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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

GBBD: What's Blooming in November


As we take a look around the November 15 garden there are still a few blooms or I should say there are some new blooms on the Tipachina bushes and some buds, too, waiting to bloom.

Who knew a tiny little rosette-type white bloom would show up in November on the Brazilian Red Hots? Not me, but they are covered with the cutness in them.

Bromeliads have started making their way on the scene, too. One of the really nice aspects of these hardy shade plants in bloom is once they show up we know they will last for months.

The pink corner is still putting out Diplademia blooms even though not as profuse. Pentas in the same hue need to be dead headed but are year round faithful bloomers.

A closer look and we see what is really enjoying all that pink!

Here it is November so we must take another look at the angel wing Begonia filling up the corner of the pool deck. Sporting stalks over 5 feet tall in its container has shown non-stop growth and blooms all summer long. Just the last couple of weeks it has begun to have a few less blooms but it is still performing like a gargantuan winner.
And to the left of the adirondack one can see the Mona Lavender that just won't quit. That plant has been blooming non-stop since I bought it last February. It was moved to that pot from another and has been trimmed back so many times.

Everywhere the Plumbago bushes are bright spots with their pretty blue blooms consistently coming on the ends of wispy branches.
When the Blue Ginger first burst out in flower in September I had no idea how long the blooms would last. These were a transplant passalong from my neighbor last year about this time. Now that I know how long the blooms do last I feel next year I'll be ready to sit back and enjoy the show. This year I had, for some reason, a preconceived idea they were short-lived.
Bush Daisies love the Florida sun. Plant them where they get plenty of it and they will bloom all year long. I cut these shrubs back severely about a month ago and they have bounced back with lots of happy yellow blooms.

The Buddha Plant is an interesting variety of Jatropha. The ginormous lily pad style, deep green leaves are much more stunning than the bloom.

The flower looks a bit like piece of coral don't you think? This one also blooms most of the year.

And I said I didn't especially like orange-- you'd never know when I gather and group all the orange blooms together in photos. The Scarlet Milkweed is another year round bloomer in Florida. I don't mind that there aren't many leaves left on the few plants I have as the monarch caterpillars have enjoyed munching on them all summer.
(might need to click on this one to enlarge it- actually click to enlarge any photo)

I've featured the deep orange Lantana up close a few times but in this wide angle view you can see the mammoth size of the two plants that meld together to wrap around the back side of this planting bed. The entire planting forms a hedge of sorts over six feet long and at least 4 feet tall.

Our friends the bees swarm this planting all day long. Butterflies of all varieties are very attracted to it as well. It helps that it is situated in a sunny corner where the fluttering friends like to be.

Speaking of Lantana, cross over the grass pathway from the view above and walk behind the orange lantana to the very back of the property and white ones are planted as ground cover. They have just started their fall blooming period. I dont' know what the 'official habit' of these hardy plants is but I've noticed mine like the cooler temps for blooming. That means they are nice and green all summer but for the fall, winter, and spring they flush out in a blanket of white.

The milder temps of autumn also beckon the Spathiphylum (or peace lily) to make a resurgence of blooms after slowing down in the summer months from the extreme heat. This group spills over the walkway leading up to the front door.

And last but NEVER LEAST is the ever welcome white blooms of the bush lake green beans. We have been harvesting beans for over a week now from our little veggie garden. The pole beans are just about ready for the first batch to be picked. Lima beans, too. The tomato plants have flowers but no fruit yet. The bell peppers are just beginning to put on fruit from all the tiny blooms.
For a wider view of a portion of the back gardens I placed a new header photo taken yesterday. Lots of our color variation comes from foliage this time of year but the landscape is still dotted with some blooms.
For more blooms, flowers and great garden blogs check out Carol's blog May Dreams Gardens. It is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day all over garden blogdom!

39 comments:

  1. A nice thing about living so far south Meems is that we can always count on your garden having blooms for bloom day. Just beautiful!

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  2. Thank you, Lisa. If one discovers procrastination (as Carol speaks of today)for too long in a Florida garden all is lost.

    There are some advantages of gardening all year long... besides the beautiful weather (sans summer) it would be having at lest some blooms all year long.

    Now I must stop procrastinating and 'step away from the computer' to get out in the garden to water and pick some beans before we leave to go out of town for a couple of days.

    Have a great weekend!

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  3. I love your new header! You have a lot still going on and I just love to tour it with you. I just now was amazed that my Brazillion Red Hot was FULL of tiny blooms too! This is my first year with that plant.

