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Annie in Austin
Welcome! As "Annie in Austin" I blog about gardening in Austin, TX with occasional looks back at our former gardens in Illinois. My husband Philo & I also make videos - some use garden images as background for my original songs, some capture Austin events & sometimes we share videos of birds in our garden. Come talk about gardens, movies, music, genealogy and Austin at the Transplantable Rose and listen to my original songs on YouTube. For an overview read Three Gardens, Twenty Years. Unless noted, these words and photos are my copyrighted work.
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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, November 2008

Yellow Brugmansia,AnnieinAustinThe developing Angel Trumpets/Brugmansia flowers seen in the last post opened fully and scented the air last night - determined to appear for November Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, a monthly listing of what's in bloom, begun by Carol of May Dreams garden and celebrated by gardeners all over the world.

Camellia sasanqua Shishi Gashira,AnnieinAustinI'd hoped the Camellia sasanqua 'Shishi Gashira', also in development in the last post, would last until December, or at least until Thanksgiving, but all the flowers are opening now!

Julia Child rose, AnnieinAustin'Julia Child' rose has a few open flowers and a dozen buds developing. Her stems look a little bare right now because she needed grooming before her closeup - quite a few blackspotted leaves had to be taken off and discarded - not composted.

Fall crepe myrtle,AnnieinAustinThe leaves on my pecans are mostly green but on the other side of the fence my neighbor's crepe myrtle has put on autumn red. Tagetes lucida,AnnieinAustinIt's a pleasant background now for the buttery yellow of the Julia Child Rose and the Mexican Mint Marigold/Tagetes lucida and white Zinnia linearis.

Pink Gaura,AnnieinAustinIn the Pink Entrance bed that leads to the gate, this pink variety of Gaura lindheimerii still blooms nonstop, draped over the also nonstop Pink Skullcap/Scutellaria suffrutescens. In the same bed, a 'Belinda's Dream' rose overslept and missed Bloom Day - she's just getting around to making buds.

Duranta erecta,AnnieinAustinIn the same bed one plant surprised me - only one of three Durantas survived last winter. It grew just a little in summer and made no flowers. With cooler temperatures this Duranta had a growth sprurt, producing three sprays of violet flowers.

Rosa Mutabilis,AnnieinAustinIn the Central Front Bed the birdbath is surrounded by flowers - the Mutabilis Rose, Yellow Bulbine, Gregg's Mistflower, 'Black & Blue' Salvia, lantana and a white gaura.

Mutabilis rose closeup,AnnieinAustinAnother Mutabilis blooms in a container back on the patio. Moonflowers are done for the year - now photographing Rosa chinensis 'Mutabilis' is my obsession!

Pink rosebud,AnnieinAustinThe unnamed climbing rose on the housewall inside the gate has one bud. See that bump? This rose is just a few feet away from the clematis with bumps. In a comment, Entangled suggested the clematis had thrips... maybe the rose does, too?

Confederate Rose,AnnieinAustinAround the other end of the house in the Secret Garden a "rose" blooms in a pot - well, it's called Confederate Rose, but the botanical name gives it away; Hibiscus mutabilis. Another name is Cotton Rose. This bloom is about 4 inches in width.


Salvia leucantha,bee,AnnieinAustinFrost may come soon but the insects found plenty of flowers in bloom today - I found bees on the Mexican Bush Sage/Salvia leucantha

Pink Cuphea llaeva, bee,AnnieinAustinand dozens of bees on the cupheas - here's a rather large bee on a pink and lavender Cuphea llaeva.

Meyers Lemon,bee,AnnieinAustinI have two Meyer's Lemon trees - the larger tree planted in the ground has no blossoms yet but the small tree in a container is covered in flowers - and the fragrant flowers are covered in bees!

Loquat flower,bee,AnnieinAustinThe loquat flowers are scenting the patio this week - those lucky bees can fly a few feet from the lemon to the loquat, rolling in both pollens.

