Saturday, November 15, 2014

Bloom Day - November 2014

One of the great things about Bloom Day is that it provides a record against which to compare current events in the garden.  As I've been blogging less than 2 years, I have only last year's posts to look at but, by and large, 2014 has closely paralleled 2013 in terms of what's blooming in any given month.  That isn't true for November, however.  Last November, I had early blooms of Agapanthus, Alstroemeria, and Iceland poppies, none of which are blooming yet this November.  In addition, some plants that were still blooming last November, like Grevillea 'Superb' and Plectranthus ciliatus, have already thrown in the towel for the season this year.  Still, here in coastal Southern California, I know I'm lucky not to face the frost and snow already hitting many areas of the country.

Yellow flowers are making the biggest splash this month, as they light things up under gloomy skies.

When Senna (Cassia) bicapsularis 'Worley's Butter Cream' blooms, I wonder why I don't have more of these shrubs in my garden

Like the larger variety, this Tagetes lemmonii 'Compacta' tends to flop but I love the flowers for their color and their scent

All it took was a little rain to send Euryops 'Sonnenschein' into a paroxysm of flowers 

Gazinia 'New Day Yellow' produces large blooms for the size of the plant

Even the succulent Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' is getting into the action, producing a large flower stalk



There are also flashes of orange and red here and there.

Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid' is a relatively new acquisition - I wish I'd bought more  (It looks especially nice with the Alternanthera tenella, doesn't it?)

This unidentified Aloe (maybe A. 'Pink Blush'?) is a vigorous bloomer with stalks that stand straight

Senecio fulgens (photobombed here by a flowering Echeveria) is producing another round of blooms

This Bougainvillea provides a dash of red in the front yard

The Gomphrena haageana blooms keep coming

Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' keeps on blooming, albeit usually producing only one flower at a time

The recent heat took a toll on Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy's' foliage but the flowers keep coming



Adding more red and orange, berries are popping up everywhere.

Heteromeles arbutifolia, named the official native plant of Los Angeles a couple years ago, is starting to produce a mass of red berries

Berry production on Nandina domestica has been in process for some time

Even the chlorotic Pittosporum (Auranticarpa) rhombifolia is producing berries



Although the yellows, oranges and reds draw the eye, pink flowers are making a stand in the garden as well, outnumbering their splashier and flashier companions.

After struggling with the heat in early fall, Camellia sasanqua is now hitting its stride

Close-up of Camellia sasanqua bloom

Flowers are usually present almost year-round on the Arbutus 'Marina' but, after being pruned early this year, they're only now returning in force

As you can see here, my Arbutus are making up for lost time, making the hummingbirds very happy - the flowers look coral here but they're really more pink

Bauhinia x blakeana has begun another bloom cycle since the temperatures cooled

A Geranium sanguineum I have no record of planting has begun blooming

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' has pumped out more flowers since the weather cooled too

This Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geranium) has decided that it wants to climb

The Pennisetum 'Fireworks' have settled in comfortably despite regular digging around their base by raccoons and skunks

All the Pentas lanceolata are blooming - this one is 'Nova'

Even the 'Pink Meidiland' roses, shown here with Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink,' have produced a few blooms despite a sorry performance earlier this year



There is a scattering of blue and purple blooms too.

Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' looks better now than when I planted it in spring but I don't know if I'll grow it next year

Aster x frikartii 'Monch' is taking its own sweet time to get established but I love it anyway

Barleria obtusa has a sprawling habit, which makes it hard to photograph

The beautiful Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue' is back in bloom

Lobelia erinus may not be exciting but it self-seeds freely here and, after disappearing during the peak of the heat, it's reappearing all over (shown here coming up in a pot underneath a blueberry shrub)

This new Osteospermum ecklonis is 'Berry White' - I like it just as much as '3D Silver,' which has been a mainstay in my garden

Salvia leucantha is coming to the end of its bloom cycle

Solanum xantii, a California native, is one of my latest finds - the purple color is even brighter than it looks here



There are only a few white flowers, making me wonder why I haven't added any Argyranthemum to my garden this year.

Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo White' isn't quite as double or as vigorous as the blue form but it's still pretty with its bright green throat


Hibiscus trionum (aka flower of an hour), sold to me by my local botanic garden, turns out to be a weed in parts of the country but it has been well-behaved here thus far

All my Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta daisies) were hit hard by the heat this year but they're slowly making a comeback


That's it for my November Bloom Day round-up.  Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, the host of the world-wide gardening event that is Bloom Day, and you'll find photos of what is lighting up gardens elsewhere this November.


