Friday, November 14, 2008

November Blooms for GBBD

I know I'm one day early but I don't have time to post on Saturday as that is usually the busiest day of the week for me and is also my mothers birthday tomorrow so it has to be today for my contribution to GBBD.

For those of you who have been living in deep dark holes under the ground for some time: Garden Bloggers Blooms Day is held on the 15th of every month. It's the day when many garden bloggers from all over the world show what is in flower in their garden. Why? Well you should ask Carol that. ;-) During some months of the year it is also allowed to show what is in flower in your home as not every gardener has something in flower outside all year round. So, it would be according to the rules to show you what's in flower inside in my home, but I am not going to. Why not? Because I still have quite a lot in flower outside so I'll show that instead.

In flower in the potager:
Primulas in yellow and white
A flowering leek, lilac
Nasturtiums in red, orange, yellow and cream
Borage in white and blue
Cobaea scandens, with several flowers and still producing buds. It's an annual here.
And this was a surprise; the blackberry was in flower too, can you see it? Here's a better look at the flower.
In the Victorian greenhouse:
Assorted Pelargoniums and Solanum crispum
One tomato plant
and a hot pepper.

In the front garden:
rosa Guirlande d'Amour,
rosa Sombreuil,
rosa Moonlight, still going strong and producing lots of buds,
rosa Madame Alfred Carriere
the last Asters in lilac and purple,
Jasminum nudiflorum,
and violets in blue and yellow, white and purple.

In flower in the back garden in pots and baskets:

Camelia, deep pink
Violets in pink, burgundy, white, blue, purple and yellow
Crassula
Skimmia japonica

In the borders:

Verbena bonariensis; we are down to the last few flowers.
Spirea japonica Anthony Waterer, just the odd bloom here and there.
Malva Park Allee
Leycesteria formosa
Gaura lindheimeri, still full of flowers
Salvia greggii Stormy Pink, also full of blooms
Eupatorium rugosum Chocolate, covered in flowers
A passalong plant, no idea what this one is called but it's been flowering for months now.
Geranium, I'm amazed that its delicate flowers can stand the autumn weather.

The last of the Mohicans:
Cosmea
Sweet pea
Japanese Anemone, it self seeded, its parent is a double pink.
Hydrangea
Sunflower
Dolgan, Russian Blue kitten
He's Willow's and my grandson, we're very proud of him and he is the latest addition to our ever extending cat family. No, he doesn't live with me but with his breeder Gerti.

42 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

My goodness Yolanda. You do have a lot blooming outside. What a treat for this time of year.

What a sweet face in that last picture. I also like seeing the kitty peeking out from all the indoor plants. I am surprised it doesn't munch on your indoor plants. I have a friend who can't bring in plants because her cats nibble on them.

Carol Michel said...

Hi Yolanda Elizabet, Thanks for joining in for bloom day. I think you have one of the longest blooming seasons around based on all that's blooming in your garden now. And it looks like you do put that Victorian greenhouse to good use. I'd love to have one, too!

Enjoy your weekend, and tell your mom Happy Birthday from all your blogging friends.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Zoë said...

That's a very cross looking kitty sitting behind your cyclamen!

Lots of lovely things still going on in your plot, I wished mine looked as promising.

Zoë

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

It is so wonderful to 'walk' through your lovely garden Yolanda, its amazing how much goodies you still have in bloom...I think I'm going to move :-) Tyra

Gail said...

Fantastic to have so much blooming out doors in November. Roses, too! I do think you're correct...we have the same aster and mine are also blooming! They are lovely plants. Ye, I love all the flowers, but the new kitty is very cute! Gail

emmat said...

Madame Carriere is a hard worker, isn't she? But that kitten is the cutest...

stadtgarten said...

There is still so much blooming in your garden, that's wonderful,Yolanda. Here everything looks like november now,last night we have had the first frost and now nearly all the colours are gone.
But I am glad that it is getting colder now, I think, a real winter would be very important for nature.
Have a nice weekend, groetjes, Monika

Anonymous said...

Goodness! You'd hardly know it's fall and getting cold in your corner of the world! I can't believe you still have nasturtiums and tomatoes and peppers...

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Blooming Bliss!

* Lisa: these are probably the last blooms and that makes me appreciate them all the more.

It's Maine Coon Vita behind the cyclamen and christmas cactus and she is a very well behaved kitty when it comes to most plants. The only plant that isn't save from her is the African Violet as she first takes off all the flowers and then, one by one, all the leaves.