Fritillary,loquat,AnnieinAustinI think the Loquat must have nectar as well as pollen because butterflies like this Gulf Fritillary are attracted to it, too. ( Meems says it's a male Queen butterfly and of course she's right...the fritillary photo I'd taken was deleted for being out-of-focus, and I forgot to change the name when I changed photos. Thank you, Meems!)

Passionflower,AnnieinAustinIf a Fritillary wants its host plant - it can fly around the corner to the fence in the Secret Garden, where a shy Passion Flower waits.

The complete list (including botanical names) of what's in bloom at Circus~Circus this month will be posted at my Annie's Addendum blog.
To visit Bloom Day all over the world, go to Carol's Bloom Day roundup at May Dreams Gardens.

41 comments:

  1. What beautiful color you still have in your garden! I especially like the Confederate Rose...what a huge bloom.

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  2. I'm loving all of these flower photos. Winter has begun where I live and the flowers are long gone. Your yellow rose is beautiful, and I have good memories of my grandmother growing angel trumpet on her deck.

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  3. Happy GBBD Annie. My, what a colour garden you still have. We are both in zone 8 and share the roses. gaura, camellia and salvia in flower but there it stops. Love your passion flower, most are not hardy here. My little lemon tree is in the conservatory now where it produces a lovely scent.

    One of my favourites is your Durantes, the flowers are a gorgeous blue and so elegant. Must make a note of your Tagetes lucida and look for seeds here. The Tagetes we have here are quite different, more stif and formal, I like yours much better.

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  4. You have butterflies and bees as well as all those beautiful blooms Annie. I am typing this as ice is hitting my window. SIGH~~~ Love seeing all your pretties. I love that Confederate Rose. I like the roses that are flat. I don't study roses so I don't know what you call them. Maybe mutabilis? I will have to study up on that so I can plant some next spring.

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  5. It's a cold, gray, rainy morning here in central Indiana, which makes seeing your blooms that much nicer. I look at the pictures of all your blooms, in the sun, and I want to linger awhile and look from one picture to the other to warm myself up. This is one of the great benefits of bloom day!

    Those Durantas remind me of orchids and that confederate rose does require a double take to see that it isn't a rose at all!

    Thanks for joining in!
    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  6. I surely live in the wrong part of the country at least half the year. At this time of year I particularly like the pinks and blues. I hope your frost is a long way off yet.

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  7. Annie,

    It still looks delightfully summer like in your garden. Passion flower, bees, butterflies, beautiful roses, angel trumpet and sunshine...all look like summer. The giveaway is the crape myrtle and the blooming camellia! Speaking of the camellia...do you have to keep the soil acidified?

    I love that you are obsessed with the Mutabilis Rose...please show her photo anytime!

    Thanks Annie for a very nice look into your garden.

    gail

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  8. I agree with Gail, definitely looks like summer at your garden.

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  9. You have flowers I can only dream of: Camellias, Duranta, Meyer's Lemon. Enjoy your pleasant weather and beautiful garden, while we in Chicago hunt through the house for a matching pair of mittens.

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  10. Beautiful photos. All interesting. I saw, for the first time last year on a garden tour in Wickenburg AZ, a Confederate Rose. The one I saw had three different shades of pink on it and it was about 5 ft. tall. I wanted to get one for myself, but the nurseries around here don't carry it. That's usually a good sign it won't do well in the low desert. Too bad. I think it's gorgeous!
    Aiyana

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  11. Fantastic photos, Annie! I particularly love the Gulf Fritillary on Loquat photo. I'm also particularly drawn to your Duranta--so painterly. Must research those.

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  12. Your brug is gorgeous!!! Mine is covered with buds that have not yet opened and I assume tonight will be the end of it. : (

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  13. What a cornucopia of plants! I particularly love the Confederate rose and the Julia Child rose, and am glad to see your passionflower is blooming. And of course, I love the bee and butterfly shots!

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  14. Annie, you are lucky to have so much color in Texas thanks for sharing it with your northern neighbors.

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  15. Annie - Your brugmansia is so pretty. You have to tell me your secret - is it in partial shade? Mine is just sad. Your Julia Child rose is stunning - so formal and so perfect -- all about presentation, just like her, right? Were you surprised that your Meyer lemons are blooming now? I was shocked that my little lemon has blooms on it and just posted as much. Happy GBBD!

