November 15, 2009
This last month has been one of the most beautiful in memory, its perfection lulling us into a glowing sense of “God! Isn’t it wonderful to live here in central Texas.” Rain. Rain. Rain. And then a month of dew-kissed mornings when we never got the hose out once and only watered seedlings and new transplants with the bounty in our rain barrels.
The overwintering annuals have filled in making it look more like March than November. The false dayflower is already flowering.
Commelinantia anomala. The common solid blue false day flower has an endearing face, too.
Henbit, chickweed, and dandelions–the early winter weeds (or tonic herbs depending on your point of view)–are also getting a head start on sprouting and blooming. It’s odd to think that our first freeze is due within three weeks when the whole garden is insisting we’re already into spring.
Another March flowerer, cilantro, is about to bolt. I hope this counts as a bonus fall crop and that we get a second crop in spring. Even the spring-flowering Jerusalem sage threw out a few flowers on one bush.
The fall flowers, brilliant with fall yellows and oranges, are in full bloom. With the flowers, the butterflies returned.
Asclepias curassavica.
As did swarms of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes love to be in the garden in the late afternoon at the same time I otherwise find it most pleasant to work. Very discouraging. The garden is buzzing with bees, too. They especially like the coral vine, the basil, and the orange cosmos. The cosmos is in full bloom right now. Unfortunately it is a uniform orange, unlike previous years. It and the pink Port St. John’s Creeper account for almost all the color in the back yard.
Cosmos sulphureus.
All month the roses have been in full bloom. The ‘New Dawn’ rose by the front fence has flowered more and longer than ever before. So has ‘Red Cascade’ which looks like it has finally decided to do something (take over the world?) after years of lying sleepily along the ground. In the back yard, ‘Ducher’ collapsed under its own weight and then sent out a lot of additional new growth from the bent canes. In short, it pegged itself.
Rose ‘Ducher’. Linen white and lemon scented.
Rose ‘Red Cascade’. Tiny flowers on rambling rose that wants to be a groundcover.
Rose ‘Prosperty’. From bud, to faded flower on stem…like a timelapse photo of itself.
Rose ‘Blush Noisette’.
‘Mermaid’ has been blooming this last month, just not today. Only ‘Souvenir del Malmaison’ and ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’, which are still in the shade of a red oak, have not flowered.
The vines have set out to smother the yard, especially the kudzu-like Port St. John’s creeper which is following the coral vine’s leap into the trees. The cypress vine has grown into a flopsy mopsy tangle at the top of its trellis. One surviving morning glory puts out a unique striated flower every other day or so.
Pavonia hastata. A single pale pavonia flower struggles to open. I prefer it to its cousin the solid pink, Texas native, rock rose, Pavonia lasiopetala.
In the winter vegetable garden, the parsnips are flowering. The leaves are only just beginning to fall from the pecans today so the newly planted lettuce and other salad greens are struggling in the shade and getting leggy or eaten by pill bugs. The jalapeno is flowering and has peppers on it. One self-sown tomatillo is flowering but the other two which sprouted died so can’t cross-pollinate and set fruit.
Complete List for November
The list of all plants flowering today, November 15th 2009, at Zanthan Gardens.
- Ajania pacifica (2009)
- Antigonon leptopus (2009)
- Asclepias curassavica (2009)
- Aster ericoides (2009)
- basil (2009)
- Callisia repens (2009)
- Calytocarpus vialis (2009) hated horseherb
- Commelina communis (2009)
- Commelinantia anomala (2009)
- Cosmos sulphureus (2009)
- Datura inoxia (2009)
- Dolichos lablab (2009)
- Duranta erecta (2009): overwintered and bloomed all summer
- Eupatorium wrightii (2009): fading
- Galphimia gracilis (2009)
- henbit (2009)
- Ipomoea quamoclit (2009)
- jalapeno (2009)
- Lagerstroemia indica ‘Catawba’ (2009): one flower; leaves browning–not changing color
- Lavandula heterophylla ‘Goodwin Creek’ (2009)
- Lobularia maritima ‘Tiny Tim’ (2009) survived the summer
- Malvaviscus arboreus (2009)
- Mirabilis jalapa pink (2009)
- Nerium oleander ‘Turner’s Shari D.’ (2009): fading
- Oxalis crassipis (2009)
- Oxalis triangularis, purple (2009)
- parsnips (2009)
- Pavonia hastata (2009)
- Podranea ricasoliana (2009)
- Polanisia dodecandra (2009)
- rose ‘Blush Noisette’ (2009)
- rose ‘Ducher’ (2009): so heavy with new growth and flowers that it’s sprawling
- rose ‘New Dawn’ (2009): both plants
- rose ‘Prosperity’ (2009)
- rose ‘Red Cascade’ (2009)
- rosemary (2009)
- Setcreasea (2009) both purple and green
- Solanum jasminoides (2009)
- tomatillo (2009)
- Tagetes lucida (2009)
- Thymophylla tenuiloba (2009)
- Zexmenia hispida (2009)