* Carol: when I designed my garden I was aiming for blooms all year round. I read a few books by Beverley Nichols and he inspired me to a) have blooms in the garden all year long and b)have enough of them to fill a vase (be it ever so tiny a vase)of flowers from my own garden every week of the year. I garden in zone 8 and the weather here is relatively mild.

The Victorian greenhouse is my pride and joy in the garden.

Thanks for the birthday wishes for my Mum!

* Zoe: Vita doesn't have a cross bone in her body but she can look a bit frowny. ;-)

* Tyra: sounds like a plan! ;-)

* Gail: it's wonderful how long the roses bloom here. Of course most have only a flower here and there, except for Moonlight that one is blooming like it's May.

Dolgan is indeed a very cute kitty and when I first saw him I wanted to take him home with me. That's not going to happen though, looking after 8 indoor cats, one puppy and 2 outdoor stray cats is quite enough.

* Emma T: yes, she is one of the stars in my front garden. Madame Carriere was recommended to me by Vita Sackville-West. Not in person but by way of one of her books. And she is right, this rose is a must have.

Hmmmmm, Emma, are we converting you to catdom? ;-)

* Monika: when the first frost comes, we can usually kiss most of the flowers goodbye in the garden. I live close by the sea and the sea water is keeping the weather here relatively mild if pretty wet.

* Nikkipolani: well, the peppers and tomatoes are in my greenhouse but the Nasturtiums are outside and doing well. But it's Autumn here, believe you me, although it's been rather mild so far.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a great weekend!

VP said...

Lovely fleurs Yolanda. Have a great weekend :)

Anonymous said...

Yolanda - You still have many lovely flowers. I like the leek - alliums have such great flowers.
Your Gaura lindheimeri is looking charming.
But I particularly like your header photo - now where are the elves?
K.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

It looks like you'll be enjoying blooms for quite some time to come. My favorite this month is the Cobaea, although those blackberries sure look tasty.

Ewa said...

Yolanda,
Your cobea has very beautyful flower, kitties and puppies including.
Say Happy Birthday to your mom from a humble blogger in Poland :)

Anonymous said...

de beste wensen voor je moeder en een fijne dag gewenst! Prachtig je tuin en dat in november, maar wat verrassend, er bloeit een klein grijs bloemetje helemaal in z'n eentje......

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Blooming Bliss!

* VP: not bad at all, eh, for November. Courtesy of my new border mostly.

* Karen: the elves were on their lunch break, it happens. ;-)

* MMD: the blackberries may still look tasty but when I tried one it was rather tasteless, they need more sun to get that wonderful flavour.

* Ewa: thanks for your kind birthday wishes. For me the kitten is the prettiest of all. ;-)

* Gerti: dank je. Dat grijze bloemetje is in mijn ogen onovertroffen qua schoonheid, daar kan geen roos tegenop. :-D

Thanks for popping by and leaving a comment!

LINDA from Each Little World said...

Oh, you have all of us cold climate gardeners in awe of all the things still blooming in your garden — to say nothing of having a greenhouse. A wonderful array of plants. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

You sure do have a lot blooming. Greenhouse.......now there's a dream.

gintoino said...

You still have lots of blooms yolanda. Isn't funny that despite gardening in such diferent climates we still have some of the same plants in aour gardens? My Gauras are not blooming at all for the moment so its strange to see your in full bloom ;-)

Anonymous said...

You DO have a lot of flowers blooming in Blissland. My goodness, girl. Love the itty, bitty kitty, BTW. I also swooned over the roses. Of course I would. Your shot of the Verbena tugged at my heart.~~Dee

Katarina said...

If I didn't know better, i would have thought it was summer over at your place! Such a big variety of flowers!
Happy GBBDay!
katarina

Rusty in Miami said...

Hi Yolanda, you have so many blooms are you sure is winter time at the Bliss.
I vote for Dolgan for your best bloom.

Unknown said...

Oh wow! You have quite the list yet, Yolanda Elizabet--while you probably could have included the inside blooms, too, I'm very glad that you showcased all that you still have outdoors. And I hope that you don't mind answering a few questions for me:

1) That flowering leek, is it also edible? Or do the edible ones flower like that, too? I have lots of ornamentals from the allium family, but none that blooms so late in the season as these--I'm intrigued.

