Garden Bloggers Bloom Day December 2009

– Posted in: What's up/blooming
12 comments

This intrepid Johnny-jump-up persists despite the snow.

This intrepid Johnny-jump-up persists despite the snow.


A few Johnny-jump-ups (Viola tricolor) sport raggedly blooms amidst the patchy snow. That’s it. That’s more than I’ve had in other years. November was mild; December’s lows have been in the teens (F). Not as bitter as some winters, and violas are tough. There hasn’t been enough snow to smother them.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens, and leave a link in Mr. Linky and the comments of May Dreams Gardens.

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

Now, the digging and dividing of perennials, the general autumn cleanup and the planting of spring bulbs are all an act of faith. One carries on before the altar of delayed gratification, until the ground freezes and you can’t do any more other than refill the bird feeder and gaze through the window, waiting for the snow. . . . Meanwhile, it helps to think of yourself as a pear tree or a tulip. You will blossom spectacularly in the spring, but only after the required period of chilling.

~Adrian Higgins in The Washington Post, November 6, 2013

Comments on this entry are closed.

Paul at Calgary Gardens December 16, 2009, 11:47 am

What an amazing plant. All I can see out my window is the desolate calm of snow covered conifers…..hmm. Anyways, happy bloom day.

lostlandscape (James) December 16, 2009, 12:14 am

What a brave and determined little plant that viola is! It’s a great little trooper.

Rose December 15, 2009, 5:42 pm

This viola certainly deserves to be the star today! Anything that can brave these cold temps and the snow deserves some notice. I’d be thrilled to see anything blooming right now in my muddy garden.

Donalyn December 15, 2009, 3:30 pm

I had a vinca or two a week or so ago, but they seem to be gone now – the birds at the feeder have to be my garden till spring.

Ramble on Rose December 15, 2009, 2:05 pm

It is intrepid! And it’s more than I’ve got here!

Summer December 15, 2009, 12:44 pm

That poor little plant, struggling against the snow.

Dan December 15, 2009, 12:41 pm

What a tough viola!

Mr. McGregor's Daughter December 15, 2009, 12:04 pm

Your Johnny Jumpups are doing better than my Pansies. The snow finally melted off them and they are sad.

Katie December 15, 2009, 10:32 am

Heh heh-I LOVE THIS! Your garden is totally living up to the “It must snow all the TIME” stereotype! There’s a reason you’re the TOP cold climate gardener! 😉

Helen at Toronto Gardens December 15, 2009, 9:13 am

Hey, you have both more snow and more outdoor blooms than we do up here in Toronto. Yours actually make a pretty pair. Love the way that plants pushing through the snow seem to generate their own little pocket of heat.

Nell Jean December 15, 2009, 9:09 am

Violas are my winter fav. Happy Bloom Day.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens December 15, 2009, 7:30 am

That lone Johnny-jump up looks nice out there in the snow. I have some pansies that got all soggy in the rain and look more like mush than a plant.