Mid-December blooms shouldn’t be easy to come by. I’m actually pleased to report that the kniphofias have finally fallen and as you can see the astrantia, sturdy old thing, is looking a little on the done side finally. But I can hardly believe that I found a dianthus in the just-past bloom stage in the Rock Garden. I refuse to show its picture even if it is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what’s in bloom around the world). I’m even disinclined to show our greenhouse beauties although the Ponderosa lemon is just getting going and the enormous Impatiens sodenii is quite spectacular. I’d much rather scout around for bloom-ish sorts of things, and things that maybe once were blooms, and things that resemble blooms, and things I might not have thought to notice if there were other things actually in bloom.

So without further ado, Mid-December (not) blooms:

(hover over for captions and click on for a larger view.)

And because they are so pretty and I just can’t help myself, here are pictures of the lemon’s flowers and the impatiens too.

What’s (not) blooming in your garden?