And the flowers are loving it (well, at least after I pull the wet leaves off them).
And it's still in bud--a little spider is using one as home base.
The Rosa moyesii is looking a little tattered, but it's still blooming alongside some Salvia guaranitica.
The red of the petals is much deeper in the fall, almost crimson, especially against the gold chrysanthemums:
My white shrub rose is also still going strong (and providing food for yet another bug):
This Stokes aster (Stokesia laevis) would probably not be in bloom this time of year, but I just bought it at Lowe's plant clearance, so it's proving a nice addition to the otherwise mum-dominated white garden.
A low-growing white begonia is spreading nicely--I pulled this out of an on-sale hanging basket in summer 2007, and it came back beautifully.
In other parts of the garden, blues dominate. The Angelonia and the Mexican Heather are still going strong--I hope that if the winter remains mild, the Mexican heather might even overwinter.
The heliotrope is loving the cooler weather--this one is nestled in with some thyme and a yellow pansy.
The pansies are establishing themselves nicely--they should bloom all winter. I've planted these blue ones next to some gentian.
I've never grown gentian before (another fall sale at Lowe's)--the blossoms close at night and open again in the sun. I think it's a cool weather plant--it will be interesting to see what it does next summer.
I've been trying to get a good shot of a gaura blossom all summer--here's one (also with buds, also with a bee).
And the ginger lily (Hedychium--I'm not sure of the cultivar) continues to bloom--this one's providing a bed for a sleepy drone (if you haven't already, check out Randy's post on Creating Our Eden.)
And here's my ever-blooming Euphorbia lomi--along with Ranunculus wishing you a Happy Bloom Day (created by Carol at May Dreams Gardens--stop by and check out what's blooming all over the world!)
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22 comments:
So nice of you to provide such lovely housing for the insects. Here in Norfolk, we have the windows wide open enjoying the warmth. When I got up this morning we had fog, then thunder, lightening and rain, then bright sun, now it is raining with the sun out. Go figure.
Gorgeous photos!
Love that rose/mum combo. It is perfect! Also the heliotrope; which is something that has not bloomed in my garden:( Maybe next year. Does it smell like vanilla? I've heard it smells good.
Ranunculus is a sweetie. I wave hi to him.
Hi, Les--It's stopped raining rain, but it's really windy so it's constantly raining leaves. I do have a lot of bugs, don't I--hmm, probably ought to worry about that a bit.
Lisa, thanks for stopping by and thanks for the compliment. I have fun with my camera (too much fun sometimes).
Hi, Tina. The heliotrope does smell like vanilla, especially the white (I couldn't find any this year). I've had pretty good luck with it wherever I've put it--what happens to it in your garden? It just doesn't bloom? You can't imagine how many times I had to shoot that 10 second video of Ranunculus--that's his oldest trick, but when I'm holding the camera, he gets confused or something.Off to catch up on my blog reading!
What a lot of happy little bugs! I love the photo of the Rose with the spider. That arachnid has good taste, as your are beautiful. Good luck with the Gentian. I had one, but after a few years it died out. There's nothing quite like a Gentian.
We got the rain in the afternoon. I also was surprised how warm it was today. With all that fog I thought it was normal November temperatures and I first went out in a sweater. Big mistake.
I love your roses! I guess I do have to get some as well.
Did you get your article done? I understand Ranunculus gets a bit thrown off by the camera. Frustrating but you got it:)
Your garden blooms are still so lovely. You have quite a few plants that I've not tried, so I've enjoyed reading about your experience. You're very good with your camera, too!
Cameron
It's so wonderful to see all these blooms--and insects, too! It must be raining all over the eastern half of the U.S. today, but we are so much colder. My knockout roses gave up a few days ago in the cold; yours look so pristine.
Ranunculus looks like a very well-behaved gentleman; give him a treat for me:)
73? Cosmo, I'm moving to Virginia. It's pelting rain and nothing is blooming in Maine. The rose with the spider is so eery. Lovely blooms, I'd spin a web to hold one too.
Cosmo, what beautiful blooms you still have in your gardens! So many purples and blues, which I love.