All material © 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

38 comments:

  1. Beautiful!
    I especially like the yellows. Such a cheerful color!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yellow is my favorite color, Lea, so I add to the garden wherever I have an opportunity.

      Delete
  2. Superb! Stunning! What else can I say, Kris? your coastal climate is showing its best stuff right now when everyone else is either snowed in or desicated. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely selection Kris! Your current selection of blooms (and berries) are so varied and what's extra fascinating is that at the moment you have what looks like representations of blooms of the four seasons here in the UK :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The differences in bloom schedules is so different from region to region, isn't it? I'm surprised to see fuchsias still going strong in the PNW and the UK, for example - they usually fry in the summer heat here.

      Delete
  4. Beautiful presentation through a rainbow of colors. I thought this year was different here until I looked at last November's Bloom Day. It really does help to have a record.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Having the record is great, Jean. Too bad my memory isn't as clear!

      Delete
  5. Dear Kris, I am always looking forward to your GBBD post, because you garden relatively close to me and we are most likely in the same climate zone, so what is blooming in your garden could be blooming in mine as well :-). Besides roses my garden is truly lacking of blooming perennials at this time of the year, so I am making notes of plants that I like in your garden and see that if I can acquire them, too.
    First, I love your day lily 'Spanish Harlem', what a spectacular color! The Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue' is absolutely stunning as well. I haven't seen the plant here in the nurseries, though. I would so love to have this one in my garden, too. I just bought a few Osteospermum '3D Silver' plants and I glad to read that they are doing well for you. Since I am always drawn white flowering plants, I love your shasta daisy. I am just a bit hesitant to bring a daisy into the garden, because I am under the impression that they need plenty of water and with our ongoing drought that isn't going together well. Is it your experience that this plant needs lots of water?
    Thanks for another great post, I was excited to read it. Warm regards,
    Christina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Eustoma (aka Lisianthus) usually arrive in the garden centers in my area in spring, Christina. This year I bought some early arrivals in 4-inch pots and, later, others in 6-packs. Those in the 6-packs had difficulty getting established before the heat hit in May. Heat appears to stop the plants in their tracks until the weather cools and they bloom again. The Osteospermum are available in the garden centers over a longer period than the Eustoma but I've found that those I plant in fall live much longer than those I've planted in spring - heat and dry winds seem to kill them outright if their roots aren't well-established before these conditions become prevalent. The Shasta daisies have been fairly resilient here with a moderate amount of water - this summer's heat and water restrictions knocked even my established plants back quite a bit but they're rebounding now.

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. All 5 of the Arbutus trees are loaded with flowers like that!

      Delete
  7. Wow! I am guessing that Fall and Spring are the main blooming seasons for you. It all looks spectacular. My ambition is to live somewhere I can grow Bougainvillea outdoors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fall is sometimes described as a "second spring" here and there's a lot of truth to that description. Plants that shut down in the height of summer often come back once the nighttime temperatures drop in fall, even if daytime temperatures fluctuate. With its nasty thorns, Bougainvillea is a great barrier plant, Jessica - if it was hardy in your area, it might be very good for keeping those sheep out of your garden!

      Delete
  8. Oh my goodness. Your November bloom day is spectacular. Here we can only dream of such gorgeous flowers at this time of the year. I love it all. Fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This can be the best time for coastal Southern California gardens, Chloris. I usually work double-time on planting from late September through March to make the best use of our rainy season but this year my front lawn project has absorbed so much of my free time I haven't had a chance to do as much planting as I normally would this time of year.

      Delete
  9. I remember being in awe of your Agapanthus in bloom at this time last year Kris. A friend of mine has an Arbutus growing up against here wall, it's a rather pathetic (I do hope she never sees this) looking specimen compared to yours. It's gorgeous.
    I too have a Geranium sanguineum in bloom, it's not often we have the same plants in bloom at the same time. Enjoyed this post, it reminded me of sunnier days :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I missed the blooms on the Arbutus trees earlier in the year, Angie - the pruning done in late January really set flower and fruit production back. It's nice to see the trees making their comeback at last.

      Delete
  10. Wow! Your Bougainvillea is stunning! How wonderful it must be to step out the door and be greeted by it! Camellia sasanqua is no slouch either! I love seeing plants that won't grow in my neck of the woods......TY for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's lucky that particular Bougainvillea is small and that it sits along the driveway out of the way of pedestrian and vehicular traffic - my husband absolutely hates Bougainvillea for its vicious thorns and the rapid growth it demonstrated at our old house where it got excess water and - I swear - grew a foot a week (scratching my husband's precious car). It's a great barrier plant in the right location, though!

