Saturday, November 15, 2014

November Bloomday, before and after…

Cold, howling winds followed by ice and even colder temperatures do not make for pretty flower photos. Thus I cheated. It’s been such a warm autumn (albeit wet, once mid-October rolled around) that I really wanted to record what was blooming in my garden, before it was all destroyed on Wednesday and Thursday (the 12th and 13th). I am however grouping them by how they look in the garden today, for a touch of Bloomday reality. For lots of other blooming photos (from people with better blogging morals than I), visit May Dreams Gardens, our Bloomday host.

First we have the group I will refer to as "gone baby gone"...there is not a bloom, bud, or leaf left on the Abutilon 'Red Tiger'...just sticks, the wind stripped it bare. It was beautiful while it lasted.

Destined to be dead from the cold by this point, I cut the vine back near the base and dug out the plant to be wintered over indoors. This was the last (sort of) bloom outdoors on my Passiflora 'Sunburst' - the plant is now a shriveled mass of leaves.

I can't remember which Persicaria this is, but those blooms, they were blown away.

The same goes for the Salvia koyamae, in fact most of the leaves are MIA too.

The blooms on this guy (Tricyrtis/Toad Lily) are missing because I cut them to come inside.

Now the group that looks exactly the same today as when I took these photos. Mainly because (as usual) I'm getting excited about blooms that aren't technically blooms yet, and because they got stashed inside the (semi) climate controled shade pavilion greenhouse. First the beautiful buds on Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea'...

And the developing bloom on the Banksia ericifolia, 1 of 2...

And 2 of 2...

From the top.

The Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi' I was gifted when I visited here has a bud! Anyone want to place a bet on whether or not it will open?

And indeed the Fascicularia pitcairnifolia is inching closer to blooming. I am thrilled! And actually there are two blooms on opposite sides of the plant. Here's one...

And the other.

Grevillea 'Austraflora Fanfare' (left) and Adenanthos sericeus (Coastal Woollybush, right) are also fixing to bloom. Actually the adenanthos has been blooming pretty much nonstop for a month, they're just so hard to photograph.

The Grevillea 'Peaches and Cream' doesn't want to stop either. I doubt this one will open but it will be fun to watch.

Okay now for the troopers. These are all outside and look exactly the same today. Yes, I could have gone out and taken new photos but it's damn cold out there! Cryptomeria japonica 'Rasen' (it's those little buds at the tip I'm focusing on, they count, right?).

Eupatorium capillifolium 'Elegant Feather', it kept moving, it was hard to focus.

Fatsia japonica...

To look at them you wouldn't think the birds and bees would be all over them - but they are. Even the hummingbirds.

Grevillea 'Neil Bell' another one for the hummingbirds.

Grevillea victoriae 'Murray Queen' is just getting started.

As is the Mahonia x media 'Charity'

It's such a fabulous plant.

The Nothopanax delavayi has spent the past couple of months buried under the clematis. I uncovered it recently but I think I must have missed the blooms. Hopefully ripe berries will follow.

Nothing stops the rosemary.

And my fingers are still crossed for the tetrapanax blooms to open. I really thought this was the year, but I'm beginning to lose hope. If they do open it will be a first in my garden and you know I'll be screaming about it right here on the blog.

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

38 comments:

  1. So many plants that I've never come across before. I need to do more research!
    I love the bloom on the Abutilion. Don't you just hate it when the weather interferes with our blogging calender.

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    1. Yes I do! And I'm missing that abutilon and already scheming on where I can work in a few more next year.

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  2. Oh my, it was that windy to strip away blooms. But yay for the resilient ones! And the Fascicularia especially.

    Btw, the one that caught my eye the most though is your green wallpaper with swirly patterns, lovely!

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    1. Oh I wish that were wall paper, that would be wonderful! No, it's just a tray from IKEA.

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  3. I am so not going to accuse you of cheating by taking these pics before the freeze. That's the smart, forward-thinking way to do it. If I had been thinking ahead, I would have done that too. The 15th snuck up on me this month, which is a good thing, cause maybe it means the whole winter will whiz by and it'll be spring again before I realize it. I bet your Brug will open. Mine in the greenhouse are all open this morning, but weren't yesterday when I took my pics. Also, the more I see of Banksia flowers, the more I think I need one. I wonder how hard it will be to keep it alive?

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    1. I would be so happy if the whole winter was to whiz by! (well except for the good parts). As for the banksia I'm certainly no expert but this one (the B. ericifolia) certainly seems to be an easier one.

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  4. Bloom Day is when and where you find it. This just happens to be the day we show blossoms. Thank you for sharing what would still be blooming if not for that awful cold blast.

    Your posts always serve to remind me that what I happen to grow is not everything there is.

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    1. That's a great deal of the fun isn't it? Seeing all the possibilities.

