Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - November 2019

Here in Southeast Texas, we were not exempted from the effects of the Arctic front that enveloped much of the country this week. We had two nights of freezing temperatures, unusual for us this early in the season. The freeze put an end to some of the blooms I had intended to include in my post.

Things like my Cape honeysuckle which had bloomed beautifully for a few weeks. But it can't take temperatures below 30 degrees F so the blooms are faded now.  

The bees were very sorry to see it go. So were the hummingbirds. 

The almond verbena was also affected by the freeze. The large shrub was full of these sweet-smelling flowers. 

Fortunately, I had recently added a few plants for winter color. These cyclamen, for example.  

 They are unaffected by freezing temperatures.

 My winter garden wouldn't be complete without the sweet-faced pansies.

 And their smaller-bloomed cousins, the violas.

 The snapdragons add their splash of bright color to the mix.

This salvia is a recent addition as well. It was in a protected area and its blossoms survived the freeze.

The Mandarin oranges were ready for harvest and my helpful daughter picked them for me.

The Meyer lemons, though, were not ripe yet. Citrus fruits don't continue ripening after they are picked so these have to stay on the tree a bit longer. Fortunately, it seems that the temperatures didn't get so low that the fruits were damaged.

There are several clumps of chrysanthemums scattered around the garden.

 They come in various colors - like this pink.

 And this gold one.

These beautyberries also provide a bit of color in the garden. Several of my shrubs have already had their berries picked clean by the birds, but this one is still loaded.

 Autumn sage doesn't mind cold weather.

Blue plumbago does, but some of its blooms have survived. The blooms seem to get bluer as the season advances.

The purple oxalis has continued with its blooming.

In a clear sign of the season, the muscadine grapes are beginning to turn color, as are the leaves of the vine.

Our autumns usually are the briefest of seasons between our long, long summers and our very short winters and they normally don't include very much really cold weather, but the climate is changing and the norms we have come to expect in our weather are changing, too. We had a very light frost on Halloween night this year and a killing frost this week, three weeks earlier than usual. I wonder what our winter will be like.

I hope you are enjoying whatever season prevails where you are and that you and your garden are thriving. Happy Bloom Day!

Thank you, Carol of May Dreams Gardens for this monthly meme.