GBBD: The Return of the Cyclamen...


...aka sometimes neglect works.

I have a confession: last year I didn't make up my summer pots properly. I was in a tearing hurry so I didn't replace all the compost and I simply shoved in the summer plants where the winter ones had been just moments before.

It means I'm enjoying this cyclamen for a second year as I didn't clear out the corms like I usually do. These blooms don't usually last past December as they're quite tender, but a milder winter plus a sheltered spot means they've continued to brighten up my view.

As well as greeting me when I step out into the garden, I can see them when I'm eating my lunch. When we first moved here, I planted up lots of winter pots all over the garden but I quickly learnt those closest to the house give the most value. Plants placed there can be seen at all times whatever the weather and these at eye level are especially easy to view.

Most winter flowers are quite small, so it's been great not to have to lie on my tummy to take this picture!

Do you have a flower making a surprise return to your garden this winter?

Garden Bloggers Blooms Day is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Comments

  1. Lea15 January 2014 at 10:28

    Beautiful!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea

    ReplyDelete
  2. LINDA'S15 January 2014 at 10:57

    Lovely post and thanks for sharing I have a rose just coming out

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pauline15 January 2014 at 11:26

    What a wonderful surprise to find your cyclamen coming again, sometimes it pays not to throw old compost out!

    ReplyDelete
  4. theblooominggarden.wordpress.com15 January 2014 at 11:54

    it just shows how mild it has been this winter. How lovely to be able to enjoy your pretty cyclamen through the darkest days.

    ReplyDelete
  5. CommonWeeder15 January 2014 at 13:42

    It is definitely a good idea to keep early spring blooms near the house. In the higher elevations of Massachusetts there are no winter blooms - unless I remember to provide a cyclamen or two on the windowsill.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jean Campbell15 January 2014 at 15:38

    Every year I mean to plant Cyclamen. The thing I missed for Bloom Day was that I forgot to look up at the Taiwan Cherries.

    ReplyDelete
  7. CJ15 January 2014 at 21:13

    I've got some little cyclamen that are hidden under a peony for a lot of the year. When the peony is cut back, there they are, in their dry, gloomy little spot in very poor soil. I love them, they look so delicate but actually they're pretty tough. Yours have a wonderful colour, very exotic. And the foliage is always absolutely beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. HELENE17 January 2014 at 00:22

    That’s a nice colour for a cyclamen, and a good ‘mistake’ that you didn’t throw it out. Cyclamens are really tough plants, they only thing that really kill them is prolonged, standing water. I have lots of cyclamens and have let them self seed the last few years so I can get many more – in 3-4 more years, they do take their time to start flowering. Happy GBBD!

    ReplyDelete

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