Five Favorites For December

Since it is the end of the month, and even the end of the year, it is time to look again at what is really working in the garden.  I missed this month's Bloom Day so there is no full reckoning of bloom, but here are a handful of flowers whose presence has defined the garden this December.

Roses

It is proving a fine season for some of the roses.  I have been leaving them to form hips as some protection against the chance of real freezing weather, and this encouragement to slow down has a way of separating rather drastically among the various types.  Primarily it is the light-on-their-feet, easily repeating varieties that are flowering now: the old hybrid teas and the miniatures.  The shrub roses, with their larger bulk and massive bloom, take longer to respond to changes in the weather and other conditions.  The exception has been William Shakespeare 2000, which has continued in flower fairly continuously since autumn.  The star at the moment is probably Mister Lincoln with its huge and hugely fragrant blooms, though the redoubtable lavender-colored miniature - the one with blooms brushed in red, which makes it look like a minuscule version of the old "Paradise" - is a mass of flowers.  But there are others as well...

Lavenders

All the long-blooming lavenders are thriving now.  In my garden, this turns out to mean everything except the Lavandula stoechas varieties, which are decidedly spring-flowering.  "Everything else" includes (clockwise from upper left) L. x "Goodwin's Creek Gray", L. multifida, L. dentata, and L. x intermedia.

 

If you look closely, you will see that each of the photos below has at least one bee in it.  They adore the lavenders.  Click on any photo to create a slideshow - or to count bees!

Tagetes

I added Tagetes x "Gold Medal" last autumn, and it has rapidly become a stalwart in the East Border.  It continues to be loaded with bloom, drenched in brilliant golden-yellow flowers.

tagetes x gold medal

Asclepias

asclepias subulata

Asclepias subulata is a surprise addition to the list of favorites.  It is flowering heavily right now, according to its lights.  This means big clusters of those unusual creamy-white blooms, set at large intervals on the bare stems.

Narcissus

Autumn colors, narcissus

Lastly I am happy to add narcissus.  For the first time I have them flowering freely before the first of the year.  These are all from the "Autumn Colors" group.  They are feast for the nose as well as they eyes!

So there is my listing of five, depending on just how one counts!  This is the post for favorite blooms, to be linked to Chloris's ten for December.  Next post will be a look at a couple of non-flowering favorites for the month.

Lavandula multifida with bee
Lavandula multifida with bee

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 74 F (23 C)/Low: 38 F (3 C); Humidity: 11%-48%

Write a comment

Comments: 8
  • #1

    Diana Studer (Friday, 29 December 2017 16:53)

    wonderful detail on that final bee photo

  • #2

    Chloris (Saturday, 30 December 2017 03:45)

    Thank you so much for sharing your top 5 flowers. All gorgeous, but I am particularly envious of your roses.

  • #3

    Brian Skeys (Saturday, 30 December 2017 12:01)

    It is lovely for me to see such vibrant colours this time of year.

  • #4

    Amy@smallsunnygarden (Saturday, 30 December 2017 22:54)

    Thank you very much, Diana! :)

  • #5

    Amy@smallsunnygarden (Saturday, 30 December 2017 23:07)

    Chloris - I must admit I'm rather pleased with the roses myself... ;-) It was so nice to find how much I had to enjoy in the garden just now - thanks for hosting!

  • #6

    Amy@smallsunnygarden (Saturday, 30 December 2017 23:15)

    Brian - The great thing about blogging - we get some floral relief from the weather year-round... :) So glad you enjoyed it!

  • #7

    Ian Lumsden (Sunday, 31 December 2017 09:53)

    I too am envious f your roses. "William Shakespeare" is a good choice. The fragrant narcissus are impressive too. Lavenders and Tagetes too. No shortage of scents. All the seasons, but so much of summer.

  • #8

    Amy@smallsunnygarden (Sunday, 31 December 2017 15:40)

    Ian - Summer does seem to dominate everything here! ;-) I love having all those good scents in the garden; the best are the few whose fragrance really becomes airborne, such as Berlandiera. But Mister Lincoln has been doing it lately. And one need only brush against any of lavenders - very easily done as they are all getting a bit overgrown!