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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day November 2018

Can you believe that November is half over already and it's time for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, a meme hosted on the fifteenth of each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens?   To see what's blooming in gardens all over the world check out Carol's blog here.

Here's what's blooming this month in my wet winter/dry summer zone 8 western Washington State garden.

The winter pansies will flower on and off  all winter, spring, and maybe even summer. 


"Fragrant Cloud" rose.

A few brugmansia blooms are hanging on.  They last much longer in cold weather.  

Calibrachoa 

Begonia (There are actually a few hardy and non hardy varieties blooming now.)

I'm really digging the color of these aging Hydrangea 'Fire Island.'  They were white with red edges and now have turned the nicest shade of chartreuse.


A few pelargoniums here and there...

Persicaria 'Red Dragon'

Persicaria 'Golden Arrow'

Crazy impatien.


Abutilons - once they start blooming, only a deep freeze stops them. 



Just beginning to bloom this month is Tropaeolum tuberosum.   

Eccremocarpus scaber 

Toad Lilies still have a few buds yet to open before they shut down shop for the winter. 

Pineapple Sage.

Meanwhile, inside the greenhouse, the carnivorous butterworts are in the middle of their long bloom season.

Schlumbergeras are budded up and will bloom through Christmas. 

Grocery store Hibiscus. 

Pelargonium something or other. 

Kalanchoe

Back outside - Viburnum × bodnantense 'Dawn'

Not really blooms - Euonymus europaeus 'Red Ace'

A dianthus appeared quite out of season . 

Alstroemeria isabellana


It's got the coolest seed pods as well. 


Zauschneria californica

Just in time for the day, the Schlumbergera my mother gave me on a Thanksgiving over 20 years ago is once again blooming. 

Happy GBBD all and many thanks to Carol for hosting the florapalooza!

29 comments:

  1. Who would think that sweet little violet colored flower was carnivorous!

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  2. Oh how nice to have a cactus from your mother still blooming each year after all this time!
    It is this time of year when I really enjoy visiting you folks in the warmer gardening zones. I am in zone 7, and we are frozen! Thankfully yesterday's rain stopped before the temps dropped below freezing again last night. We will thaw out a bit this weekend, but unlikely to have more blooms outside.
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

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  3. Happy GBBD! You still have loads of flowers! Have you not had a frost yet? I'm wondering which grocery store you got that hibiscus at, I don't recall seeing them for sale at my local Fred Meyer.

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    1. I don't remember which grocery store that hibiscus came from as it's been around for several years now. We have had light frosts but mostly on rooftops, etc. No frost on the ground yet.

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  4. So many flowers still in your garden! That Alstroemeria isabellana has been on my wishlist for years. Such a cool plant! Do you know if it can be grown from seeds? The Pelargonium flowers are really interesting, too. Happy GBBD, Peter! Need to go outside to see if I have anything to post...
    ~ Anna K

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  5. What a plethora of blooms you have! But my favorite may be those sweet little pansies. Pansies always make me smile.

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  6. I'm digging Hydrangea 'Fire Island too. Are you growing it in a pot or in the ground? Its a nice combo with the variegated something-or-other next to it (Pieris?)
    I have plain old Sansevieria from my mom's home... flowering is rare, but I'm an optimist.

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    1. It's growing in a pot and the variegated thing next to it was an impulse buy (aren't they all) variegated azalea.

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  7. WOW! I can't believe you've still got Alstroemeria isabellana flowers and seed pods that haven't popped open. So no freeze yet in your garden?

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    1. We had a brief brush with 32 degrees according to the interweb and there was heavy frost/ice on my car one morning but for some reason, there was no frost on the garden.

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  8. Happy garden bloggers bloom day, Peter!
    Your garden is beautiful, even Schlumbergera flowers. I envy because mine has yet buds.

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  9. That sweet little lavender flower is carnivorous?! Your photos of Alstroemeria 'Isabella' remind me why I wanted that plant. Now all I have to do is remember where I saw it for sale...Happy GBBD, Peter!

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    1. The flower isn't carnivorous but the leaves of the plant are sticky and capture small bugs to digest. Far Reaches Farm has that Alstroemeria for sale if you can't find it locally.

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  10. Happy Garden Bloger's Bloom Day. You still have a ton blooming! Love your butterwort. We don't have that carnivorous plant in our collection.

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  11. A 20 year old Schlumbergera. How awesome. You still have so many blooms. You will be one of many who sustain me through the coming Northeast U.S. winter.

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  12. How wonderful that you are still enjoying some beautiful blooms in your gardens.

    Happy November ~ FlowerLady

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  13. My goodness, you have a plethora of blooms now. I love the look of that hydrangea. My garden is covered with ice and snow right now. I didn't even go out to see if there was a bloom cowering under a big leaf someplace. Most of the leaves are all down too. Happy GBBD.

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  14. Love the Tropaeolum tuberosum - is that a perennial?

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    1. It is a perennial and makes edible tubers (I've never tried them myself.) I think it's only hardy to zone 7 or so but the tubers can be lifted and stored. I visited a garden in July and saw it in bloom then but mine always waits until November.

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  15. I love what are called Christmas cactus! My grandmother had a huge one, and when we'd visit my mother always insisted it was too dry. Well, once we inherited it, it died. Too much water! Our local library has a big one too, on a small table so it can hang down. Do you put yours in the dark for a few months like I used to do with mine? To force them to bloom, I mean.

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    1. I don't put the Christmas cacti in the dark to force bloom as our days naturally get shorter and they mostly live in areas with no artificial light. The shorter days give them the idea that it's time to bloom.

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  16. Pretty blooms! It would be nice to have things blooming outside year-round. I was surprised today, while working out in the garden, to find a few things still blooming despite numerous freezes. Must be the microclimates in this garden. Your Kalanchoe is particularly lovely!

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  17. It's fun to have to go hunt for blooms this time of year. You still have a bunch!

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  18. What a nice show to come home to. I think the eccremocarpus is super cool. I tried some from seeds but they just don't seem to like either the heat, or humidity, or just me.
    Even the abutilons would be done if they were stuck in the miserable weather we're seeing tonight.

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  19. Beautiful! You do still have a lot of blooms! Mine all got frosted today; I'll have to see if any survive. I am not familiar with Alstroemeria isabellana, but I am in love with yours! Got to do some research to see if it would survive in my climate!

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  20. What a wonderful selection of flowers, you have so many! All so precious at this time of year. We have cold weather coming from the east this weekend so I think that will finish our last few.

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  21. Pretty little blooms,that begonia variety is new to me,Our Pansies have just started to budding ,loved all the blooms .
    have a great week ahead.

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  22. So many interesting plants that I have never seen here! And I had no idea that brugmansia could take a little cold. It looks so tropical.

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  23. That little blue flower looks much too sweet to be a carnivore!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.