I'm beginning November's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day Post with a good deal of trepidation. Our internet connections have been brutally slow lately, and most of my blogging time is spent simply waiting while uploading photos. I'm posting these at much lower resolution than I like, but maybe it will help.
Because, you see, I want to upload lots of pictures this month! November has been beautiful and is particularly so now. No rain to date, but temperatures have fallen gently into the eighties (my favorite comfort zone for desert conditions) and look set for the seventies soon.
The garden is clearly of the same opinion. It is in full bloom for the season and even sporting a few out of season flowers.
Long Shots
This angle on the South Border probably says as much as anything. Please pardon the bit of garden hose...
Roses
While the Rose Border is suffering from lack of attention, the roses in the rest of the garden are doing well at last. This is the first real season for bloom from the classic floribunda "Angel Face", added last spring.
The David Austin roses are in full feather.
And the miniatures are fabulous. Here is "Daniela". This summer had left it with quite a bit of salt burn and single-only flowers. A hard pruning a month or more ago is doing the job.
Grasses
The most spectacular are Muhlenbergia capillaris "Regal Mist" combining with Pennisetum setaceum rubrum.
But I have added more this year...
Unexpected
There is a scattering of bloom from plants that have waited till January in the past. I don't know whether this is something to do with the weather or has more to do with the plants being better established now.
Then there are summer-blooming plants that have extended their season longer than anticipated.
Catharanthus Roseus
The Catharanthus is still in full bloom. In addition to the lavender-flowered plants in the South Border, there are others.
Lavenders
Other than the Lavandula stoechas varieties, most lavenders are proving nearly everblooming here, falling off during late summer and early autumn, but coming back into flower now. I don't have any close-ups of L. x "Goodwin's Creek Grey" this month, but here are the rest.
Salvias
What between the different species and the long bloom period of many of the salvias, there is nearly always some type of salvia in bloom. Thinking about it, I believe I have more different species of salvia than of any other genus. I didn't intend to "collect" salvias, but they are so perfect for this garden.
Miscellaneous
Not miscellaneous really, but I wasn't sure how best to organize them, so here they are in no particular order.
Happily, the photos have uploaded fairly well. I hope the post loads well as it is admittedly image heavy!
One more shot of Wollerton Old Hall because I couldn't bear to leave this one out.
Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day to catalog what is blooming in the garden each month. Perhaps I've gone a little overboard this time, but it's so nice to have a garden full of flowers after our long summer!
Weather Diary: Overcast; High: 83 F (28 C)/Low: 54 F (12 C); Humidity: 14%-43%
Write a comment
Kris P (Wednesday, 15 November 2017 22:17)
Your garden looks fabulous, Amy! You've done a great job combining the grasses - the Muhlenbergia and the Pennisetum in the first shot complement each other well. And of course your roses are drool-worthy.
Lea @ Lea's Menagerie (Thursday, 16 November 2017 07:53)
Beautiful!
When I reached the end of your post, I went back to the top, and scrolled down again, admiring each photo as I went!
Have a wonderful day!
rusty duck (Thursday, 16 November 2017 07:55)
Absolutely incredible! Give yourself many pats on the back Amy. What you have achieved is truly stunning.
danger garden (Thursday, 16 November 2017 10:42)
I am so glad you went to the effort to upload all of these photos, your garden really is stunning this November. I hope you get a lot of time out there to enjoy it.
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Thursday, 16 November 2017 18:13)
Big thank you, Kris! I love what those grasses bring to the garden in terms of texture and color! :)
Libby (Friday, 17 November 2017 07:25)
Oh me oh my....so many fabulous and gorgeous photos and plants here! I had no idea all the roses would do so well in the desert. What variety you have: of everything. Just beautiful Amy!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Friday, 17 November 2017 11:34)
Lea - That is such a big compliment - thank you! Hope you have a great day! :)
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Friday, 17 November 2017 12:18)
RD - There's always much more to do, but at least I begin to feel that I'm working with a garden instead of just a random conglomeration of plants... Thanks for the encouragement! :)
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Friday, 17 November 2017 12:34)
Loree - Thanks for the reminder to step out and enjoy it while the weather is nice! I've been fussing around about the things I want to get done out there, but a little enjoyment wouldn't hurt either... ;-)
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Friday, 17 November 2017 12:42)
Libby - Thanks so much - so glad you enjoyed the post as it was a fun one to put together! The roses are a bit of a challenge, but in general they like it here, as they don't have to contend with blackspot and all the rest of it. Too dry! ;-) Welcome to the blog!
Diana Studer (Friday, 17 November 2017 17:15)
Summer Jewels is an unusual colour for a Salvia. Looks a particularly delicious flavour of fruity sorbet!
Rose (Friday, 17 November 2017 19:35)
What a beautiful garden you have! I appreciate seeing all these blooms in part because my garden has frozen over and is done for the season, but also just because you have so many lovely and unusual--to me--blooms. I like salvias, too, though many are just annuals for me, but I've never had a Gaura as full of blooms as yours--wow!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Saturday, 18 November 2017 23:17)
Diana - Yes, indeed, strawberry sorbet, I believe! ;-) It's from a series commonly sold as bedding annuals, but as it grows on through winter here, well... I have a nice, small scale perennial Salvia in a lovely color!
Cathy (Sunday, 19 November 2017 02:35)
Beautiful! Your photos are fabulous Amy and your flowers even more so! I can't believe a desert garden can be so pretty and full of such a variety of grasses and flowers! You have created something very special on your patch of land. :D
Ian Lumsden (Sunday, 19 November 2017 16:01)
You really do have an eye for colour. I can see why you commenced with the pink grasses and roses. Of course, having an eye for colour is of little consequence if the garden's looking a bit drab, as our own is at this time of the year. So thanks for the uplift. Your garden is stunning by the way.
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Tuesday, 21 November 2017 09:55)
Rose - Thank you so much, and I'm sorry I didn't get back to reply to you sooner! I'm glad to send you a bit of color for November, having gardened through many brown Missouri winters in my first garden! There are so many trade-offs with growing plants in this climate, but I do enjoy all those salvias. They've become some of my favorite go-to plants :-)
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Wednesday, 22 November 2017 22:38)
Cathy - Thank you so much for such kind compliments! :-D The desert really can produce so much beauty!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Wednesday, 22 November 2017 22:42)
Thank you very much, Ian! The weather is certainly encouraging color in the garden just now. Early on, I thought I would have to let the garden go entirely drab during the summer, rather like winter in a northern garden, but fortunately with a little care there are ways to keep color year-round here. Which is quite a relief!