Monday, November 15, 2010

November Color for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day


Little Women, a StoryBook rose
 There's all kinds of color in my garden this November Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. A couple of gray days had me questioning what color I might find for this month's Bloom Day. But Sunday dawned beautiful and sunny and the blooms and colors I found perked me right up. Above is a sweet little rose I got at the GWA Symposium in September, Little Women. It was quite small when I got it so I put it in a pot to let it grow up a bit. It's been happily blooming ever since. Though the blooms are tiny, it has a nice fragrance.

Pineapple sage, Salvia elegans
 You'll probably see a lot of pineapple sage photos in garden bloggers' posts today. Though the plants are getting leggy by now, losing many of its lower leaves, it's still blooming away. Too bad the hummers have moved on from this feast!

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
'Autumn Joy' in its very seasonal color is another common plant. But what a trooper plant it is, never asking much from the gardener except well-drained soil and sun. 
Mexican mint marigold, Tagetes lucida
My Mexican mint marigold (also sometimes referred to as "Texas tarragon") is finally showing a few blooms after a very rocky year. I'm not sure what was causing it to suffer, other than less water than I used to give it. Maybe that was it. It kept putting out branches that then died. Strange.

Melampodium paludosum
My melampodium, an annual of unknown variety, is rarely, if ever, featured in any of my posts. I don't know why, because it's a non-stop bloomer from summer through fall. They say it will self-sow but I've yet to experience that.

Black-eyed Susan vine (with moon vine in the background)
Well, let's just continue with the golden yellows and oranges, shall we? My black-eyed Susan vine has been another less-than-stellar performer this year. The vines grew quickly after seed planting but then they never flowered. Until last month. Oh well, at this time of year, who can be choosy?

'Patrick's' abutilon
Isn't this lovely? 'Patrick's' abutilon is making a remarkable recovery from the heat and drought of this summer.

Flame anisacanthus, Anisacanthus wrightii

The flame anisacanthus is still blooming, hoping for any late-arriving hummingbirds. This is one plant that likes its ROOM. Even though it was cut back twice this year, it's still 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

'Lanai Bright Pink' verbena amongst creeping rosemary
 The creeping rosemary is starting to bloom and the Lanai verbena is muscling its way in. I really need to get the verbena under control! Here's a few more blooms.

'Whirling Butterflies' gaura

'Hip Hop' euphorbia and 'Little Grape' gomphrena
 
Smooshing down the new soil
 We're getting some work done on the outside of our house and I know all you gardeners can relate to this - contractors smooshing either plants or, in my case, new and once fluffy soil. Ugh.

New trellis for 'Red Cascade' miniature climbing rose
 But here's some work I'm most definitely happy about. A different person, a craftsman, is making a gate for us and part of it includes this lovely trellis. Poor guy - he took the rose off of its temporary wires in order to put the trellis up. Then he tried to put the rose back, all the while getting stuck by both the rose and the agave below it! I've since rearranged the rose on the trellis, making sure there's plenty of canes going horizontal (for those new to climbing roses, the more canes you tie up horizontally, the more blooms you'll get).

The fall colors are starting here (finally). I really should have taken a photo of some of the crapemyrtles around town instead of this weedy Chinese tallow tree. The crapemyrtles really look like they're on fire!

Oakleaf hydrangea finally starting to turn
Last year at this time, the oakleaf hydrangea was almost completely red. Look at it just turning now. Ah well, for us Southerners, any fall color, no matter how late, is welcome!

Be sure to visit Carol's blog, May Dreams Gardens, to see other GBBD posts from around the world.

This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2010. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

18 comments:

  1. Hi Jean, It looks like your garden has really bounced back from the summer heat! Pineapple sage is one I'd like to try as an annual up North - that guara photo is especially nice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jean! I wanted to delurk and tell you how beautiful your garden and your photos are! I've been reading your blog for awhile now but I'm shy when it comes to commenting :p I live in Louisiana too...but I'm down in New Orleans...I love gardening too :) But my garden is nowhere near as beautiful as yours. Anyway, thanks for the pictures! -Chris

    ReplyDelete
  3. My Spanish tarragon has acted the same way this year. Very strange. Normally it's lush with blooms by now.

    The abutilons are finally blooming again. We have a Buff-bellied hummer that loves it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, that rosebud is exquisite. I also love the little yellow flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bloom Day...I haven't participated for many months now. Should really get back to it. It's always a pleasure to read blog posts on this day of the month, especially yours.

    Your trellis, I luv it. What a thoughtful person to attempt putting the rose back up on the trellis.

    Your melampodium is so pretty and being a non-stop bloomer is an added plus.

    donna

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's always a treat to visit here this time of year to see some lovely blooms once again. Pineapple sage is a favorite of mine, but I didn't post it this month--mine just started to bloom when it got hit by our first frost several weeks ago. Our trees are mostly bare by now, too, so your fall color is a welcome sight.

    I hope you'll keep us updated on 'Little Women.' I'm always attracted to the names of different cultivars, and "Little Women" was my favorite book growing up. And what a great rose trellis!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would say you have tons of color in your garden. My Internet was down so I didn't get a Bloom Day post up, but I loved looking at yours. Hope all is well.~~Dee

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your blooms, the euphorbia is so sweet. I look forward to seeing more!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I want to see your Red Cascade roses blooming on that nice structured trellis next season. It should be beautiful. I've wanted to put in Red Cascade but have nothing for it to scramble or climb over. You've got me thinking....

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love your photos of the plants, they really show them to best advantage. I hope you've gotten in on some of the recent rains. Your blooms all look so fresh and cheery.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lots of great color and scrumptious pictures to show on your Southern bloom day. I know you must be busy but the garden looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  12. you have lots of blooms for november compared to what i'm used to! miniature roses are so adorable and scented ones are just icing on the cake! tagetes lucida is one of my absolute favorite fall plants. it's such a reliable performer and it tastes good, too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yo! I hope the soil recovers from the depredations of the contractors. My utility district crew will return after Thanksgiving to dig in our street again. I'm hoping they leave my garden out of it this time!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love the trellis. I might have to steal that idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. looking good jean! i think the melampodium is my favorite. i'm familiar with the white variety, didn't know there was a yellow one. nice trellis too!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello Jean, Gosh it has been too long! I will have to go back over your posts I missed! I love the story of the carpenter and your rose and agave. Poor thing. What a lovely trellis and I love learning about the horizontal canes bringing more blooms. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  17. How wonderful to still have plants blooming in late November! Mine have all gone to sleep. I had no idea that tying rose canes horizontally would produce more flowers. Thanks for the tip!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Jean - My new Horticulture languished in a pile because it came just before Thanksgiving. No time to sit and browse. But this morning time arrived and there was your piece about your lemon tree. I have never tried one, but I visited a woman once with a gorgeous conservatory and a grove of potted Meyer lemons. She also had a villa in France. She said one day her four year old son came into the conservatory, inhaled and said, "Ahhhh. It smells just like Provence." We should all have such pleasure. Congratulations on Horticulture. check out my Giveaway.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for visiting! I truly appreciate your visit and comments. If you ask me a question in your comment, I will answer it here.