! Love at first sight. 😉
Haha, I’m glad you found one you liked! The two I bought are my first tries but I think they’re going to get re-gifted to my mom who has a knack with these things. Maybe I’ll exchange them for an old one she’s bored with. I won’t feel bad if that one dies because it’s free, right?
Love your logic 🤔 Just remember, you only water them when the roots turn white… green means they are good. I’m not so good with remembering the monthly fertilizer… oh well.
The streptocarpella you gave me has bushed out into a substantial plant, so if by chance yours doesn’t make it I can provide you with some cuttings.
Thanks! It’s slowly recovering, but nothing like the cuttings factory I had last year. If it changes its mind about living I’ll take you up on that.
It’s a great idea Frank, but sadly my nearest garden centre is still closed for the winter break! I will have to catch up next month instead. 😉
Your winter garden really is a wonderful sight while outdoors is cold and damp. That miniature Narcissus is beautiful!
Sadly all the winter-season garden centers here have closed over the years and I have to resort to DIY centers and groceries, so don’t get the impression I can flit from one flower filled greenhouse to another! I guess it’s much cheaper to just bring stuff in from warmer climates, sell it before it even needs watering, and then throw out the leftovers than it is to run and heat a hothouse.
I have faith in your ability to catch up though ;)
Your winter garden is astounding. You may have inspired me to try and grow sprouts for the indoor birds with a grow light, if I can figure out where to put it. It’s been too cold by the window this week…
Thanks Lisa, I hope inspiration doesn’t turn to blame one day lol
…and I hope the “warming up” has reached you by now!
Thanks Frank. I found a work-around for the sprouts…and now yes, we are starting to warm up again!
Lovely selection of beautiful flowers under your lights, such a variety! We don’t really get cold enough here in our part of the uk to grow under lights as you do. I have some bulbs in pots in the conservatory but hardly ever need to put the heating on, although the other night it got down to -7C which is unusual for us.
The flowers under light are my only color right now! After a week the snow is beginning to melt but the garden is still not bursting into growth 😉
Here any greenhouse or conservatory would need heating in order to be of much use in the winter, and I’m far too cheap to heat one!