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  16. I'm glad to see all the bees in your garden; ours left a few weeks ago. So many beautiful blooms, Annie! I can see why you are obsessed with the Mutabilis rose. but the hibiscus bloom has to be my favorite--a beautiful shade of pink.

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  17. I am sitting here in Nebraska, zone 5b, wearing a sweatshirt and a blanket, and still cold. I enjoyed looking at your lovely blooms. I am a brug fan, but have never grown them. I have daturas here, though.

    I love what you said above about comments and chocolate. I eat dark chocolate every day. I try to avoid other treats so I can enjoy that wonderful chocolate.

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  18. Your sasanqua camellia and 'Julia Child' roses have stolen my heart, Annie. One reminds me of my childhood home in South Carolina. The other just says Texas to me.

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  19. Huh... I could have sworn that I left a comment here about my camellia envy and my love of your "Confederate Rose," Annie! But I'll leave another to make sure that my adoration is noted. :) And I love the pretty flowers on that duranta, too. I take it that's not always hardy in your area?

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  20. (Nevermind part of that, Annie... I see that my camellia/Confederate Rose comments were on the last post. Oops. Am I too young to be claiming Senior Moments?!)

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  21. When I visited last week I knew that you'd have a "wow" post for GBBD Nov 2008. The 'Julia Child' rose looks even more delicate and buttery yellow in person. And your loquat is much, much happier than mine at the moment.

    But I think it was the brugmansia that stole the show. Thanks again for giving me another division of it. I hope I don't kill this one. (I brought it in out of the cold last night--I think I'll pot it up until spring.)

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  22. Passionvines host fritillaries--I had no idea. I like the name "cotton rose".

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  23. Your lovely blooms are a welcome sight on this frigid day in upstate NY, Annie!
    I'm always learning something from you it seems. The Duranta is new to me and I had to Google it. Gorgeous!
    I'm imagining the delicious scent of the Meyer Lemon blooms!
    And what a pretty butterfly.
    Enjoy your mild fall weather. I certainly enjoy your garden!

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  24. Everything here "done got frizzen" as they say. :(

    At one of my craft shows I was next to a lady selling plants (among other things). The one she got the most questions about was a double purple angel trumpet... by the end of the show I was wishing I'd bought one before they all got snapped up.

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  25. Hi Annie,
    I checked out the Stapelia from your Nov. post, and I believe it's a Stapelia gigantea. I'd suggest checking out a Google image and make the comparison and see what you think. I've seen this species before and I believe there's no doubt. My then, that's me!

    Aiyana

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  26. You still have so much blooming in your garden. The photo of the loquat brought back so many memories. My parents had one in their garden when I was a child, and yours has made me consider if I have room for one here. It certainly would remind me of growing up in the late '50's when this tree was a lot more popular.

    Jan
    Always Growing

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  27. We depend on our TX, CA and other warm zone bloggers to keep things interesting for us! I'll be featuring the same houseplants I do every year next month.

    Love the single roses. I really need more of those.

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  28. Annie, your garden is indeed looking beautiful: you'd never guess what a tough summer it's been through. I hope this weekend's cold snap isn't too hard on it. The bees and butterflies would be very unhappy!

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  29. Hi Annie, Very nice showing this month in your TX garden. So nice for you winter weather is holding off. Seems most of the country is getting cold fast these days.

    That trumpet plant is stunning. My neighbor has one just like it and I just stare at it when I pass by. I always wonder why I haven't gotten one yet. The confederate rose is another favorite of what you have blooming although all the blooms are a treat.

    Love seeing all the critters enjoying your blossoms. Although I do think your butterfly is a male Queen (Danaus gilippus berenice)- yeah I had to look the rest of that name up.

    Here's
    a link you can check to be sure.