I have heather in my garden and it winters over just fine here, so you should have no problems there. :-)
I'm hoping the sun stays out today & the rest of the week Cosmos! I've had enough rain for awhile. You still have lots of lovely blooms in your garden. My Gentian is not looking as happy as yours at the moment. The cooler nights seem to be getting to it somewhat. I'm curious to see if it comes back next year. Black & Blue & the Knockouts however seem to be enjoying the cooler days of November and happily blooming. Cute video of Ranunculus waving goodbye! :)
Your roses are beautiful! And your pictures are great. A lot of lovely things still blooming in your garden. Thanks for your kind comment on my post.
You have such an assortment of color!! I'm up the road a bit from you, in No. Va., and I don't have those kinds of beauties in my garden! I guess we're just enough north to make a difference in the weather. It looks like spring, in your photos--in mine, it's definitely fall! Take care, Jan
Hi, MMD--I love spiders, and since I've started taking pictures of flowers, I find them ALL the time--a tiny world I've been missing!
I was glad to get the rain, Bek--I've been planting, so neglecting my weeding in some of the established beds--the nice moist dirt is sure easier to weed!
Tina--Ranunculus thinks the camera is a trick on its own--he sits (totally still) whenever he sees it. So now I'm having trouble capturing his other tricks on video. Oh, well, I'm sure I have better things to do besides torture my dog!
Cameron--Thanks--I really do have fun with the camera. I hope you get an idea or two from my blog, because I get SO many from yours--and we have our common struggle with deer! I'm heading to the Outer Banks for Thanksgiving--I can't wait!
Rose, Ranunculus says thank you--he is a good boy. It finally stopped raining here, and today's 20 degrees colder (50's, can't really complain yet) and the sun is shining--it's been a great gardening day.
Sarah, I love that spider--I think Gail said it was an orb spider?? but it is a strange looking one. Stay warm up there (though your temps are moderated a bit by the ocean, aren't they?)
Kylee, thanks--how's your weather? The blues are my favorite, though the deep purple of that angelonia may supplant the blue . . . The Mexican heather is sold as an annual here, but I think it's a tender perennial. I don't think it's an Erica or a Calluna, neither of which do very well here--but I don't know the Latin name of this plant. But it's really thriving--if it dies, I'm buying a cartload next Spring!
Oh wow... I'm drooling over those roses, especially moyesii! And I love the photo of the spider and the rosebud--great job with that. :)
The gentians must be a cool-weather plant, because they had some for sale as "fall color" at our garden center. That blue is amazing!
Where you show the heliotrope, and mention the thyme, what's that behind the heliotrope to the left? I'm guessing the thyme is to the right, but not sure if the one on the left is one of those thymes that look like they have Juniper leaves, or maybe it's a lotus vine, or maybe some baby evergreen... whatever it is, it's really caught my attention, obviously! :)
Raquel--The gentian blossoms are getting a little brown, but the foliage is in great shape--I'm going to pile leaves around it and see if it makes it. I can't even figure out what the cultivar is--the Lowe's tag just said "sun annual," which I'm pretty sure is wrong.
Beckie, I do hope you feel better soon. I'm trying to enjoy these last days with the flowers--we'll probably have pansies in December, but not much else unless it stays very mild.
Jan, thanks so much for stopping by. I love your blog and can't believe I didn't find it earlier--your photos are wonderful, and I think we have a fair number of flowers in common. I'm glad to have the roses late because the Japanese beetles really clobber them in July--they always look better in the fall.
Hi, Kim--The little conifer behind the heliotrope is a dwarf alberta spruce. You're right, the thyme is to the right--it's just common mother-of-thyme--it's a great groundcover here and the light purple flowers look great with the deep purple heliotrope.
I LOVE that moyesii rose--it's the only rose that really isn't bothered much by the Japanese beetles (or blackspot). I really like the gentian--Raquel and I by coincidence got ours the same weekend at Lowe's, and yeah I think it was a "fall color" special--we'll see if they a) survive the winter and b) survive the summer! How's Coco liking the cooler weather? Ranunculus loves it--despite his short coat, he really hates the heat . . .
That's a great shot of Double Knockout. All your photos are beautiful. Even my tough roses have quit after several nights of temps in the 20's.
Marnie
How pretty Cosmo! Our blooms are just about gone. :-(-Randy
Hi, Marnie--Thanks (a great compliment from you--you take such wonderful photos)--I was happy to get a little definition--reds really saturate on my camera, so the light has to be just right. How's your computer?
Randy, I think mine will be gone by December, except for the pansies and maybe the camellias (they haven't opened yet, but now I'm thinking they might not until Spring). We had our first (light) frost last night--sigh.
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