Thursday, 15 November 2012

Bloom Day

Well November is not really what I would consider the most exciting of bloom days in my yard. It's actually more a story of November left over bloom day.  It's really not intentional, and for the first time in a long time I find myself wishing to have more luscious autumn blooms to grace the yard with.  Lessons in gardening I suppose. But there are still some happy blooms to be found throughout the yard.

This year echeverias have been nothing shy of epic.  I have really come to believe they are one of the best 'annuals.'  Now I just have to wait and see how well I do carrying them over inside.

Another winner has been crassula 'campfire.' It is just about to bloom again in mid November!!

Roses are still going albeit have turned a different colour late into the season.  In early spring they tend to look more pink, orange/red in the summer, and almost peachy in the autumn.

And the 'ole faithful' (fatsia japonica) is full of blooms this time of the year.

Geraniums don't seem to have minded our brief frost on the weekend.



And while most plants are hanging on in their summer glory, this lily seems to have a more 'appropriate' autumn state.  That is, in transition.  As the yard transitions from summer, autumn, and eventually to the word that starts with "w" and ends in "er" that I refrain from speaking of, I get both the joy of looking back on a season of growth and looking forward to the next spring.  How much will that grow next year? What will edited from the landscape.  Will I finally get around to moving that?  What blooms will tell the story of my current garden affections?  Time will tell.  But for now, I will enjoy the sunshine on this beautiful November bloom day.
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18 comments:

  1. Shirley15 November 2012 at 12:05

    November blooms there are something to celebrate and you have some nice ones. The rose didn't show up though.

    You've apparently had more sun this week than we have which is another thing you can celebrate. It's always a good to take time for reviewing the garden.

    Happy GBBD!

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    1. Louis16 November 2012 at 23:51

      Thanks!

      That's kind of crazy to think of more sunshine up here this time of the year. If it makes you feel better I wish nice weather on everyone! Rain only during the nighttime and warm sunshine by day. Thats the dream

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  2. Desert Dweller15 November 2012 at 17:14

    Roses turning peachy in autumn is amazing. Everything looks just fine, as things here did until the hard freezes, then wind and 31F today... Back to normal 60-ish, but the damage is done. I would say, yes- enjoy all that nice growth and the few blooms.

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    1. Louis16 November 2012 at 23:53

      I really like the peach roses this time of year too! The frost we had really didn't do any harm to anything - thankfully. Hopefully the 60's continue for you guys. I'm hoping for a winter without any extremes.

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  3. danger garden15 November 2012 at 21:17

    Just think only 3 bloomdays until March when we'll be talking about the early bloomers. I can't wait...

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    1. Louis16 November 2012 at 23:54

      EPIC!!!! ahhh... that is a much better way of thinking about the "w...er"

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  4. danger garden15 November 2012 at 21:19

    p.s. I was fantasizing today about what if we mysteriously had a winter with no hard freezes. I wonder if that has ever happened?

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    1. Louis16 November 2012 at 23:56

      I really hope and pray for that. I feel as though it has happened before. I always judge winters based on how cordylines and flax respond. If red cordylines survive it was mild, if green ones survive it wasn't bad, and if phormiums die it was horrendous and the world is coming to an end. What are your indicators?

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  5. outlawgardener16 November 2012 at 04:38

    Hooray for living where we still have colorful blooms outside! I like Loree's idea about a w...er with no hard freezes! We've had some fairly mild ones in the past. The new USDA hardiness map places my garden in zone 9a. REALLY? Nobody told my plants that! C'mon phormiums, whyd'ja die? Let me just go pull my echiverias back out and plant them in the ground. Zone 9...in my dreams.

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    1. Louis17 November 2012 at 00:03

      YAY!!! I like a no hard freeze winter too!! There have been some nice ones and I hope we are returning to a nice trend. To be "for realz" in the zone 9a would be excellent. You are bang on with the phormiums in my opinion. I was saying to Loree that you can judge the severity of winter based on cordyline and phormium survival. Red cordy survival = PNW 9b, green cordy survival = 9a, phormium survival = 8b, and so on. I understand that is incredibly simplistic and does not tell nearly a full story but I try to think in terms of how plants respond versus what a zone map or hardiness rating says.

      That being said there are some true PNW zone 9 spots. The gulf islands/san juans, most immediate coastal gardens along the South Sound. Even northern up to Tofino BC where cordylines turn into monster trees. I just wish my garden was like that. That being said you still couldnt grow the plants that a zone 9a California garden could or any 9a garden in the South East for that matter. But we can dream.

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  6. sensiblegardening16 November 2012 at 09:02

    Here in the interior we are a step ahead of you and the W word is beginning to make waves. A hard frost pretty much put an end to our color for this year. Your daylily is still trying hard!

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    1. Louis17 November 2012 at 00:04

      Not the "W" word! I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully the happy "s" word - SPRING - will come early for us. And like I said, we can start making our plans for next growing season! And start saving for all those plants we have been lusting after. I'm sure you can think of a few :)

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  7. MulchMaid16 November 2012 at 11:07

    You know I love that echeveria bloom - it's my color! And you've had frost already and lived to tell the tale! So far nothing colder than 36 at my house in Portland - thank goodness, as I've been procrastinating on moving some succulents into the house. I share your thoughts about planning for the next season and the editing, moving and planting decisions to make. I'm ready!!

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    1. Louis17 November 2012 at 00:08

      The echeveria is the gift that keeps giving! It's hard to believe we are talking frost. I honestly forgot about this. Summer lulls me into the wonderful notions that it will never get cold and that the rain is only very brief and fleeting. And then there's that dose of reality.

      I hope that your frost freeness continues for a while. It looks like that will be the case. And yay for planning next season! Anything exciting to add to the garden like that jubaea you've been lusting for?

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  8. Heather/xericstyle19 November 2012 at 09:22

    So much color Louis - and also lushness - gardens are so amazing to witness. I just love blogs to have a window on all this goodness! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Louis20 November 2012 at 14:14

      Thanks!!! I agree about garden blogs. It's the next best thing to touring someone's garden with them.

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  9. scottweberpdx20 November 2012 at 14:50

    So cool about the rose changing color...it's always fascinating to see how plants react to changes in climate :-)

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    1. Louis20 November 2012 at 15:26

      Thanks, Scott! It is really quite amazing to witness all the changes throughout the season. With the rose its like having three different plants! I love it.

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