Beautiful cacti and Amaryllis. My Amaryllis didn't do much of anything. Still in the pot with nothing happening. It was a beautiful gift to me last year.

It is a cloudy snowy day and I had to go to the lab for my regular bloodwork and before I went, when I fed the birds this morning I saw the camellia and jasmine were still blooming. They have been amazing this year. More blooms than ever before at this time of year. I must be doing something right for a change. Hope you all are warm and cozy.

Beautiful, Holly and JB!

Those two are really special looking, JB. I'll be the Jasmine fills the air.

Teri, they are really beautiful considering how old they are. Each day is a gift with them. I am glad you enjoyed them. The one thing doing really well now are the spider plants. Of course that is what I am zeroing in on just now. They take less care in the winter in the GH and seem to survive no matter what happend. Regular water and some feed and they are good to go. I am collecting the different types now and I am having a great time. This is going to be a cold winter, so I am trying to find things that will make me happy.

I was just looking at that Amaryllis today and realized that besides the 5 bloom there are two more stalks coming up. Yesterday they weren't big enough to realize that they were flower stalks

I have another blooming Amaryllis this one is Dancing Queen.

HollyAnnS said:I have another blooming Amaryllis this one is Dancing Queen.

• Amaryllis (Hippeastrum 'Dancing Queen')
• Uploaded by HollyAnnS

• Amaryllis (Hippeastrum 'Dancing Queen')
• Uploaded by HollyAnnS

Holly that is a beautiful Amaryllis. I have never had much luck with them and therefore seldom have one. I had one given to me last Christmas and it did not bloom this year but it was no doubt my fault. I do not care for the bulbs as they should be cared for when not blooming. I understand that is the secret to beautiful blooms. Love the color of your beauty.

Bowl full of Amaryllis not sure why they all have such short stems. They were the last ones I planted so that may have had something to do with it.

Holly, I like your short amaryllises! No need to stake them.

Very pretty--I think I'll get more short ones next time.

My African Gardenia is blooming again. It is so pretty. The fragrance is really very nice. Not strong but a soft aroma.

A few pics of what is blooming here right now
Queen's Tears

Mini Amaryllis

NOID Bromdiad

Beautiful, Holly!

Great to see those blooms during this cold and dreary winter, Holly

I must say that it is pretty nice having plants that take no care at all to bloom.
Ric and I were at the Philly Show and I looked at the Voodoo Lilies on display and thought "I have one of those". I actually had to think for a moment where it was. I had put it upstairs last fall and let it go dormant. No water, no checking on it, no nothing. When I got home I went up stairs and opened the door and there it was. Already about 3ft tall with a bloom coming on. So I brought it downstairs gave it some water and I think it has grown a foot since last week. What an amazing (but stinky) plant.

Picked up this 5ft tall Camellia for $10 at the local Flower Show. We go in when they tear down the display gardens and get some great deals on the plants. It is unlikely that it would be hardy in our area but I can enjoy it now and figure out what to do with it come next Fall.

Nice catch. Do you have a greenhouse or garage that you can keep it in during the winter? The buds have to be protected from freezing after they start to open. Otherwise, they seem to stay closed and protected during freezing weather here in zone 8a. When it warms up, they begin opening. This spring, I have a lot of freeze damage on my 2 camellia japonicas with our extreme up and down temps.

The GH is pretty full don't see where I would put it in there now, but our house has a lot of south facing glass and it will stay in the living area till May.

Two of my Orchids are blooming right now, they are really loaded with buds. Both are highly scented, one is Heaven Scent 'Redolence' the other is Sharry Baby Red Fantasy