“February Garden Bloggers’ 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 GBBD. This is the day (15th of the month) in which we post everything which is blooming in our gardens. Let’s see what is blooming in Covington, Louisiana this February.
The Azaleas have started blooming early this year. The flowers have just started opening, and in a week or two, if we keep this warmer weather, should be in full bloom.
The camellias are still blooming. Some have been blooming for months. I have shown pictures of them on previous posts. Yuletide , which started blooming in November, still has a few flowers still hanging on. Pretty, pink Debutante is still flowering, as is Lady Clare. For a long bloom time, you can’t beat the camellias.
The lorepetlum has also started showing their flowers. These small flowers, when massed together, really can put on a display.
The native azaleas have also started blooming. It is amazing how quickly they can go from tight buds to open flowers. This pink one is my favorite. The yellow flame azalea still has tightly closed buds and looks like a few weeks from opening.
What would we do without the dependable violas? Even through our cold weather, these little guys just keep on blooming. Besides the white ones, the yellow, purple, and white and purple violas are all blooming profusely. They make such sweet little bouquets to bring in the house and brighten the indoors.
We have had rain this weekend and that has made picture taking a little difficult. The rain has made this forsythia almost look like lorepetlum.
The shrimp plant has started blooming again. Every year after a freeze, I am still surprised that these plants make it through the winter. The flowers seem a little pale right now, and I wonder if it is because we have had so few sunny days lately.
Last, is the summer snowflakes. They have just started blooming which surprises me since the azaleas have already started blooming and usually the summer snowflakes bloom weeks before the azaleas. These little bulbs are just about my favorite springtime blooming bulb.
There are many plants that should be blooming by March or earlier. Roses have been pruned back, so they aren’t blooming now, but there is a great deal of new growth showing. Many of the amaryllis bulbs already have buds showing and a few have buds that are already three inches high. I can’t wait.
Always Growing 
Tatyana said,
February 15, 2009 at 7:27 pm
You, people, are just teasing us notherners, aren’t you?! Nice-nice pictures!
Jan said,
February 15, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Oh, Tatyana, we aren’t teasing you. We are just showing you what is coming to your gardens in a few weeks. If you don’t have flowers yet, you can at least look at ours. That’s what I do when you guys get all that wonderful fall color, and I have nothing.
Pam Kersting said,
February 15, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Nice photographs of some lovely blooms! Can’t believe you have all of those plants blooming in FEBRUARY!
Jan said,
February 15, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Pam, we are a little early with some of these flowers, but living this far south, we never really are without something blooming.
Linette said,
February 15, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I think the rain made your flowers beautiful for their photos. I’m so jealous you have so many beautiful blooms in your garden. The only blooms I have are indoors in my windowsills. It is starting to warm up a little outside, so maybe next month…
Jan said,
February 16, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Linette, I am sure it won’t be long before you have some outside flowers. The rain did add a little something to the photos, didn’t it?
Robin, nothing says spring to me like the azaleas blooming. They have just started, so I am hoping to get some photos with a bush in full bloom.
Janet, I am having more and more appreciation of the native azaleas. They are not as flashy as the others, but with no leaves the flowers really stand out.
Lostlandscape, I love the summer snowflakes, and those little green dots on the end of the petals add that little extra something that makes them stand out.
Nancy, we are below our rain total, so this rain shower was appreciated. It made taking pictures a bit of a challenge, but some came out very nice.
Racquel, it was only after I found out that snowdrops don’t grow here that I put in the summer snowflakes. Those gardeners that can grow the snowdrops should they are so sweet and pretty.
Tessa, we have been on the dry side, so my plants have escaped the snails and slugs, thank goodness, but there have been years when they were attacked. Good luck with your replacements.
Melanthia, if by snowbells you mean snowdrops, they are not the same as summer snowflakes. Both of these bulbs produce wonderful spring flowers, but snow drops can only be grown in cooler areas than where I live.
Robin said,
February 15, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Oh! Azaleas! Oh! Camellias! Oh! beautiful blooms. Thanks for posting.
Janet said,
February 15, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Those native azaleas are pretty. Not sure if we have a pink one in the Learning Garden- though I know we do have a Flame. A certain show stopper.
Janet
lostlandscape said,
February 15, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I agree with you about the summer snowflake. Absolutely gorgeous in its delicate way. The little green blips on the petals–wow!
Nancy said,
February 15, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Wasn’t the rain a wonderful gift? I love Spring.
Racquel said,
February 15, 2009 at 11:16 pm
You have way more blooms than I do right now Jan. I really need to add some Snowdrops to the garden next fall for early blooms.
Tessa said,
February 16, 2009 at 12:00 am
Very pretty. I just can’t wait until I see a little color in my garden! My pansies that I planted out last year are all slug eaten, but I do have new ones to put out soon- that’s it for me 🙂
Melanthia said,
February 16, 2009 at 2:32 am
Sigh, you have some wonderful things blooming already. The color on your camellia is lovely, and I love the little snowflakes. Are those like snowbells?
