Poetry Sunday/Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - November 2015

Recently, my blogger friend Jayne Wilson of Green and Serene had a blog post featuring quotes about the autumn garden. One of those quotes was a short poem called "Indian Summer." It seemed perfect for this time of year and especially for November's Bloom Day. Let's make it our featured poem for Poetry Sunday.   

Indian Summer

  by Emeline B. Smith

Just after the death of the flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season,
When nature is all aglow—
Aglow with a mystical splendour
That rivals the brightness of spring,
Aglow with a beauty more tender
Than aught which fair summer could bring….

 *~*~*~*

 Well, the death of flowers may have already come in some regions, but here in zone 9a, we still have quite a few, and we are nowhere near being buried in snow. Our first frost is still weeks away, and, since we don't get the brilliant fall colors that others enjoy at this time of year, at least we can take pleasure in what are surely some of the last blossoms of the season.

The milk and wine lilies are still putting forth occasional blooms.
Jatropha.
The Encore azalea is putting out a few blossoms even though it is almost smothered in this rampantly growing 'Marguerite' potato vine.
'Hot lips' salvia.
Salvia greggii - autumn sage.
Salvia coccinea - 'Coral nymph.'
Salvia guaranitica - 'Black and Blue.'
Yellow lantana.
Purple trailing lantana, a butterfly favorite. 
Red kalanchoe blooming among foxtail fern, amaryllis, and ivies.
Yellow 'Tecoma stans,' common name yellowbells.
Bronze Tecoma stans.
Yellow milkweed with seedpods that soon will be opening and scattering their seeds.
Gerbera daisy.
Copper Canyon daisy just beginning to bloom.
Many of the blooms on the coral vine got knocked to the ground in a recent heavy rain and wind, but some of them hung on.
'Blue Daze' - Evolvulus glomeratus.
Ageratina havanensis - white mistflower, or shrubby boneset, if you prefer.
Plumbago auriculata - Cape plumbago, or blue plumbago.
'Darcy Bussell' rose.
Orange cosmos.
Yellow cestrum.
Hamelia patens, commonly known as hummingbird bush or Mexican firebush.
Anisacanthus wrightii, another hummingbird and butterfly favorite.
Aloysia virgata - almond verbena, an unassuming blossom with a large and lovely scent.
Wedelia texana, a native groundcover of vigorous growth habit and many daisy-like yellow flowers. 
Tecoma capensis - Cape honeysuckle.
Shrimp plant - Justicia brandegeeana.
Firespike, Odontonema strictum.
The little yellow mums are still blooming in the backyard...
...while this big pot of bronze-colored chrysanthemums blooms by the front door.
And so as we enter the last half of November, we still have blooms to show, but I wonder if any of them will hang on until December Bloom Day?

 Thank you for visiting my garden this month and thank you to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting us once again. Happy Bloom Day to all.

Comments

  1. HELENENovember 15, 2015 at 1:10 AM

    Nice to see so many plants still in flower in your garden – and Darcy Bussell has been on my wish-list a few years now, next year I really want it. Have a good Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 9:00 AM

      'Darcy' is a really nice rose. I've enjoyed having her as a part of my garden.

      Delete
  2. LeaNovember 15, 2015 at 6:39 AM

    Wonderful lot of beautiful blooms!
    I had forgotten about shrimp plant - I used to have it, must get it again.
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 9:01 AM

      Shrimp plant is a fun addition to the garden. I love those funky blooms!

      Delete
  3. Pam's English GardenNovember 15, 2015 at 7:29 AM

    Perfect poem; incredible blooms, Dorothy. Your November garden is amazing. Happy GBBD! P. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 9:05 AM

      That poem really seems to speak to this time of year, doesn't it?

      Delete
  4. Judy KruegerNovember 15, 2015 at 10:50 AM

    What a November exuberance of bloom. I spent yesterday afternoon at the Descanso Gardens, a botanical garden in the foothills of LA. My favorite spot is the camellia forest!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 10:52 AM

      Descanso sounds wonderful. I've never been there but I would love to go.

      Delete
  5. CarmenNovember 15, 2015 at 1:29 PM

    So many wonderful blooms! Let's hope they'll make it till December.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 3:26 PM

      Well, at least some of them should, though we usually get our first frost around December 10.

      Delete
  6. Wendy MooreNovember 15, 2015 at 2:06 PM

    I love the Azalea/Potato Vine combo! Happy GBBD!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 3:26 PM

      That potato vine has gone completely wild. I think it is trying to take over the world.

      Delete
  7. AlanaNovember 15, 2015 at 3:47 PM

    Thank you for sharing your blooms. In upstate New York I actually still have a handful but, any day now, a freeze will come. You'll be keeping my hope for spring alive in the coming harsh months.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 3:50 PM

      We'll do our best, Alana. The people who predict our weather tell us that our winter will likely be wetter and cooler than usual, so we may have some challenges.

      Delete
  8. AndreaNovember 15, 2015 at 9:33 PM

    It seems like you have tropical plants. Most of them are here with us too, but i do not like much of them in my garden as they are difficult to manage. But i agree they are beautiful, just like your photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 10:48 PM

      Some of my plants are tropical, but they are mostly tough tropicals that can deal with temperatures in the low 20s F. They generally survive our relatively mild winters very well.

      Delete
  9. HannahNovember 15, 2015 at 10:40 PM

    I miss my years in San Diego with the winter blooms, so I really enjoy seeing your lovely flowers, especially the lantana, that fascinated me when I was a child with its little bouquets. Not much is blooming here now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 15, 2015 at 10:45 PM

      But, on the other hand, you have Pine Siskins! So it all evens out.

      Delete
  10. RoseNovember 16, 2015 at 7:45 AM

    Oh my, you certainly do have lots of blooms! You are right--I have next to nothing growing here thanks to some very frosty mornings. I'm sure the hummingbird bush isn't hardy in my zone, but how I wish it was--lovely! The poem is perfect for this time of year; the light is indeed magical in late fall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 16, 2015 at 10:15 AM

      I really like that little poem. It does seem to perfectly describe this "Indian Summer" time of year.

      Delete
  11. Lee@A Guide to Northeastern GardeningNovember 17, 2015 at 9:35 AM

    You have so many blooms in your garden for November while we have more changing leaves! The poem is lovely and perfect for this time of year. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 17, 2015 at 9:49 AM

      Many of our blooms do linger into late fall. It's our compensation for not getting the beautiful autumn leaf colors.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de...
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
Read more