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.

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