Even though we had a couple of hard freezes last week (very early in the season for us!), I was surprised by the number of blooms left while I made the garden rounds yesterday. There's not many but there are a few. Above is one of the last blooms on my Patrick's Abutilon. Having never had an abutilon before I don't know if it's normal for them to mostly bloom in the fall, but that's what this one did. Can anyone verify that for me? Next year I plan to prune it back quite a bit, hoping it'll stay a good short size while still blooming as prolifically as it did this fall.
Here's a surprise bloom - a lone Ox-eye Daisy ((Leucanthenum vulgare). Must have liked the fall rains.
Marie Pavie rose is doing it's usual winter thing, blooming yet covered with blackspot.
This is one of the long awaited blooms of Viburnum mistflower (Eupatorium viburnoides), also called Joe Pye Shrub. It's very subtle and not as pink as I had hoped it would be, but I kind of like that subtleness. I think this will be a nice bush in a very short time.
Another surprise for me is the trailing Lanai Bright Pink verbena. It just keeps on blooming. It was to be a match for the Homestead Pink verbena in the other box but that has since died.
The creeping rosemary is blooming now and will most likely continue to bloom throughout the winter. Too bad there aren't any bees around now to enjoy it. What you can't see in this photo is the mold problem it developed this fall when we got so much rain. At least I think that's what it was. Some of the branches towards the middle of the plant turned black. I may still rip this out but the blooms have given it a reprieve.
A few posts ago I talked about this dianthus, Dianthus barbatus interspecific Amazon Neon, a great butterfly attractant. Most of them have finished blooming now but the big box store got a few more of these in. Again, I just had to rescue it since it was extremely pot bound and drowning from too much watering! I kept it in my storeroom for a couple of weeks until the harsh weather passed. It's now happy outside in the ground. I wish you could really see how neon this is.
For more Bloom Day posts from around the world see Carol's May Dreams Gardens. And stay tuned for a post here (found here) tomorrow as I join Pam at Digging in posting for Foliage Follow-up.
This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2009. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.
I love Patrick's Abutilon and the dianthus is one of my favorite colors. For some reason Homestead Verbena underperforms here, but the Tapian Verbena is still green and was blooming until we had our shocking 22 degree days. Wow on the viburnum mistflower~~it really resembles eupatorium....Must check it out for winter hardiness in a zone 7ish garden. Have a good day and I do hope the soon to arrive deep freeze doesn't reach down to your garden. gail
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos, especially the abutilon. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThere's a poignancy to that lone Daisy, doing its thing in December. With that Lantana and that Dianthus, you can afford to go subtle with the Joe Pye Shrub. Wow, was that a shock to my eyes. (I mean that in the best possible way.) I wish I could see them in person.
ReplyDeleteThe flowering maple photo is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't know verbena would bloom this late! How pretty!
ReplyDeleteI wonder why my rosemary shrub has never bloomed. I've had it for four years, in two places, and it seems quite healthy. Hm..
PS. Very cool new header!!
ReplyDeleteNow I have to rush out and see if there are blooms on my rosemary. I know the Sweet William dianthus isn't blooming, but it is green and thriving. Happy Bloom Day.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see that you still have blooms! I have never seen an albutilon, so I can't answer your question, it's very beautiful though. Gee, maybe I should go out and look under the snow to see if anything is blooming here. That would be a Christmas miracle for sure. Happy Holidays to you!
ReplyDeleteKathy
That dianthus is fabulous! I am intrigued by the little Joe-Pye shrub; it seems very different from the Eupatoriums native up here.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed looking at your Dec. blooms. Mine are long gone. I had never heard of Abutilon until a trip to England in '88. There I saw them in several places and fell in love with them. Of course our winters are too bad, and I have no indoor space for them, so I am delighted to see yours!
ReplyDeleteHere in Southern CA fall is one of the best times for Abutilon, waht an amazing photo, just a lovely color.
ReplyDeleteJean, both the native Moss Pink verbena (that's actually purple) and the Serenity mix verbenas are still blooming here, too. I've had much better luck with the fern-leafed/cut-leafed type than I have with the broadleafed types. If I can find a good spot for the Neon Dianthus, I'll plant some thanks to your recommendation!
ReplyDeleteLovely blooms, its good to see so many colors in December. Loved the first pic of abutilon. Its beautiful
ReplyDeleteBoy, would I like to have some bright pink verbena blooming in my garden right now.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Patrick's Abutilon but am intrigued by the color and shape of the bloom.
Don't know why but all of your photos didn't download for me. It's the fault of my junky computer, I'm sure. Hate missing any of what you have to share with us.
It's good to see so many lovely blooms on this cold winter's day in Illinois! Looks like the hard freezes haven't affected your garden that badly. I didn't know rosemary would bloom--how pretty! Maybe it will recover from the earlier mold. I tend to leave plants in the garden until I know they're absolutely dead:)
ReplyDeleteHello Jean, just found your lovely blog and photos!
ReplyDeleteLovely blooms and photos Jean! I especially love the first and last. Beautiful! Carol
ReplyDelete