It has been a grey day with a slow, chilly rain falling off and on. I was not going to go out and photograph in the garden; but this evening, with only a few drops sprinkling down, I grabbed the camera for some shots of mid-November.
The roses are still taking their time returning to bloom; I slacked off feeding them (exhaustion at the end of summer!), and I think I can't afford to do that in this soil. But as you can see above, Wollerton Old Hall is still flowering, and a few blossoms have opened on St. Swithun and Crown Princess Margareta. Here is the latter at sundown...
The most reliable flowers are still in fine fettle: Russelia equisetiformis "Big Red"...
...and the Autumn Sages, including Salvia greggii "Autumn Moon", which is finally putting out some good bloom again. I think a good cutting back was appreciated, though I've worked my way into the old wood with trepidation. The plant had become very rangy with small flowers and few. It's looking more like it should now!
So much for this evening's tour of the garden!
For the rest, I will add some pictures from yesterday, which was bright and sunny.
One of the most spectacular plants in the garden for the last few weeks has been the Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris "Regal Mist"). I keep raving about it, so no need to say more here...
Nearby, the Perovskia has bloomed heartily ever since temperatures really began to moderate. After having been unsure of this plant for the better part of twelve months, I am now almost completely convinced that it is a good selection for the region after all.
Another long-blooming plant has been my pink Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri NoID); I've just begun cutting back spent bloom stems, but it has flowered constantly since planting during late summer - an incredible feat, I think.
Just in front of it is The Alnwick Rose, and I do love the way the two plants are mingling, the wiry bloom stems of the Gaura falling forward into the rose.
William Shakespeare 2000 has been transplanted into the Central Bed at the opposite corner from The Alnwick Rose - apparently successfully as new growth is coming along nicely. This is a big relief as this is one of my favourite roses. No flowers as yet!
Below these two roses I planted a few clumps of Dianthus to accent the corners.
Another rose in the Central Bed is Sterling Silver, and it has begun putting out its luscious (doubly so, as they are intensely fragrant) lavender blooms again.
In the East Border, Tetraneuris acaulis is blooming happily. This picture is from a week and a half ago, but the effect is about the same now because little T. a. is pleased with the weather!
Nearby I planted the chrysanthemums I featured in last Monday's vase. They are blooming heartily as well. (For a series of chrysanthemum-and-bee pictures, see my recent post at
Journal of a Thousand Things.)
There are a number of other plants putting out smaller amounts of bloom just now; one special one is Eremophila hygrophana, another member of this large Australian genus that seems to thrive in this garden.
There are others, including the new Leonotis, which has yet to go into the ground but is blooming away in its pot. There are the two miniature roses, both in flower. The young Lagerstroemia indica "Rhapsody in Pink" is still putting out some late bloom, as is the even younger Hamelia patens, which is blooming and turning fine shades of pink and mahogany at the same time! Oh yes, and Lavandula "Goodwin's Creek Gray" and even a few blooms on the rosemary hedge... This is actually a fairly lush time of year here in the desert, and the garden is happy! The weather is cool and even, incredibly, a bit wet.
Linking to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day with Carol at
May Dreams Gardens for this look at November...
Weather Diary: Scattered rain showers; High: 64 F (18 C)/Low: 46 F (8 C)