2) You grow cobaea scandens as an annual? I have long drooled over this in chuck b.'s California garden blog, but it's a perennial for him there and I never thought about growing it as an annual. Any tricks or tips you can give me--because I plan to order seed and give this a try this year!

Thanks so much in advance for any hints you can give me. I'll check back here for answers if you have time to share some. :)

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Blooming Bliss!

* Ms Wis./ ELW: Of course I'm happy to share my flowers with all of you. An important part of the appeal of gardening for me is to share the successes and failures with others.

* Darla: for many years I also dreamt of a greenhouse and 3 years ago that dream came true.

* Gintoino: yes, it is fun to see that some plants do very well in many a blogger's garden, almost regardless of the climate they garden in.

* Dee: the itty bitty kitty is a very sweet boy and I envy his breeder very much. ;-) There is still quite a lot in flower but then I have chosen plants in such a way that they provide me with flowers for most of the year. What also helps is that Autumn lasts longer now with milder weather, generally speaking, than a few decades before.

* Katarina: although we are not all that far apart, the climates we garden in are. Yours is a land climate with hot summers and cold winters, mine is a sea climate with relatively mild but wet weather for most of the year.

* Rusty: it's not winter just yet but coming soon. :-) So far it has been quite mild, that explains the variety of blooms.

* Kim: I choose to show the blooms outside to inspire other gardeners and show them what is possible at this time of year in a climate like mine. Next month it will be mostly inside blooms. ;-)

1) Flowering leek: yes, it's an ordinary edible one. Many veggies produce the most beautiful flowers if you let them. I let one or two of a bunch of veggies run riot in my potager as I'm often curious to see what kind of flower they produce. The leek flower shows clearly that it is a family member of the alliums, the gorgeous bulbs we plant especially for those kind of round flower heads. An ordinary onion also produces gorgeous flowers, and carrots and broccoli and a simple head of lettuce etc.

2) cobaea scandens are very easy to raise from seed. I sow them in little pots in my greenhouse (a window sill would do nicely too) and as soon as all risk of frost is gone, I plant them out in the garden. They love water so water them well. They are late flowerers here, don't know how soon they would flower in your neck of the woods.

That's it, they are really very easy to grow. Good luck with growing them yourself next year and I'm looking forward to see them on your blog. :-D


Thanks all for visiting and commenting, I've enjoyed reading them all!

Barbara said...

You're indeed blessed with all the flowers still blooming in your garden. And even the camelias show their first, fine shape of pink!! You're spoilt! Beautiful pictures of your November garden.
Barbara

Anonymous said...

I am amazed to see all the flowers in your garden. Really nice..
But for me the last picture is the best:)
- Cheers Gisela.

Anonymous said...

Hi YE, where is my comment, I am sure I left one early on when I spotted this post on blotanical early. Trying again, I have to mention first, besides the sweet kitties, the roses. Moonlight is such a producer, I have no other rose that makes the quantity of buds it does. Madame Alfred, new for me this year, has great promise too, is she performs like yours in a couple of years. And so wonderful to see primroses, I love them so much. Your garden still has so much, I agree with Carol, your growing season is so long, what a gift for a true gardener.
Frances

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Yolanda .. Thank you for dropping by my blog : ) You are a sweetie
I remember this time of year in Holland .. dark gray skies .. falen leaves from the trees .. so much it made driving a bit adventurous at times ! .. on the Dutch TV stations they had the arrival of Sinter Claus and Black Peter .. the smell in the markets with Anise and the other fantastic aromas .. I miss that : )
Here I haven't commented on how many plants you have in bloom still ! .. it is wonderful to see .. and that little happy soul with big eyes looking back at me .. too cute !
Thank you .. Joy

Anonymous said...

Our Moms share the same birthday on the 15th. Mine is 85 years young this year! So much still in bloom in your garden. It is dark and rainy here this weekend.

Rose said...

Your garden is a feast for the eyes, Yolanda! So many beautiful blooms for this time of year. To have roses in November, including that gorgeous Moonlight, has to be a real treat.
New little kitten looks as he is "blooming" quite well, too:)

Annie in Austin said...

It's always fun to see the similarities and differences between your Zone 8 and my Zone 8, Yolanda! Roses, camellias, salvia and gauras? Yes. Cobaea, borage, skimmia and blackberries? No.