Dee/reddirtramblings said,
February 16, 2009 at 7:42 am
Your blog is very beautiful. I envy you your camellias and native azaleas. Can’t grow camellias here. Too far north. I don’t know about the native azaleas, but with regular azaleas we must work so hard to keep the soil acidic. It was great having you come by the blog. Happy Bloom Day!~~dee
Jan said,
February 16, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Thanks, Dee, for the lovely comments. I am lucky to live in an area that is acidic. It makes growing camellias and azaleas so easy.
Tina, thanks. I didn’t really think I would have too much to post since the rain kind of beat everything up, but there were more flowers than I realized at first.
Gail, I am not familiar with White by the Gate, but if it is a white camellia, I am sure I would love it. I have an affinity for white flowers. Camellias do quite well in containers, so I can’t wait until you post a picture of its bloom.
Thanks, Nancy. I know it must be hard for northern gardeners to not be able to go outside and enjoy the garden. This year especially, with so much cold weather around for so long.
Chandramouli, that rain, while the timing on a weekend was not great, was needed.
tina said,
February 16, 2009 at 7:55 am
Wow, you have tons blooming down there. It looks just lovely, even with the rain.
Gail said,
February 16, 2009 at 8:04 am
Jan, What lovely blooms…I am always taken with the native azaleas…and wish we could grow them here. They last a season then begin to decline! I remember having the pink shrimp plant as a houseplant before Coal the plant eating cat came to live with me! Do you know White By The Gate camellia? I just treated myself to it and know it will have to live in a container but it looks so lovely. A wonderful post Jan! Thank you for sharing.
gail
clay and limestone
nancybond said,
February 16, 2009 at 9:02 am
All your blooms are wonderful to these eyes. 🙂 Your beautiful photos really help shorten our winter.
Chandramouli.S said,
February 16, 2009 at 9:15 am
AS always I love the Azaleas and other blooms are lovely too. That rain-drenched snowflake looks heavenly. Great to hear you had Spring rains!
Jean said,
February 16, 2009 at 10:14 am
I would love to plant a native azalea (or more than one). Yours looks lovely and delicate. Jan, since I’m new to camellias, is it the sasanquas that start blooming in the fall and the japonicas later in the winter? I thought the blooms on my japonica would never open up but they finally did last week. Watch out – they’re predicting some cold weather towards the end of the week, at least for those of us along I-20!
Jan said,
February 16, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Jean, the sasanquas start blooming in the fall, and the japonicas later in early to late winter. You are a lot farther north than I am, so we aren’t supposed to get any freezing temps. I hope they are right because I am tired of the cold, damp weather.
Thanks, Andre. It is so nice to have the camellias in the winter and the azaleas in the early spring.
Phillip, you wouldn’t believe how wet I got taking that photo, but it did turn out nice.
Kerri, what a shame you are unable to grow some of the plants your mother did. So much of my garden is planted with things that remind me of my mother, relatives, and friends. At least you can grow one type of azalea. That is something.
Sweet Bay, I am only about 60 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. With our unusually warm weather, plants are blooming very early this year. I have just started getting into the native azaleas and am looking to add more.
andré said,
February 16, 2009 at 12:49 pm
That looks lovely! I especially like the camelias and the azaleas… 🙂
Phillip said,
February 16, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I love the photos, especially the one of the snowdrop covered in water droplets. That is beautiful!
kerri said,
February 16, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Your February blooms are a delight to see. My mother grew the most beautiful Azaleas in Australia. I’d love to be able to do that here, but have settled for just one that is hardy in our zone 5 garden. It doesn’t bloom profusely though, sad to say.
The Lorepetulum is so pretty!
Sweet Bay said,
February 16, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Jan, you must be very far South! Our azaleas won’t bloom for another 6-8 weeks. I have native azaleas too and have fallen completely in love with them. Their flowers are so elegant and I love the fragrance a lot of them have. Lovely pictures!
M Light said,
February 16, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I had to go check where you were since you have azaleas blooming already! I love the native azaleas.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens said,
February 16, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Flowers, flowers, everywhere in your garden. I enjoyed seeing all those blooms today. Thanks for joining in for bloom day!
Deirdre said,
February 16, 2009 at 9:24 pm
My heart is aching for Azaleas in Texas…yes I can grow them but only if I go to a LOT of trouble and so far I haven’t been able to invest the money and time to have them…but I might loose that fight if I keep seeing more pictures of your beautiful blooming bushes!
Jan said,
February 18, 2009 at 4:29 am
M Light, yes, we are having blooming azaleas already. This is a little early, even for us, but they are welcomed. They certainly are brightening up the place.
Carol, you had a tremendous response to GBBD this month. I enjoyed visiting so many new garden blogs. Thanks for hosting.
Deirdre, it can be so frustrating to want to grow plants that do not do well in your area. There is a long lists of plants I would love to grow but can’t. I know you can grow azaleas in containers; maybe just one would help you get through “azalea fever” when it hits in the spring.