Perks of Procrastination, May 16, 2016

It seems procrastination can have some perks.  Last summer I put my Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) in a sunnier place than usual and it surprised me with some very big strapping leaves.  I brought it indoors for the winter but left it by my south-facing sliding glass door and forgot about it until after Christmas, so it got put in the dark late.  But I did get it out and it rewarded me with 2 bloom stalks instead of one.  So for In A Vase On Monday, hosted by Cathy who challenges us to find flowers to decorate our homes, I posed it behind a Christmas cactus also with unseaonably late second blooms-

I also posed a pair from my duck collection and a Chinese boat I made with them, as though floating in the arms of the plants.

The Amaryllis is very Christmasy, but there was a lot going on then anyway.  It is fun to have it bloom now.

Another unusual bloom is from one of 5 Streptocarpus plants I actually grew from seed this year.  The seeds were very tiny, pelleted, and I was amazed that they actually sprouted, minute little green specks that grew and eventually all got transplanted into their own pots.  I was amazed to see a bloom already on one, and it proceeded to have one flower, which was fading when two more bloomed-

I like the green glow in the throat of the blooms.  A couple more of the 5 plants are also sending up a bud.  It will be interesting to see what the other flowers look like.

And now for a vase of roses from my group of once-blooming Gallica roses, Leda damask-

Tuscany Superb-

And Belle de Crecy-

So now for my actual Monday vase, Gallicas with a magenta iris-

It seems the Gallicas have rather floppy and uncooperative stems, thus this petulant pose-

A couple of other irises in the general magenta category-

Plicata?

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For Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming around the world.  Here the roses and irises are a couple of weeks early, and the Rhododendrons, Geums, Geraniums, Columbines, and Calla lilies are blooming.  Spring bulbs are long gone, as well as the fruit trees.

And from the plant section that earns their keep, the hard-working bunch, are some Fava plants blooming and hopefully forming some nice pods, as well as some peas.  I planted some in February then  filled in some more in March, supported with tomato cages and bamboo-

I'm also linking today with- 

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

Are any surprise flowers blooming for you today?   -Hannah