“December Bloom Day”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for coming up with Garden Bloggers’s Bloom Day. This is the day (15th of the month) in which we post everything which is blooming in our gardens.
Here is what is blooming in Covington, Louisiana in the middle of December.
Violas
Yuletide sasanqua
White sasanqua
Debutant camellia
Petunias
Turk’s Turban really isn’t in bloom, but the sepals have turned a seasonal red.
A few sages (Lady in Red, Bog Sage, Autumn Sage) still have some meager blooms. The Mexican sage still looks pretty good considering the recent weather. A few roses are showing up on the Knockouts, Icebergs, and Butterfly rosebushes.
All and all, not too bad for the middle of December.
Always Growing 
fairegarden said,
December 15, 2008 at 6:41 am
Oh Jan, those camellias. Others have shown some too. Mine struggle so, do you feed them? I am afraid to spur new growth in the drought conditions for fear of stressing the bush too much. But is that the secret to more blooms? Yours are so beautiful.
Frances
nancybond said,
December 15, 2008 at 7:29 am
Oh my, such wonderful color! Those sasanqua are spectacular!
Racquel said,
December 15, 2008 at 8:22 am
Not bad at all Jan! You have some gorgeous blooms in the garden at the moment. Debutant Camelia is stunning! 🙂
Jan/ThanksFor2Day said,
December 15, 2008 at 9:02 am
Hi Jan, You have lots of pretty color in your garden. Sasanqua is something I’m not familiar with at all. I’m good at enjoying color more than I am at remembering names of things…so I ‘may’ have seen them before & just don’t remember. The 3 varieties you show are gorgeous. Jan (another one!)
artistsgarden said,
December 15, 2008 at 11:11 am
Wow! great colour for December.
K
Chandramouli.S said,
December 15, 2008 at 11:35 am
Yuletide sasanqua is the star! Have never heard of it! Awesome pic!
tina said,
December 15, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Just love that Debatante camellia. Very lovely!
Jan said,
December 15, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Frances, I only fertilize my camellias in the spring and use an azalea/camellia fertilizer. I do keep mine watered in the summer if we do not get rain. Camellias can be slow growers, too, so keep that in mind.
Nancy, this is only the second year I have had sasanquas after admiring them for several years. I would not be adverse to adding some more to the property.
Racquel, Debutante is my favorite. I like to pick them and float them in a shallow bowl filled with water. They last for days.
Jan, sasanquas are camellias, but different than the japonicas which most people are very familiar with. They bloom a little earlier than the japonicas and are not as large.
K, we have had esp. cold temperatures for November and December, ordinarily there is more blooms around.
Chandramouli, I first read about Yuletide a few years ago and wanted one ever since. Early this fall, I found one and was thrilled.
Tina, Debutante is a wonderful camellia and blooms for a long time.
arythrina said,
December 15, 2008 at 6:22 pm
So many beautiful flowers! I’m jealous 🙂
That double camellia is particularly stunning… and definitely a no-go in Indiana.
Brenda Kula said,
December 15, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Lovely blooms, Jan! I don’t know what it is, but I’m having a lot of trouble navigating your blog lately. It skips around and the bottom margins seem to flicker and change. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s WordPress…
Brenda
Sue said,
December 15, 2008 at 6:39 pm
What a lovely display! I’ve never heard of sasanquas, oh, I just went back and read what Jan had written, because I noticed your answer to her. I’m sure they don’t grow here, but they are my favorites of your photos.
Jan said,
December 16, 2008 at 5:37 am
Arythrina, camellias can be grown in containers so they can be protected. Growers have also developed hardier camellias, too. I don’t know if they would survive Indiana, but you might want to look into them. Look for ones that have a “winter” like name.
Brenda, I don’t know what the problem could be. Maybe it’s the snow.
Sue, see my response to Arythrina. Sasanquas are so nice because some start blooming in the fall. Just remember, there are so many plants you can grow that I can’t because we don’t get cold enough.
patsi said,
December 16, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I think I want that sage .
Tis the season to start planning.
Hey, it’s snowing on your page…cute.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens said,
December 16, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Yes, not too bad considering you had some pretty good snow a few days ago. Thanks for joining in for bloom day!
Sweet Bay said,
December 16, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Oooo, I like that Debutant camellia. It’s beautiful!