    I need to remember to try passionflower next spring - it hosts zebra longwings too.
    meems

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  30. Annie, I can't believe you still have so many blooms! Just wonderful!-Randy

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  31. Hi Annie,
    Your garden is gorgeous...those flowers...awesome! Your November is certainly warmer than mine in No. VA! Take care, Jan

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  32. I'm, as always, enchanted by so many of your blooms. The duranta is especially tempting. I'm going to check my Meyer today but I don't think there are any blossoms on mine...one of the differences as opposed to the similarities in our climates.

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  33. Wow, how long did it take you to document all those bees and butterflies or is your place just a buzzin'? Awesome Blossoms!

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  34. I'm not familiar with the 'Cotton Rose' - how nice! My lowquat is starting to form fruits - it'll might be the first time I've had fruits (the tree is only a few years old) - I'm a bit worried because tomorrow night it's supposed to be ~27 degrees - can't that mess with the fruits? Oh - my sasanquas tend to bloom fast and furiously - it's the japonicas and sinensis that tend to spread the color over a longer period of time (at least on this coast!).

    Hope you're having a nice late fall - thanks for sharing your garden again with us.

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  35. Hi Nancy Bond - thank you - the flower on Confederate rose is bigger than a mallow and smaller than a hardy hibiscus.

    Hello Amy/Blossom - thanks for visiting from British Columbia.

    You had a very full GBBD in your zone 8, Yolanda Elizabet!
    I'm planning on bringing the potted lemon into the kitchen so we can enjoy the scent, too.
    The Tagetes lucida blooms in fall. The leaves are used as a tarragon substitute because plants of the French tarragon don't like our summers.

    Sorry about the ice on the window, Lisa at Greenbow! The butterflies are still busy here. My mutabilis is single but it's not exactly flat - not sure what rose you're looking for but hope you find it!

    Carol, has winter already settled in to Indiana? It seems too early! The individual duranta flowers are small but I like the shape, too.

    You're not a lifelong Northerner, Apple - maybe it's harder because you've lived where it's warm. Could you grow pink and blue African violets?

    The frost hammer will fall one of these nights but I'll enjoy what's here while it lasts. Gail and Tina, after 9 years in Austin these flowers say autumn to me - few if them do more than try to survive in summer!

    Camellias and the Mutabilis Rose were plants I dreamed of, too, Mr MGregor's Daughter. Now that I can grow them, I dream of lilacs and peonies.

    A neighbor's Confederate Roses start out white, turn light pink, then rose, Aiyana and that was what I expected. It was a surprise when this one opened pink. The shrub can look pretty gawky when not in bloom. This is not a front of border plant!

    My error! I deleted the Gulf Fritillary photo so that's actually a Queen on the loquat, Iris.
    I haven't had much luck overwintering the durantas - they're usually annuals for me but have seen them grow into huge permanent shrubs for other people.

    Thanks, Libby - hope your brug escaped the frost and is blooming!

    Thanks for the comments,

    Annie

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  36. Hi Vertie- with one plant of a lot of species there's not much impact but there is variety! Other bloggers have better macros, but my old camera wouldn't take bees at all so this is fun!

    Thanks for visiting, Sarah Laurence - we have to look North for leaf color and beautiful snow photos.

    The brugmansia gets morning sun and afternoon shade Diana, and is planted near the back housewall. This lemon has bloomed at different times in different years...it has a mind of its own!

    In other winters an occasional bee or butterfly has shown up on warm days...not sure where they hide, Prairie Rose. There were less than a dozen flowers on the Confederate Rose but they were pretty. Hope it makes it through the winter.

    When I see Daturas they appeal to me, too, Sue in Nebraska, but I haven't tried them.
    Dark chocolate is my favorite, too!

    To you camellias may be nostalgic, Pam/Digging but I was past 50 before I ever saw this "exotic" plant in person. Now both camellias and a Yellow Rose say Texas to me, too ;-]

    Disappearing comments happen to all of us, Blackswamp Kim - and so do 'rearranged'comments. Maybe it's my fault for posting the same plants in successive posts?
    Duranta seems to be hardy for my friends, but not for me!

