I don’t often join with Chloris at the Blooming Garden when she writes about her favourite 10 plants for each month; however I think it is a good exercise to understand what pleasures each month brings.
As in almost every month this year the weather has been strange! November began with a week of torrential rain and frighteningly strong winds but then we have had pleasant autumnal day with even the possibility of having our morning coffee outside and could have had lunch in the garden too if the farmer had not been muck spreading on the warmest days.
Last night the temperature was supposed to drop below zero, but there was no pretty frost when I ventured into the garden but certainly the Dahlias and Zinnias are showing that it is very cold now and there is also not enough strong light for their buds to grow and open.
An early snowdrop
I bought my snowdrops in a small pack from a local DIY supplier to see if they would survive the hot summers here. They were obviously a very mixed bag as some have flowered in November last year and this so I suppose they must be something ‘special’ – regular reader will know I am not passionate about all the different snowdrops but I do love to see them in great drifts; my few bulbs are spreading by seed but I think it will be many years before they will form a drift!
Hemerocallis ‘Stella d’Oro’
Another bloom I didn’t really expect to see flowering this month and one bloom is not making very much of a splash, but it is nice to find blooms at this time of year so I am grateful for whatever is willing to flower.
Iris ‘Immortality’
Iris ‘Immortality’ is well known to re-flower in autumn; although mine often doesn’t, this year there have been two flowering stems which may be due to the wetter than usual summer this year.
White Leonotis
I showed you this earlier in the month. It is a very good variety. Cathy from Rambling in the garden who gave it to me doesn’t remember where she bought the seeds but it certainly has larger flowers than the orange variety I had in the past.
On the 16th of November the Zinnias looked like this, on Monday there were even more flowering
I have never had my Zinnias flower so late in the year, in fact I’ve usually pulled them out by now.
Bulbine frutescens
I was given these little treasures by a friend of a friend when they came to visit the garden. They are South African plants and are obviously very happy in my soil and climate as they have been flowers for months and are spreading in an almost invasive way!
Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’
This is supposed not to be reliably hardy but it survived minus 12 in the garden last winter. It is always hard to find cutting material on the plants in early autumn when I want to take cuttings but there is more material now so I have taken some cuttings as an insurance; the ground is so much wetter this year that it might be that some plants won’t survive if it is very cold.
Lavender
This lavender was almost killed by the icy cold last winter but has now recovered and has been flowering for a couple of months. It was a rooted cutting from a friend so I’m afraid I don’t know its name.
Elaeagnus
Elaeagnus has been flowering since October but is always a favourite, not because of its insignificant flowers but for the delicious perfume that wafts around the garden.
Iris unguicularis
Last but by no means least is Iris unguicularis, the plants have grown much larger this summer again probably because they have received more water from the rain. There are lots of flowers and I expect that this will appear in my list every month until April.
Iris unguicularis
Do visit Chloris to see her 10 for this month.
It is very hard to believe that we are nearly in December.
Thank you for sharing your November blooms Christina and for mentioning my blog. It is interesting to see what is looking good in your Italian garden. How amazing that your zinnias are still going strong. I like the idea of an iris that reblooms. My Iris unguicularis are in bloom too but I thought I would save them for my December post. They are lovely in a vase if you pick them in bud even if they don’t last long. Your white leonurus is most unusual does it grow as tall as the orange one? Your snowdrops are intriguing, if you add a few G.nivalis you will get a carpet quite quickly.
Now that I know the snowdrops can survive the summers here I would be prepared to plant some more. The Leonotis is maybe just a little shorter than the orange but not by very much.
You have so many blooms for November. An early frost knocked some of mine back.
It is very unusual to have early frosts in this part of Italy, often the cold weather doesn’t really begin until after the New Year.
It was very unusual here to have weather that cold so early.
The weather this year is all about extremes and anomalies!
I always think of iris as a spring flower, so I’m surprised to see them blooming now in your garden. Climate accounts for interesting differences. The white Leonotis is lovely as is the delicate Bulbine.
The winter flowering Iris is a joy as there is hardly a day when there isn’t at least one new bloom.
Christina your flowers are magnificent and I love them all; but there are some that are my favorites like the Snow Drops that are precious. Hemerocallis “Stella d’Oro” is a beauty. The Iris “Immortality” has a pure white that is a wonder. Bulbine frutescens are a delicate beauty: I love their flowers, I have never seen them. The Iris unguicularis is a treasure. Christina at this time of the year you have a garden full of flowers to enjoy walking in the days with good temperature. Your garden is very beautiful. Have a nice week. Take care. Greetings from Margarita.
I’m pleased you could share my view of the garden this month, Margarita. I hope you have a good week too.
The Bulbine frutescens looks like a lovely plant, and if it flowers for so long it is definitely a winner. Your zinnias have done so well and still look good. I hope the frosts stay at bay. It has been about -4°C here every night recently but at least we had sunshine today instead of the normal November fog!
I hate fog, we were in Piacenza last weekend; it is foggy there almost all the time. Today has been very sunny but also very cold.
I enjoyed gazing at your November blooms Christina especially the snowdrops 🙂 Eleagnus packs so much scent into what are such small insignificant flowers that it is hard to believe that it comes from them.
Yes, it is amazing. I remember the first time I smelled the perfume, I was at Cliveden and I couldn’t see any flowers but the scent was knockout.
Today I’ve seen virtual Leonotis in both a buttery yellow, and your ivory.
Mine is the original orange and just beginning to bloom again.
I like the traditional orange, I’m sorry I lost mine in the cold last winter.
What an interesting mix of flowers, Christina! Some seemingly blooming early, others late – at least by the standards of my own garden. My favorite is the Iris unguicularis. Although my garden guide says it will grow here, I can’t say I’ve ever seen the bulbs offered locally.
My Iris unguicularis was given to me by a friend, I’ve never seen it offered here either. It never needs irrigation and it is in a very exposed position in extremely free draining soil that hasn’t been improved so I’m sure that even in your conditions it would do well with just a little irrigation. It does take time to establish and flower well so patience is needed.
I have Bulbine and Zinnias as well! And you reminded me about Elaeagnus, the perfume is wonderful and I can grow it in my garden.
Shrubs can sound boring but as your garden and blog prove shrubs are the backbone of a great garden.
Absolutely
What delights you still have flowering, Christina – hard to believe those zinnias are still strutting their stuff, and how tall they are! At this time of year we will treasure every bloom, even the solitary ones. I wonder which will appear in your vase on Monday…
How nice to have blooms in November! Not something that we normally see outside of a conservatory. I especially like that blue Iris.
The Iris is probably the only plant that should be flowering. It looks delicate but is very tough.