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  5. We've been frost free so far, though last night it did get to 32. Everything in my garden is currently fine, but they are forecasting 25 by Thursday. The benefit of living next to warmer bodies of salt water helps, but only to a point. Happy GBBD to you.

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    1. One forecast is calling for 21 here tonight, ugh.

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  6. I think the Abutilon is gorgeous. I love the Passiflora too and that Banksia! Wow! My Fascularia finished ages ago. It is lovely. Helen Dillon, the garden writer, calls it the Monkey' s Bottom Plant. Rude, but it is quite a good description of Fascularia bicolor.

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    1. I hadn't heard that description before but it's pretty fabulous!

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  7. I also took flower photos before the freeze, it's only a few days later.... your hardier section at the end is amazing, I really must get a Mahonia 'Charity'. The Grevillea are charming but I get lows that I think they couldn't handle.

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    1. Our lows last winter (12F in my garden) did a number on a few of my grevilleas.

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  8. So glad you got out there with your camera when you did ! Fabulous blooms. The award for the most gorgeous has to go to your Abutilon, with Mahonia 'Charity' a close second. Have you got 'Soft Caress' yet ?

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    1. I do have a couple of 'Soft Caress', great plants!

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  9. Love the Mahonia!
    It's been very cold here, too. I dashed out, took a photo for bloom day, and dashed back inside!
    Have a great week-end!
    Lea

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    1. At least you took a photo, that's the spirit!

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  10. Congrats on the Fascicularia blooms! I always love seeing Grevillea flowers, too. I think my favorite here is the rosemary, though. Probably because I'm a sucker for blue.

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    1. It's such a hard plant to photograph, much better in "real life"...

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  11. That Acacia! Are its stems really that coral color or is that a trick of the light? Although I shy away from red in the garden, that Fascicularia is fabulous so maybe I need to find a place for that. With sympathy for the ill-timed arctic blast, happy GBBD Loree!

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    1. The color was definitely amped up by the sunlight but they're pretty wonderful. And the red on the fascicularia isn't an every-year thing so you'd have lots of grey/green until the moment finally came for a red exclamation point.

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  12. Fingers crossed for those Tetrapanax blooms! wow!! the fascicularia bloom is vibrant!

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  13. Happy Bloom Day! Thank you for sharing the highlights of the Danger Garden with us. I love the Abutilon 'Red Tiger.’ Are those petals or sepals?

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  14. My fingers are crossed for your Acacia. Mine succumbed to our last winter, but then again it stayed outside. I absolutely love that blue-gray foliage! And every time a see a blog post with lots of Grevilleas, I swear that next time we move and I start this gardening thing all over again - that group of plants will take precedence. Is the Fascicularia in the greenhouse or outside? Is it the same as the one on the fallen tree root we saw at Heronswood? It is so cool...

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    1. This acacia has always been protected over the winter, someday it will probably become too big for that but until then it lives on.The fascicularia is quite cold hardy but since it's in a container I did move it into the spg for this cold spell, it will come back out once things warm up. And yes, good memory!

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  15. Have you ever featured the Nothopanax delavayi before? If so, I missed it. Let the palpitations begin.

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    1. Only in passing, plus it put on a lot of growth this year so it's got more of a presence. There is a nice on near the tea house at Lan Su, and in Lauren HB's garden.

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  16. I hope your tetrapanax blooms! I don't think mine will as the leaves are now looking that frozen dark green color. We'll see what happens when the warmer temps return. (Soon Please!) It's at this time of year that we really fall in love with Mahonia 'Charity' and the other fall bloomers! Your grevilleas are looking good and Fasticularia is going on my list of plants to shop for next spring. (Spring plant shopping- Hooray! How long until Hortlandia?)

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    1. I'm shocked to see (by the light of the sunny morning) that my leaves (and buds) are droopy but still hanging in there.

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  17. So glad you dug that passiflora. And love the toad lilies on that lime green table cloth -- but so sorry November has been such a traumatic month! Hopefully it will settle down now.

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  18. I don't think it's cheating if there is full disclosure. I love the Banksia and Acacia.

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  19. So many unique plants! I'm really liking the Mahonia. I think it's hardy where I am. The toad lilies are and they are one of my favorite fall bloomers. I also liked the Fascicularia pitcairnifolia but I'm going to have to look that one up. Brenda

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  20. So many beauties. Please show the Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea' when those buds blossom into my favourite yellow pompoms. That Cryptomeria japonica is so unusual! I've never seen it before. And lastly, that Mahonia x charity is wondrous.

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  21. Agave weberi is mislabeled. True Agave weberi doesn't have spines along the edges, just a terminal spine.

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    1. I wonder which post you were reading, because there is not agave pictured here. However I am struggling with ID on my A. weberi. It was given to me with that name, however after seeing the ones at the Desert Botanical Garden I know that's not what it is. What do you think mine is?

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