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  4. Dear Meems,

    Good morning! I love your tropicals...trying to remember their names is like learning a new language..(I bet you often feel that way about our natives)... but they are lovely, lovely, lovely! It is easy to imagine myself sitting in a garden chair and just smiling into a deeply relaxing state...

    Thank you for the tour! Have a good weekend,

    Gail

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  5. Meems -- I love the new header photo on your blog! Such an inviting place to sit and enjoy your garden.

    All these plants you have in bloom -- some that I know; most I don't know. Spectacular! That blue ginger is really interesting, too.

    Cameron

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  6. Beautiful samples of our beautiful blooms in Florida in November! :-)

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  7. Bless you, Meems, for sharing your rainbow of flowers with us today. I've never even heard of many of your offerings. That blue ginger is especially amazing, and the begonia too. And...well, everything!

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  8. Gardens just get better and better in Florida in the fall.
    Donna

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  9. Colour, glorious colour! Thanks times ten to the power of three. That dragon wing looks amazing - I've never seen one 5ft tall - do you share your fertilization secrets?

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  10. meems seeing your new header makes me long for a trip to sit and enjoy your garden now that it is not so steaming hot. we could actually sit out there and converse instead of staying in the pool the whole time. i am determined to do it during winter.

    there are so many things to comment on. i love the blanket of white from your lantana...it gives me inspiration for my new thoughts on a black and white garden.
    the delicate buds on the brazilian red hots are just gorgeous. i will want to see the blooms once they arrive.
    bromeliads are synonymous with tropical florida gardens and seem like a neccesity in your garden.
    who knew the bush lake green
    beans had such a wonderful white blossom. the beans are prize enough.
    the budha plant is incredible looking. it does look like a coral, dh has his salt water fish tank but mostly with living corals. it's like an underwater garden. the hugh over sized leaves are so amazing.
    the tipachina bushes and blooms are probably my favourite today of your gbbd. i love the intricaies of the middle of the bloom. of course the hue is a favourite.
    happy gbbd.

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  11. Its at this time of year that I get jealous of people with climates like yours!!! I really covert that blue ginger gorgeous

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  12. Darla, This is the first year for me too with the red hots.I got 1 gal pots on sale for .99 in August. They have grown bushy and now blooms... I never even anticipated they would have blooms.

    Gail, As you can see I didn't even give the botanical names for my own
    tropicals so, yes, it is like learning a new language reading northern (read: anything north of me)blogs. But I still like to see all the different varieties everywhere. Maybe someday you can sit right here and enter that relaxing place with a cup of tea in your hand...

    Cameron: This is certainly the time of year when sitting in a garden chair is relaxing and the weather is cooperating for just such peacefulness.

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  13. I am heading out the door to an event... didn't give myself enough time to respond to each wonderful reader and commenter... BUT I WILL as soon as I have another minute. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday... and I'll see you soon!
    Meems

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  14. Meems, I can see why you live in Florida. Your garden is a tropical paradise in November. Thanks for sharing it.

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  15. I have a similar plant to your Brazilian Red Hots, the leaves are purple but the flowers are the same. All your other blooms are beautiful; I specially like the blue ginger

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  16. Great blooms, Meems. What's your secret for Pumbago? I can't seem to grow it no matter how often I try! I love your Blue Ginger, it's beautiful. Happy GBBD.

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  17. Meems,

    I think it would be a delight to have tea with you in your garden!

    gail

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  18. Martha, Welcome and thanks so much for stopping by. Always happy to know another Florida blogger.

    Nan, Hi and I know just how you feel about not knowing... same as when I read about your beautiful garden. As soon as the blue ginger quits blooming I will be taking cuttings to see if I can make more of it. It has been a delight for a couple of months now.

    Donna, Well I don't know about the garden getting better but the weather certainly does.

    Barbara, The angel wing has surprised even me this year with its very sturdy stalks. I have to keep topping it out to keep it from getting even taller. The only thing I use is liquid Miracle Gro once in a while. To be honest maybe twice in 6 months... I'm not a big proponent of fertilizers.

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  19. Meems, I do envy your garden in November! So many blooms - many of them we can only grow as potted plants.
    /Katarina

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  20. Marmee, Yes, this is definitely the time to sit "beside" the pool and enjoy just being. I would have guessed you pick the tipachina -- I like its intricacies as well.

    patient gardener: Just remember when you are tempted to be jealous that we also have to "tend" the garden as it grows all year. There's always good and bad right? You are welcome to visit anytime you need to see some green or color. :-)

    Sarah: Thanks for coming by ... Florida is my favorite place for so many reasons. November is one of them.

