For this month’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, I don’t have much blooming indoors, but since it’s snowing, I’ll share those photos too.
Snow day!
The walkway from the back kitchen door to the greenhouse and potager when it first started snowing. I decided I’m going to put Christmas lights on the potager this weekend after the snow melts. 
My four bee hives in the snow. I have all of their entrances reduced down and once the snow is gone, I’ll check the sugar on them. I’m winter feeding the weak hive at the end this year. 
Bee hives and my little, green, she shed. My Little Cedar Garden sign is on the end of the shed. 
Pair of Cardinals in the snow.
We’ve had snow twice this week! Almost unheard of in Oklahoma this early in the season. Seems we are getting all of Minnesota’s snow, and this storm will turn into a Nor’easter after it leaves the plains. [Click on the photos in the gallery to enlarge them.]
Back of the house with tiered borders. 
The back garden on the left side. The right side is the same pattern. 
Our lake/pond behind the house always looks so beautiful in the snow. 
Another view of the lake behind our house below the back garden. 
Side borders below the deck with an arbor in the snow. I have five arbors around the back garden.
I took these photos earlier this morning. It’s continued snowing so coverage is much heavier now. We’re going to pick up our youngest daughter and her friend at the airport tonight. I hope the roads are sanded and salted by then.
While the snow falls, I’m going to toss out some poppy seeds and see if I can get them to germinate next spring. Poppy seeds are always iffy for me, but when they do work, wow! This year I’m trying Champagne Bubbles poppy seed mix. This is one of those times I’d say don’t try this at home. It probably won’t work. We’ll see in spring.
Cardinals abound in our winter garden.
In the meantime, this isn’t a flower, but above I have a pretty male Cardinal sitting in the arbor. Is there anything more beautiful than that? This year, I bought a flocked Christmas tree and bedecked it with Cardinals and red bows. I may do it every year like this. Cardinals and red bows are among my favorite things.
Amaryllis are blooming.
Remember when I wrote about planting bulbs indoors and out a week ago? Well, I’m starting to get some flowers now. Only a few. I expect the other amaryllis and paperwhites to take off in the next two weeks.
Dwarf amaryllis don’t have to be staked.
I really like dwarf selections of amaryllis because I don’t need to stake them. ‘Merry Christmas’ is one of those, and I’m loving it again this year. Meanwhile, two other varieties are still just growing and growing. They will eventually bloom. I move the pots around in the windows to try and give them the best light. I also turn the containers about a 1/4 turn every day to make them even.
Paperwhites
The paperwhites are starting to flower too. A couple of pots have started blooming. I need to check the greenhouse to see if I left any other bulbs out there. Bill and I went to Big Cedar Lodge last weekend with our brother-in-law and sister-in-law so I don’t remember what needs doing out there other than watering. I’ll post about the greenhouse later this week or next.
Paperwhites and amaryllis against a snowy window. 
Ready for their closeup, paperwhite flowers make me smile in winter. 
Narcissus tazetta ‘Inbal’ paperwhites.
Thanksgiving cactus
The other plants blooming are the Thanksgiving cacti, Schlumgera truncata.
I know mine are the Thanksgiving type because they have the pointed ends on their leaves. Christmas cacti, S. bridgesti, do not. Iowa State University has a good graphic and explains the varieties very well. I love these cacti because they put on such a great show. Mine are getting quite large now. I keep the Thanksgiving cactus in my bathroom when they aren’t blooming. They don’t like to be extremely dry, and the bathroom is great with them around the soaking tub.
That’s it for the blooms.
That’s about it for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Thank you to Carol Michel who hosts this long-running meme each month.
Tomorrow another episode of the Gardenangelists’ podcast drops. I’ll link back here when it does.
I also wrote a newsletter on waiting for comfort & joy if you’d like to read it. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, you can do that too.
Have a beautiful Tuesday. Have you finished Christmas shopping yet? I have one more present to buy I think.
I’ve been amazed at how much snow you’ve had already. We’ve had three gorgeous snowfalls, especially one for Christmas. Love all your winter blooms indoors. I am so uninspired when it comes to that!
Beautiful post ! Thanks for sharing with Garden Affair .Keep linking.
Beautiful photos, Dee, especially the cardinal and the Christmas tree! Happy Holidays!
Thank you Beth! Merry Christmas!
