November Blooms at Our Little Acre

In spite of our extremely mild November weather - almost record-setting warmth, in fact - there is relatively little blooming here at Our Little Acre for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. But in November, you never know what you're going to get, so we enjoy each and every bloom, because we know it will be some time before we see these again.

The ornamental strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa 'Pink Panda') has never stopped blooming since early summer.


This Viola has been in this hypertufa planter for three years now and blooms faithfully all summer long, into fall.


Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Oranges and Lemons' is one of my favorite Gaillardias and one of the longest-blooming. The one I bought last year didn't survive the winter, so I replaced it. Let's hope this one is still around next spring.


I got a late start planting these Xeranthemum annuum seeds, but they eventually bloomed and I want to be sure to get some seeds for next year. They're extremely easy to grow from seed. I even saw a few volunteers come up in last year's location.


The Ivy Geraniums (Pelargonium x peltatum), both this 'Global Stars & Stripes' and the solid 'Global Red,' are still blooming, probably because they are in baskets up against the brick, which absorbs the heat of the day and keeps them warmer through the nights.


No need for me to plant Calendula seeds this year. Enough volunteers came up to brighten one little corner of the garden.


This Scabiosa ochroleuca is a very strong grower and I shared some plants this spring with other gardeners. They've got beautiful seed heads, too.


The Larkspur that I planted from old seed that Mom found in a drawer came up just fine and is blooming right through the frosts.


This annual, Osteospermum ecklonis 'Sunset Purple,' is one of my very favorites of the summer. The coloring and striping are just luscious! It's the only thing left after a couple of frosts from a container planting.

It was planted with Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas 'Blackie') and Asparagus Fern (Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri'), with a Cordyline australis 'Red Star' that I'd overwintered last year. I wish I'd taken a photo of the container when it was in its prime, because the color combination was fabulous.

Speaking of Sweet Potato Vines, when I pulled the frost-damaged vines, I also dug up the roots to try and save them over the winter. I've done this successfully once before and with roots like these, I'm hoping to do it again this year. LOOK at these! (I think they look like stomachs.)

For size reference, that is a normal-sized Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) nut laying to the left. These are from Ipomoea batatas 'Margarita.' Those from 'Blackie' look the same, except they're a very dark burgundy.

I forgot to take a photo of it, but the Asiatic Primrose (Primula capitata 'Salvana') has put out another bloom. I've also got a few roses blooming smaller, distorted blooms, as well as some mums enjoying a second flush of color after deadheading earlier, such as these 'Camina Red.'

Chrysanthemum 'Camina Red'

As I said earlier, the dandelions are blooming, too. There was one exceptionally warm fall (and into winter) when I remember hanging clothes out to dry on December 1st. The dandelions were blooming then, too. Among those clothes I hung out were those of a certain adorable 2½-month-old little girl. The year? 1982. My, how time flies...