    Rusty: I wonder if your purple plant is in the same family? I am very glad my neighbor shared the blue ginger with me. I never see it for sale anywhere here. Do you grow it there? I'm pretty sure it is one of the plants she brought up with her from Coral Gables when she moved here.

    Diana: I'm wondering if I have a secret... It likes lots of sunshine but does better with some hours of shade. It seems to do better without staying too wet. During the rainy parts of summer this year they didn't bloom as well. As soon as the rains stopped they started blooming profusely and haven't stopped. I'm not sure which exact zone you are in but it probably does better in zones 9 and above.

    Gail: I hold out hope for the day!

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  21. Katarina: I like your new profile picture! :-) I hear that comment a lot - about how my outdoor plants are only houseplants for others which is so interesting to me. It is something I didn't know until I started blogging.

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  22. Your garden is still full of glorious colour. The plants that bloom all season certainly pull their weight in your garden. The angel wing begonia looks great, and I don't notice any slowing down. The Mona lavender looks great too, as does the plumbago.

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  23. Hi Meems - I got angel wing begonias this year because yours were so inspiring. They are still small, but I hope they get as big as yours!

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  24. Meems, I knew you wouldn't be bemoaning the lack of blooms this Bloom Day as we Northeners have been doing! Everything is so lush and full of vibrant color--your post is a real treat. I can't pick a favorite, though I do like that blue ginger. Do you think it would grow in zone 5? And your Angelwing Begonia is amazing. We'll all be looking forward to your Bloom Day posts this winter to cheer us up:)

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  25. Hi Meems,
    Whew! I'm finally getting back to reading the GBBD blogs! I was busy all day yesterday, and today did get some looked at while GS was sleeping and some while he was playing next to me.

    I enjoyed looking at all your wonderful blooms, and got sidetracked reading your blog about angel and dragon wing begonias, and also by my family, just now, because I helped DIL and GS get ready to leave and hunt for some things.

    I don't know the difference, but I love the darker or speckled leaved begonias I know as angel wings. I keep them outside in the shade in the summer. I think I've grown some of the greener leaved ones outside, but didn't think to bring them in. I have some smaller leaved ones, and one pictured in my October blog, "What are we going to eat tonight, Mom?" That one I bought this summer, and I don't remember if it bloomed yet. They never bloom as profusely as yours. I hope this makes sense, after all my attempts to write it!

    I like your new header, too.

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  26. Your garden is truly a respite for the gardeners in northern climates Meems. It's like paradise looking at all the blooms (and my garden hasn't been gone all that long yet). Your tipachina looks like my tibouchina that I overwinter in the basement each year. The blooms are gorgeous, aren't they? The blue ginger and buddha plant are exoticly beautiful, I wonder if I could grow those in containers? (it would probably mean more basement hauling but it might be worth it!). Thanks for the bright spot on November bloom day.

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  27. Green beans already!? It doesn't seem that long ago that you planted them. I am a little envious of all your year long bloomers, but just couldn't take your summer heat. I remember seeing those bromelaids in the wild when we would go to Florida in the winter. Such bright red spots showing up in the trees.

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  28. I'm amazed to see so many brilliant colors in your delightful November garden, Meems, since as you know golden bittersweet, orange, reds, and brown surround us here in Michigan. Now is the time we must bring color into our homes to balance the quiet outside. Your Tipachina is certaily a handsome fella' and another unknown discovery that I am not familiar with ... and your angel wing begonia, heavenly!

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  29. Love the blue ginger - such a great color.

    Jan
    Always Growing

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  30. northern shade: Thanks for noticing the blooms today. You are right about pulling weight around here. And isn't that an important attribute! Sometimes the bloomers for all season are not as profuse in the dead heat of summer and actually perk right back up with milder autumn temps.

    Wicked: Can you believe those begonias? I am just amazed at their stamina. Did you know I actually have them in one other pot in the front garden and they are just as tall. Not as thick and wide (the container is smaller) but just as tall and loving this milder weather. I also have them right in the ground in several places and they do well there too. You will need to protect yours from frost and freeze but in the spring it will take off for you. I hope.

    Rose: Next bloom day we should still be doing fine although even way down here we've gotten some early cold weather (our cold is not freezing- just cold to us LOL) to slow up growth. Our best benefit is sunshine. It is the priceless commodity that shines everyday to warm the soil ....and us. No grey, dreary skies unless there is rain.

    The blue ginger is a real treat. It is hardy in Zone 10 and 11 so it might be more work than it is worth.

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  31. Sue: I appreciate you letting me know you like my new header.