I believe you were inspired by the beautiful painting on the glass window frame! I love your beautiful tree! It looks perfect! The photo of the cardinals in the snow should be framed, it’s just beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Maria, I think I was too. Those Cardinals are a bunch of hams. Merry Christmas!
Hello. I enjoy reading your blog! Love the pics with the Cardinal, so beautiful!.
Merry Christmas and a Happy Mew Year.
Thank you Mabel! That means so much to me!
Well, Dee, you have a lot more blooming than I do! My Christmas spirit has totally evaporated. I have 12 mini pumpkins that I grew still on the mantle. I think I’ll tie red bows on them and call it done! Love your snow pics ( much better than the ice storm pics). The cardinals are such a pleasure to see in the snow. They really pop! Enjoy your holiday season.
Hi Ginny, sometimes, and some years, Christmas is just hard. I hope things get cheerier soon. Hugs.~~Dee
If you ask me, I’d say you had plenty blooming right now! It’s beautiful and I love those cardinal shots and that cactus in your kitchen.
Thank you Heather. The cacti have never been better than this year. I actually saved that pink cactus from Walmart one year. It was on a shelf half priced and half dead. I knew Thanksgiving cactus were resilient so I just bought it and nursed it back to life. Now, it’s huge!~~Dee
Thanks for the link about the various species of cacti! I had no idea and I consider myself a plant nerd. Your posts always make me homesick. I graduated from Edmond, but all my family — and the family farm — are in Perry. I’m a flower farmer just outside Nashville. I love Nashville, but Oklahoma will always be home. (By the way, .farm IS a url and is the url for my website. For some reason, your blog host doesn’t recognize it.)
Hi Laura, I’ve tried to fix the URL problem, but haven’t been able to thus far. It did automatically approve your comment this time though so that’s a start. Thank you for your kind words. I think all of us grow homesick for our childhoods and those places that meant so much to us. Occasionally, I want to move to town because I was actually a city girl in OKC before I met my husband. If I ever get out to Nashville again, I’d love to visit your farm. ~~Dee
Dee your garden is so pretty no matter what condition it is in. With Christmas about to be upon us the snow seems like the right decor. Of course your yearly amaryllis and paperwhites are a delight too. Your tree is pretty. I like the red of Christmas. This year our tree is full of the bird ornaments we have collected over the years. We also had a shot of snow yesterday. It is already gone now since it warmed up so much. I sort of wish it was hanging on for Christmas but it is not to be a white one for us. Cheers.
Hi Lisa, your tree sounds so pretty. I do love birds indoors (as ornaments) and outside near the feeders. When I went outside and walked the property after the snowfall, I startled a lot of birds in the woods. That was really fun. Merry Christmas!~~Dee
I had poppies every year for many years, let about 1/2 the seed fall and saved and threw the rest out on the snow. Suddenly one year they disappeared and I have never had them again no matter what I tried. They are so beautiful it breaks my heart. Another wonderful blog, thanks Dee.
Hi Aunt Della, I used to have poppies too. I haven’t been able to grow them since. Who knows why? Thank you so much for reading.~~Dee
Isn’t this snow so much nicer than the ice! Really pretty pics with the cardinals.
Hi Merrilyn, so much nicer indeed! I hate ice. I love snow. Merry Christmas.~~Dee
wow ! Beautiful Amaryllis .It would be my pleasure if you join my link up party related to gardening here at http://jaipurgardening.blogspot.com/2020/12/chrysanthemums.html
Hi Arun, I definitely joined up. How fun!~~Dee
Lovely birds and Amaryllis!
I love my amaryllis. They are a bright spot when cold winter winds blow.
Very pretty. I have never seen a cardinal. We just don’t have them in OR, or in CA where I came from.
Hi Lisa, I think it’s the Rocky Mountains that keep the Cardinals away from the west. Here, they are like Sparrows, almost. ~~Dee
Such pretty scenes. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. It makes my day!~~Dee
A cardinal in the snow is one of the prettiest things I can think of. I really miss those birds. That is a stunning tree. And I love the miniature amaryllis. Do you find those locally or do you mail order them?
Hi Phillip, I would really miss my Cardinals too. I think I first ordered the shorter (dwarf) amaryllis by accident. ‘Merry Christmas’ is one variety. I’ve also grown the nymph series which has large blooms on short stems. I mail order almost all of my amaryllis these days. I put a reminder on my phone to order them in August each year. Great to hear from you!~~Dee
Happy Bloom Day!
Thanks Carol!