    You came on a good day, MSS at Zanthan Gardens - that flush of bloom on the brugmansia is done now. I've read that it's less chancy and the plants bloom earlier if kept in a pot in the garage rather than planted in the ground.
    I'm sorry the loquat isn't happy - love that scent!

    Passionvines do host fritillaries, Chuck B - you can see the caterpillar in this August post. But the butterfly photo is a queen! Duh.

    I've seen Durantas in other gardens dangling those blue flowers at eye level, Kerri! If they have enough time before frost they make yellow berries, giving them the name Golden Dewdrop.

    Sorry frost hit you so early, Rurality but am glad to see you posting!
    I've seen double purple Datura/Angel Trumpets on other blogs...and would have been tempted.

    Thanks for checking, Aiyana - it was your mention of hirsuta & purple hairs that made me wonder... when my stapelia plants bloom the flower sure is hairy!

    I've seen loquats pruned to be short trees/large shrubs, Jan - bet you could fit one in to get that fragrance!

    We'll do our best to keep you interested, EAL - but last year my bloom days needed houseplants, too!
    The single roses like Mutabilis and Mermaid get to me!

    Thanks for the comments!

    Annie

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  37. Thanks, Cindy in Katy. I water the borders but this summer was tough. Some small shrubs and plants didn't make it and there are many patches of dead grass. The cool weather has helped but rain would be wonderful.

    Hello Meems - it does seem as if winter hit early up north.
    I don't think the brugmansia would be in my garden if small children were frequent visitors - heard of adults getting mild poisoning just from handling the leaves then not washing hands before eating. So maybe you should just look at your neighbor's plant?
    Thanks for the correction on the butterfly. I've only seen a longwing once, and wish they'd choose my garden to hang out in.

    Welcome from Virginia, Jan/Thanks For 2 Day - your garden may be resting but will probably be amazing in spring!

    The Meyer's lemon in the ground has no buds or blooms, Leslie - just the one in a pot. It's coming in soon anyway so if any buds set they won't freeze.
    Duranta is beautiful but if it gets established be prepared for a lot of cleanup pruning in spring because the top dies off and the plants can get huge. That hasn't happened here other Divas of the Dirt have had better luck.

    All the photos were taken on November 14, Conscious Gardener - this camera fits in my pocket so while I was working in the garden I stopped and chased anything that flew past. Less work done, but more photos!

    Hello Pam in SC - maybe it's in back yards where you live? They get enormous with time!
    I've had blossoms every year but very fruits survive winter...and even fewer survive the birds.
    In some years the japonica did stretch out its bloom, but there are only a few buds this year...won't take long to open them. Two years ago it was the sasanqua's turn for no flowers. They're not a recommended plant here - I'll just enjoy whatever flowers they make!

    Thanks for the comments - hope we'll have something to share for next GBBD...

    Annie

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  38. Seeing your pink Gaura in bloom gave me a pang of longing ... I had several this past summer that bloomed like crazy. I loved them and boy, do I miss them. So now I know where I'll come and just stare at them.

    I really like the combination of the Mexican Mint Marigold and the white Zinnias. I like the simplicity of the blossoms.

    The Duranta must be absolutely stunning ... I love the colour of the blooms.

    I can see why you are photographing the Mutabilis roses. They are so photogenic. What lovely blooms.

    I like the Cotton Rose - the colour is so soft and delicate.

    Wish I lived there ... and then I wouldn't be photographing dead flowers blanketed in snow!!

    When's the next YouTube video coming out?

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  39. No that we are freezing you guys can have all the flowers. You deserve them after the Summer from Hell! Happy Bloom Day, Annie, from this Okie gal to you.~~Dee

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  40. Annie, I love all your bee and butterfly pics (and the rest too). I was wondering about your Julia Child rose - do you like it? Does it survive blackspot and other bad things well? I was tempted to buy one, just because I loved Julia Child, but I decided it looked like a rose that might be too much work.

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  41. I would almost trade my snow for a November Bloom Day like yours! That butterfly is gorgeous!!

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A comment from you is like chocolate - maybe I could live without it, but life is more fun with it. I'll try to answer. If someone else's comment piques your interest, please feel free to talk among yourselves.