The weather here in northeastern Pennsylvania is exactly as it should be in mid-January, cold and crisp, with a light cover of snow over the yard and gardens. There’s nothing blooming outside this month, but I do have a smattering of indoor blooms to share with you.
The Christmas poinsettias are still in decent shape, though the larger one is a bit droopy and has dropped a fair number of leaves. They’re likely to wear out their welcome before February’s Bloom Day:
This cyclamen, a gift to me from one of my students, is near the end of its bloom cycle, I’m afraid. I see only one more bud stalk forming amidst all the leaves:
My hibiscus gives me a flower or two every day or two. This is what it looked like two days ago:
It’s nice to have a little taste of the tropics in the house in the middle of winter! The flowers generally last two days before they begin to shrivel, like this:
The zonal geraniums wintering under lights in the basement are glorious, and I’ll choose one or two to bring upstairs later this week:
Finally, a trip to the grocery store last night found me unable to resist a few flowers for my kitchen windowsill! What’s a girl to do when she can buy two for the price of one?
I chose two primroses, grown in Canadian greenhouses and shipped south to brighten our winters. These plants are bred to bloom prolifically for a few months, and then they are done. I have tried a few times with absolutely no success to keep them going beyond May, both in their pots and transplanted into the garden. 
As long as I keep them watered and deadheaded, the blooms should keep coming until May. The good thing about keeping them in the kitchen windowsill is that it’s very easy to water them as soon as I notice them getting a wee bit droopy.
I was also taken in by these Gerbera Daisies. Again, buy one, get one free at my favorite market!
I’ve not grown these as winter houseplants before, so I don’t know how long they will last. I specifically chose plants that have several buds coming along. 
Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts this monthly round-up of all that’s blooming in our gardens, indoors and out. I encourage you to click on the link and see what other bloggers have to share this month. It’s a great way to pick up a winter-weary spirit! 
Cosmos and Cleome 
Hey K,
Sweetie, you know I’m a big fan but it’s time to dump the poinsettias, especially when you have so many pretty things going on like the geraniums. If you can’t trust your good friends to be blunt, who can you trust. Right, my dear?
Can always trust you to speak your mind, Patrick! The droopy poinsettia is indeed on its way out today. I didn’t show you the back side of it where an entire branch is wilted and shriveling! It was the poinsettia I purchased to help decorate the church for Christmas, and its care was spotty at best before I ever brought it home. The other one still looks pretty good, so it can have house space for a little while longer. I have no desire to try to keep it going until next Christmas, though–who has time for all of that in the closet, out of the closet, back in, etc. . .? Not I!
On the other hand, I try to keep poinsettias forever. I buy them at Home Depot on Black Friday for a dollar. I even got one to rebloom once. My local market has inexpensive primroses, too. I may pick one up – it’s a cheap bouquet and oh so pretty! Happy GBBD.
I just can’t be bothered to try to keep the poinsettias going, especially since I am almost obligated to buy a couple each December. Usually, the high school chorus asks people to buy one or two as a fundraiser. They use them to decorate the stage at the Christmas concert, and then we take them home afterwards. Also, I also buy one to decorate our church for the Christmas services, and then we take them home the week after Christmas.
I bought more primroses last night! The first two, I bought at Price Chopper. Then last night, I was in Wegman’s and theirs were SOOO much nicer than the ones at Price Chopper, I just could not resist! Still, in total, all the plants cost less than a nice bouquet, and I’ll enjoy them for so much longer.
The geraniums are great, I like them even more in your basement than I did in the garden! Do you get down there enough to enjoy them? You could trade one out with the cyclamen when it’s taking a rest!
It can be just like Longwood gardens where there’s a backup greenhouse to keep plants coming along to take over when others fade. You’re quite the DuPont aren’t you!
I’m thinking about starting seeds like onions soon. Just have to buy them first 🙂 Are you going to start anything soon?
I actually have been spending a fair amount of time in the basement, cleaning up and putting away all of Christmas stuff, so I see them pretty frequently! And I think they do look better now than they did all summer!
Can’t say I’ve ever been compared to a DuPont before!
I probably won’t start anything until late February, when I’ll get the tomatoes, peppers, and gomphrena going. I made the mistake of starting tomatoes in early February once, and I had total monsters on my hands before it was warm enough to get them outside.
I say keep the poinsettias as long as you enjoy looking at them! They’ll look great with the geraniums! Inquiring minds want to know – What do you teach and what are all of those blue ribbons for?
I teach private violin lessons at home, and the blue ribbons belong to my son who swims on a YMCA team. My daughter has ribbons, too, over to the left on the same wall. I am tired of the larger, droopy poinsettia, so I think it will be on its way out this weekend! Thanks for visiting, Peter!
Carol at May Dreams Gardens says you can have blooms all year long and you have proved her correct, Kimberley. None at my house. Beautiful posting. P. x
Thanks, Pam! Hopefully next month, I’ll have some African violets in bloom, and maybe an amaryllis and/or some other forced bulbs!
You must have a much nicer grocery store than I have–love those daisies in the middle of winter! Your geraniums look so lush and healthy. I forgot to bring mine in before a hard freeze, and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. But I always just stick mine in the garage, and they never looked as good as yours. I think I might have to go grocery shopping at a different store:)
Some grocery stores are better than others in terms of plant and flower selection, it’s true! I used to keep the geraniums going in living areas of the house, but I just don’t have enough window space, and the light wouldn’t be enough, so this is the first time I’ve kept them under the basement lights. I’m very pleased with the results! I put the light on a timer, too, so I don’t have to remember to go down to turn it on and off every day!
You have so many flowers in your house! What a lovely way to look forward to spring. Thanks for sharing their beauty with us! -Beth
I keep forgetting my seed starting lights could do double duty. I didn’t have any geraniums last year, but there’s surely something I could grow under lights in a cool basement. I will have to keep my eye out for primroses. There is one kind offered in supermarkets that is hardy and one that is not. I have had some success growing hardy ones outdoors and getting them to perennialize.
Your photos are lovely,Kimberley. I have to ask you about primroses. I’m starting to see them in grocery stores now. Do they have to have direct sunlight? I don’t have wide windowsills. Would they be happy on top of a small curio cabinet?
Janie
Hi Jane, and thanks for stopping by! No, the primroses don’t need direct sun, but they do need bright light to keep blooming. I’ve had them thrive in a north facing window that never gets direct sunlight. I would think if your curio cabinet is somewhere near a bright window, they would be fine.