      Delete
  11. You have so much in bloom now! I am having serious camellia envy -- that is a very beautiful camellia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were lucky - those Camellias came with the house. There are several plants lined up against the side of the house facing the vegetable garden - they're so interconnected I couldn't even tell you how many plants are there.

      Delete
  12. So many lovely blooms, Kris! The red berries of that Heteromeles arbutifolia are wonderful, and I suddenly find myself afflicted with severe succulent flower envy. I doubt the ones I have will ever bloom as there is a shortage of sunny spots in my garden. Oh well, a girl can dream... right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Flowers on a succulent are a bonus, Anna, but the major value to the plants are their sculptural shapes.

      Delete
  13. So many beautiful plants that bloom!
    Is it autumn or winter now?
    We still have the very hot for the season with us site.
    Best regards
    Mariana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The seasonal labels do not seem to apply anymore, Mariana. It is expected to be 80F (26.7C) here tomorrow, although the nights remain cool. Unlike most areas of the US (and Sweden), we really have just 2 seasons: a warm season and a cool season. Despite tomorrow's projected temperature, this is the cool season.

      Delete
  14. Hey Kris, Re: your question about how long winter lasts here at A New England Flowerbed.....We never know! Only kidding...sort of. Plants start to come to life in March but I never trust March and April. It can be sunny and warm one day and snowing the next. We do yard work when the weather cooperates but our rule of thumb has been to not plant until Memorial Day. We usually don't get a frost after that....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Memorial Day! You need a winter retreat, Flower Freak.

      Delete
  15. It’s really good to have these GBBD posts to compare year by year, I have done it for almost 3 years now and can see the difference month by month.

    Lovely to see all your autumn flowers, especially the huge gazinia - and the red Bougainvillea is a plant I have been thinking of trying out in my garden in a container – to keep it a bit restricted, not sure if it will survive but I won’t know if I don’t try! I just loved 'Spanish Harlem', I can’t get enough of dark coloured hemerocallis’, but they tend to get a bit wishy-washy coloured in my semi shady garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I divided the H. 'Spanish Harlem' and a couple of the divisions have gone into partial sun areas - it'll be interesting to see how that affects their flowering - so far, it hasn't affected the plant's vigor as even those divisions have already produced flower stalks. Good luck with the Bougainvillea! I believe there are some smaller varieties, which may do better in a pot.

      Delete
  16. My faves are the hemerocallis and the "Fireworks", and I'm envious of the bouganvilla. While it does well in many parts of Spain, here it's just too cold.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Hemerocallis and the Pennisetum are definitely keepers. The Bougainvillea can stay only as long as it behaves - my husband has a low tolerance for that genus.

      Delete
  17. So many gorgeous blooms still going strong in your garden! They're all beautiful but the cute and vibrant blooms of Senecio fulgens made me smile. Love those and will be adding that to my list of plants to shop for next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Senecio blooms came as a surprise as I bought the unlabeled plant for its glaucus foliage. I hope you find some - the butterflies love them.

      Delete
  18. You have so many gorgeous blooms Kris! Looking at your image of Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid', I can see there are already lots of side shoots that you'll be able to remove and make new plants so you'll have your wish for having more. I can hardly believe how many months you've had flowers on your Hemerocallis, what a great value plant. I was especially pleased to see Arbutus 'Marina' as I grow A. unedo (native here) and I wondered if the plants were similar, apart from the flower colour they look identical, although mine flowers in autumn at the same time that the fruits are mature. Do you eat the fruits, they sometimes sell them in the shops here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I grew Arbutus unedo at my old house, Christina. I loved that tree, which died suddenly after more than 15 years in the ground, probably from the microorganism that causes "sudden oak death," which has become more common here. I inherited 5 Arbutus 'Marina' with this house. In addition to the flower color, the bark is very different - red with prominent flaking. The fruit looks the same, though. I don't care for the fruit - even the squirrels seem to ignore it but perhaps it's an acquired taste.

      Delete
  19. Wow look at the Tagetes lemmonii and that Senna...I could use the cheery yellow flowers right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet it's cold out your way! I hope you're not snowed in. Maybe you need a nice lemon tree in a pot you can move outside when winter is over. The Tagetes in my garden is looking more bedraggled now - I just cut it back in the hope of stimulating another flush of bloom. With the Senna, when the bloom period is over, it's over but I expect I have a couple more weeks of color from it.

      Delete

I enjoy receiving your comments and suggestions! Google has turned on reCAPTCHA affecting some commentator IDs so, if you wish to identify yourself, please add your name to your comment.