A Late Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - November 2010

We were away this past weekend celebrating our oldest grandson's ninth birthday, and I guess my mind was elsewhere, because the 15th of the month crept right up and surprised me.

Working and posting don't seem to fit very well into the same day for me anymore, but I had today off, so here finally, are my mid-November blooms. 

Some of the Helleborus niger/Christmas Rose petals are now tinged with pink, and this delightful plant steadfastly continues to hold up through all kinds of weather.

Severe frosts and cold days don't seem to phase it at all. I hope it blooms with the same enthusiasm when spring comes again.

I love the combination of pink and white blooms on the same plant.

We had a 4 beautiful, sunny days last Thursday through Sunday, but today the weather has turned blustery, wet and very wintery - not a nice day to be outdoors.

Hubby recently noticed that the Honeysuckle over by the grape vines still has a few blooms.

It looks like Lonicera brownii (Dropmore Scarlet) to me, but being a passalong I can't be sure.
This pretty vine began blooming early in the spring and even now it continues to produce blooms!

Bright red berries have taken over the color show now that the leaves are gone from the little burning bush.

Frosty mornings add a sugar coating,

.....enhancing the beauty.

Behind the Burning Bush the Weigela has grown considerably this past summer and its fall color is gorgeous. 

Rimmed with frost...

....the leaves are especially beautiful.

The gardens are mostly bare of blooms now,

but until very recently this tall Mallow (Malva zebrini) was still loaded with pretty purple blooms.

Only the most severe frosts have finally finished its late show.

Frost adds a beautiful touch to Sedum Autumn Joy's rich rufous fall tones. 

Another passalong from my friend, Marie, this little pale pink Chrysanthemum produced a few brave blooms and held up well to the frosty mornings.

Purple Alyssum generously sprouted beside the usual white Alyssum this past summer in the cracks between pavers of the back door patio. It laughs in the face of the cold.

Scabiosa (Pincushion Flower) "Summer Berries Mix" has just recently finally been stopped by the frost.

And the heavy frosts have taken a toll on the Gaura as well.

The large Spirea bush is beautifully dressed in its fall shades of red.

On the covered, unheated side porch the Ivy Geraniums and Fuchsia "Marinka" seem to like the cool temperatures and are blooming happily.

"Butterfly"

"Taj Mahal"

"Marimba"

When the temperatures drop closer to freezing on the porch I'll move them to upstairs bedrooms.

This Hoya is the house plant of the moment, showing off 2 lovely bloom clusters, with a few more tiny ones showing promise for the future.

These blooms are fascinating, beginning as little closed stars and gradually unfolding tiny pockets...... 

....to reveal shiny gems of rasberry red.

As an added bonus, the blooms last for quite a while. 

Jasmine is a cat who obviously appreciates beauty!

Not very long ago I snapped this shot of her admiring the last gorgeous bloom of Clematis "Carnaby". This long lasting bloom is still there, albiet a little worse for wear, but hanging in there. Homestead Verbena and white Alyssum are still showing a bit of color as well in the Rose/Clematis garden, but even these last few stalwarts will soon be gone and the garden will sleep until spring returns again.

Be sure to visit our gracious hostess, Carol of May Dreams Gardens  to discover what's blooming in gardens all over the globe. 

Carol's inspiration for Bloom Day was inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence - "We can have flowers nearly every month of the year"

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - December '09

I almost didn't do a December Bloom Day post because I couldn't fit it in on the 15th, and then yesterday was much the same, but today I resolved to get it done!

Not that there's a lot to show, but I do have a few house plants blooming, and some of the overwintering plants are putting out blooms.

Abutilon Gold Dust is the star, with more than a dozen lovely orange flowers and loads of buds.

Outside on the front porch during the summer it produces sparse blooms, but overwintering in the house it really revs up production! Strange plant. But beautiful, so I happily forgive its idiosyncrasies.

Another orange bloomer is Columnea, sometimes called Goldfish Plant because the flowers resemble little goldfish. That's a pink Bacopa on the shelf below, which sowed itself in a last year's container and grew into a nice healthy little plant. I couldn't bear to throw it away in the fall so I potted it up and brought it inside. Bacopa is a half hardy annual here in the northeast. It'll be interesting to see what it does.

The overwintering wax begonias have a few blooms, but the Thanksgiving/Christmas cacti are both finished blooming, unfortunately.

I brought the pot of Anemone de caen into the house too because they were still popping out blooms.....and to my surprise are continuing to do so. I love these glorious blue flowers!

The Babywing begonia was disappointing this past summer after growing into such a beautiful plant last year. Begonias can be baffling. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, they just begin to whither and die off. I managed to save a couple of pieces of this one
and they rooted, so I didn't lose it entirely. Now I need to snip off another cutting, and keep doing that until I can hopefully make the plant fuller again. Does anyone have any tips on how to keep them healthy?

This is last year's Poinsettia!

It's just a small one that I kept on the covered side porch all summer and neglected badly. A few weeks ago I noticed red bracts on it, so I brought it inside and began treating it a little better (like watering it!). There are 2 more sets of bracts turning red now. I don't know if they'll get bigger, but I'm happy just to see them small. I didn't give the poor little plant any special treatment to make it turn (I think it's supposed to have at least 11 hours of darkness - or is it 14? - each day for a certain period of time) so this is a very pleasant surprise. I've named it The Little Poinsettia That Could!

In two of the upstairs bedrooms overwintering geraniums are happily blooming and there are also some under lights in the cellar.

Some of the containers are in the cellar as well. There were plants still blooming long into the fall and I didn't want to throw them on the compost heap, so I just left them in the garage and they kept right on blooming with very little light. With the onset of very cold weather we recently moved them to the cellar. This is a purple Osteospermum (African or Cape Daisy) and it's blooming its head off. The warmth of the cellar brought on a whole slew of new buds! I wonder how long it will last.

This is "Copper Purple" Osteo. It has few flowers but is still looking happy.

I usually put the vinca vines into the veggie garden to overwinter, but the ground was too wet with all the rain we had before Thanksgiving, and then the cold set in and I caught that nasty cold bug and couldn't get out there to do the job. This one is in the cellar but will eventually go outside (I hope). That purple spike is a cordyline I'm attempting to overwinter.

Outside in the garden there are no blooms, only ice and snow. Last Saturday, when the temperature warmed enough to loosen the ice in the birdbath, I dumped it out and it made a pretty ice sculpture in the snow with the embedded leaf.

The little Rock Garden #2 is wearing a blanket of snow and I need to get the de-icer out for the birdbath so that the birds will have some water available.

I hope you'll find the time to visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens to see what else is blooming in other parts of the world.
To those of you in warmer climes: Please soak up some of that warmth and color for those of us in the frozen north!
I hope you're all enjoying the pre-Christmas season and finding at least a little time to relax and remember the reason for the season.