    I completely understand about time. We were out of town this weekend and had only limited time to access my computer. I'm still catching up on GBBD posts.

    If you look at the photo of the begonia enlarged to the left you will see there is also the darker (I call that one dragon wing but I might have the names switched)variety with the specks. It is my favorite for its rich foliage but doesn't seem to bloom as profusely. I also have it planted directly in the ground and have been thrilled with its performance there.

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  32. Kathleen: You are very kind with your bright spot comments. Please do come by often for some color during winter. Both the ginger and the buddha are for very tropical climes and trying them would definitely mean hauling. But you seem pretty adept at stretching your zone so if you could find some it might be fun to try them out. Here, the Buddha drops its own seeds and they start up everywhere - I pull them out because the leaves are so large - I'm happy with it as an accent and not as a focal point.

    Beckie: You are right, I planted those beans in September and was hoping for harvest for Thanksgiving. We will have plenty. Lots of pole beans, too. It does take some tenacity to plow through the summer months but just think ... the rest of the year, for the most part, is heavenly. Right this second (8 a.m.)the sun is already shining brightly and it is only 50 degrees -- perfect gardening weather. You never know... you might be able to take it afterall. LOL

    Joey: Thank you! The Tipachina is unique in so many ways. I just love the tiny lime green center and the curly stamins along with the brilliantly deep purple hue. The leaves are even a fuzzy soft muted green.

    Jan: The blue ginger seems to be a hit with many readers. It is a wonderful color and a sturdy plant, too.

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  33. Thank you for the visit Meems. I had no idea about how easy the firespikes root. Funny thing is, Saturday I was running around the yard taking cuttings from my first year plants to root and over winter in the house in case the ones outside do not come back and firespike was one of them. The Jacobina......they have bloomed on and off. I have one that gets quite a bit of sun and it's growing taller and one that is mainly shade and it's getting wider. I was told they are full shade plants.......AFTER I planted them. Where are yours planted?

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  34. Darla, I only have the red one. It is very tall. I have topped it out a couple of time over the last couple of months... poked the cuttings into the ground right next to the mother plant and they are growing nicely. Next year I will have lots more blooms. It was originally a gift from my neighbor. They are planted in the understory of oaks and camphor trees getting dappled sunlight most of the day with about 2 hours morning sun in the hottest part of the year.

    My neighbor has yellow and pink planted in quite shady spots in her garden and the yellow very tall and bushy and is still blooming. The pink quit blooming in September.

    Hope that helps.

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  35. Meems, I'm glad I decided to check out your site after seeing a comment you left on Sarah Laurence's blog. I'm ashamed of myself for not doing it sooner. I love the look of your blog and all of its interesting content. Right now, I'm a displaced Floridian living in Illinois--it's really not as bad as it sounds--so I enjoy getting to see parts of my "homeland." Our place in FL is in the NW corner. We actually get a taste of winter up there (zone 8b), but the good news is that the lawn maintenance--we have an acre--stops until about mid-March. Hallelujah!

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  36. We have a Spathiphylum blooming in our lobby;) Your blooms are gorgeous. Makes me want to take a trip south;)
    Marnie

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  37. Thanks for coming to visit and correcting the butterfly ID, Meems - that's what happens when trying to pick the best photo as midnight approaches!

    Austin seems tropical in comparison to my Illinois gardening days, but then I come here and see the real tropics. Most of what grows enormously lush in your garden would freeze here - that Angel Wing begonia is astounding!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  38. That was a feast for flower deprived eyes! I love all your flowers, but especially the blues of the Plumbago & the Ginger/Hedycium thingy.

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  39. walk2write: Don't be too hard on yourself... I appreciate you stopping by now. NW Florida is almost like being in Alabama or GA. right? I love all of Florida... it is all beautiful. There are SO many twists and turns in the zone map for Florida. I would be saying Hallelujah too if I could retire the mower for even a whole month!

    Marnie: Spathiphylums are typically house/office plants. I have them growing in several places outside in the shade. They do get ginormous outdoors. Go ahead an come south, Marnie, you know you want to... :-)

    Annie: I'm no good at midnight and yet I've found myself blogging many times that late with crossed-eyes.

    It seems that Austin is more like the weather of North Florida than here. We rarely see freezing temps and even when it gets really close to it my shade trees hold down the temps if it doesn't last too long.

    I have been very astounded by the angel wing this year myself.

    MMD: Thanks so much... I am partial to the blue flowers as well. It is nice to have a few still thriving.

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


September 2010

Back Garden: October 2010

Louise Philippe: Antique Rose

Tropical Pathway