Southern California has been saved the cold that is sweeping other parts of the US. In fact, recent temperatures have been more reminiscent of summer than fall. Our thermostat hit the upper 80s on Wednesday when downtown Los Angeles reached 92 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperatures have been slowly falling since Wednesday and there's a rumor of drizzle in the forecast but I think real rain is still a pipe dream.
Perhaps as a response to the warm afternoons, some spring/summer bloomers have made a reappearance. I posted pictures of reblooming daylilies
earlier this week but other plants that generally flower during the first half of the year have also made walk-on appearances.
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| Pale blue Agapanthus bloom |
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| Pink Alstroemeria (no ID) |
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| Ruffled Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta daisy) |
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| Fresh bloom on Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy) |
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| Another Iceland poppy |
However, the biggest show-offs at present are a few of the fall bloomers.
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| Camellia sasanqua (no ID) |
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| Close up of the Camellia blooms |
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| Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre' looks better in person than in my photos |
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| Senna (Cassia) bicapsularis is making a bigger splash now than she did when I featured her as a favorite plant at the end of October |
A few of my recent purchases are also flowering.
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| Grevillea 'Superb' (Yes, I finally found an acceptable place for her!) |
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| Phygelius x rectus 'Salmon Leap' is settling in bordered by Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' |
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| Argyranthemum frutescens |
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| I broke down and put in a few pansies right before our most recent mini-heatwave |
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| A somewhat fuzzy picture of the first blooms from Salvia mexicana 'Limelight' |
And some of the plants that have pumped out flowers for months are still going strong.
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| Celosia argentea var spicata is turning tawny but still has presence in the back border |
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| Osteospermum ecklonis '3DSilver' has bloomed all year but the blooms have become more prolific as the weather cools |
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| Pelargonium 'Pink Blizzard' and Calibracohoa 'Cherry Star' have provided non-stop blooms in pots near the front door |
Even my beloved Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior' still has some blooms.
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| Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior' |
All in all, I'm not doing half bad in the bloom department for mid-November. Please
visit Carol's May Dreams Gardens for bloom connections from around the world.