Your hydrangea is spectacular, reminding me of how pathetic my impulse purchase, the "Sweet Carol/Bliss" hydrangea, looks now. But it still lives, so I will hope for blooms next year.

Happy Birthday to your mom!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I liked your photos! You have some nice looking kitties, too.

garden girl said...

Wow Yolanda - so many beauties still blooming in your garden. I love that first shot with the kitty keeping watch over the cyclamen and Christmas cactus blooms!

Anonymous said...

I see your garden is still producing lots of nice flowers to look at. Seems like this autumn was very kind to us this year. Dolgan is great! Looking into the world with those beautiful big eyes. Andrea

Anonymous said...

o, dat initiatief kende ik niet! Nou ja, achter de feiten aanlopen is ook niet leuk. Vorige week had ik een toevallig logje over wat er zoal nog bloeide.
Bij jou is dat nog erg veel zeg! Altijd mooi om weer tips op te doen bijanderen, dus ik ga zeker nog even kijken bij Carol e.a.!

Libbys Blog said...

Blimey, where am I going wrong. All your blooms I could not believe it? I really must get my act together!!

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

I'm envious of your longer growing season. But my burning question is, is the mushroom in the header in your garden?! It's no quintessentially northern European to me... I used to have a kerchief with that kind of mushroom on...
~ Monica

Ruth Welter said...

Hi Yolanda,

What a lovely thing, to come here and see what is blooming for you in November. Always a treat for the eyes when I visit. Enjoy your fall weather.

Ruth

Anonymous said...

Soms wat verkleumd, maar nog veel kleur te zien:-) Was geen snel fotoklusje...;-)))
Alsnog van harte met je moeder en met die kleine wolbaal!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Blooming Bliss!

* Barbara: the camelia blooms are something to look forward to and I'm quite happy with the variety of blooms for November.

* Gisela: you and me both! ;-)

* Frances: that's happened to me once or twice too. It's very annoying when you think you have commented and then nothing shows. Good luck with Madame Alfred for next year, hopefully she will take off like a rocket then.


* Joy: ah, what lovely memories you have of my country. Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet are indeed on the rampage again now. Glad you liked little Dolgan so much, I'm very proud of my little furry grandson.

* Layanee: my Mom is 79 years young. It's dark and rainy here too.

* Rose: I love roses so having a few of them in flower at this time of year is a big bonus. And yes, little Dolgan is blooming and blossoming into a beautiful Russian Blue boy.

* Annie: the flower I showed on one of my Hydrangea was the only one that was still worth taking a pic of, the rest not so much being all brown and shrivelled. ;-)

* Sue: thanks!

* Garden girl: my Vita is mommy's little helper and she loves helping me when I water the plants in the conservatory. That's when I took this pic.

* Andrea: you are so right, autumn has indeed been very kind this year. Dolgan is the bestest little kittycat. ;-)

* Richtsje: misschien kan je volgende maand meedoen? Het wordt elke maand op de 15e gehouden en bloggers van over de hele wereld doen mee. Erg leuk om te zien wat er zoal bloeit in allerlei landen.

* Libby: I don't think you've gone wrong, just chosen different plants. The focus in your garden is on tropical stuff and that doesn't flower in our gloomy and wet autumns very well, does it? ;-)

* Monica: no it isn't in my garden but it does grow in a forest near by. It's a native mushroom, Amanita muscaria, and often frequented by faeries and gnomes. ;-)

* Ruth: glad you enjoyed your visit!

* Marl1: tja, tis november dus niet alles staat er okselfris bij. Ben best wel blij met zoveel blommetjes nog.

Thanks for visiting and commenting as always I enjoyed it.

Pam said...

Hello, I've come over from Kerri's blog mainly because you and I have almost the same picture of ourselves. What a lot of colour you have in your garden. I'm in Scotland and still have some, but not so much. Great pictures!

Jan said...

Hi Yolanda Elizabet,
I am amazed to see all the flowers in your garden, in November! A few days after I posted my GBBD photos, things really started to get cold around here, and most everything is long gone. I was lucky I snapped 'em when I did; this was the 1st month I've participated in GBBD.
Your pets--all of them--are so precious! (Well, excluding said shrew)...(!)
I'm glad I visited. Take care!! Jan

Tanya Boracay said...

Wow cool, all photos are great especially this huggable cat.

Just like to share with you a beautiful quote...

"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life" - Albert Camus

You can get more quotes about happiness at http://www.quotelandia.com/category/Happiness