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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

NOVEMBER IN THE GARDEN

Copper Canyon daisy, Tagetes lemmonii, is the hands down November favorite in my central Texas garden. The plant is daylight sensitive so it blooms during the fall. It is deer resistant and can withstand the fierce summer heat of Texas. For this reason it will do well on the west side of the house. I photographed this plant this morning before the 9/10" rainfall. It has spent the summer in the vegetable garden. Not the place where I really want it, but this is where I planted the young plant just before we went away in April so that it would not be stressed from lack of  watering during the heat of summer ( the vegetable beds are on a drip system).  A month later it was too big to move. As it grew larger I would brush past it as I walked down the path and the air would fill with its distinctive fragrance. I suspect this is what keeps the deer away.
I frequently put young plants next to a drip when I have to leave the garden for any length of time so I always have flowers in the vegetable beds.


My garden relies heavily on serendipity. This blanket flower and the alyssum have seeded here in the sunken garden. Both are prolific re-seeders. The air is filled with the sweet fragrance of alyssum and the bees are having a ball.



How could I evict these flowers, narrow leaf zinnias and alyssum from this bed. This summer it held peppers so there was plenty of room for these guys to grow; now they  bed alongside Nappa hakusia, tenderheart, a small chinese cabbage from Kitazawa Seed Co. I wonder if they will form a head like the picture on the seed package?


This is not grass growing here but larkspur seedlings which have just germinated. I'm going to have quite a job thinning them out. I turned over this area this summer and maybe exposed seeds from previous years. Much as I love larkspur even I find this over the top.


In front of this is a planting of Osteospermum. The seeds came from a friends garden in California. Spring is their prime flowering time but the recent cool evenings have prompted them to put out a few flowers.


The same is true of Delospermia cooperii along the edge of the pool and enjoying the cooler temperatures of fall.

This succulent has similar foliage but has red flowers.


This succulent is also in flower at the moment. It is rather annoying to purchase  a plant with a tag that says "succulent" with no further identification. Maybe someone can identify it. It is a delightful succulent to grow in a hanging pot as the fleshy leaves are long and pencil like and then it makes these interesting flowers. When enlarged the detail on the petal is interesting.


Butterfly pea, Clitoria ternatea. might have found a better place to grow than at the bottom of the steps where it is often crushed as we walk by.


Even the cross vine is enjoying the cooler evenings. 

After the rain today I have no doubt that seedlings will be popping up all over the garden, and weeds too. Work doesn't stop during the winter in Texas.
And just to show that fall is on the way in Central Texas----









12 comments:

  1. Green I am!
    Green with envy: so much growth and so much gorgeous colour in November.

    Your flowers seem to be happily doing their own thing.

    That lovely 'succulent' with goose bumps has such a brilliant colour red. A lovely post, especially on such a dreary grey and cold morning over here.

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  2. I'm really enjoying November in your garden. It's a lot more relaxing than in my garden, where I look at the roses in full flush and then think about the fifty gazillion plants I have to move and things I have to do before it freezes. ;)

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  3. Joco Light the fire, make a pot of tea, get out the gardening books and dream of spring!
    Lori- Don't be fooled. There is no time to relax here. I have been moving things into the greenhouse and setting up a watering system for them. My greenhouse and pottingshed are chocker block full of plants; Many of them are agaves from Philip's garden. Every one rooted. Plus every seed of the Hesperaloe I sowed germinated. Lots of babies to take care of for the winter. Frost is very likely this weekend!

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  4. You have a lot of red in your garden right now too. The abundance of larkspur seedlings is like a thick, shag rug. If you don't thin them, is it just survival of the fittest, or do none of them thrive?

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  5. I have never had so many before so I can't say. I imagine in a few weeks some will be growing larger than others so that is when I will thin. I just hope I don't leave all the pink ones as they are my least favorite color.

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  6. Jenny,
    Are you joking???
    I did the planning and ordering and thinking last month.

    Not that anything has arrived yet...they give themselves 28 days would you believe. It will be thick snow by the time the plants finally arrive. I swear they start growing them from seed once they have your money.


    This is the time of my hardest labour! We are making a marginal garden, or bog garden if you like.
    Endless fussing with pondliners, uprights, horticultural grit..Our garden looks like a builder's yard at the minute.

    Anyways, there is a bit of colour to cheer me up, mostly under glass, at "Odds and sods" : HERE so come and visit.

    from "pudicat" to "pettedli"to "fiven" to "trohe": they are definitely easier to spell but don't work so well.I am on the third now and hope it finally goes through.

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  7. I love how Copper Canyon Daisies look on your blog, Jenny - the safest way for me to see them!
    I had a hedge of them at the last house but now the scent makes me queasy and touching them gives me a rash!

    Oh, the larkspurs do love you - they were so wonderful in your garden last April.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    word is screntb

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  8. I believe the unidentified succulent is a Huernia macrocarpa.
    The Copper Canyon Daisies are gorgeous!
    Aiyana

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  9. Aiyana- thanks for the identification.
    Annie- Sorry about your allergy. At least you can enjoy it as long as it is far away. I on the other hand am now allergic to dark chocolate and it is killing me.
    Joco- Look forward to seeing the results of your new endeavours.

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  11. I have the same "succulent" and it's blooming as well...I forgot to post it, I frequently miss the potted wonders. I call my Copper Canyon Daisy the pride of Thanksgiving because it's always in bloom for the holiday!

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  12. It's so interesting to see how similar, yet how completely different everyone's garden seems - and how one can always learn something new. Those small chinese cabbages are beautiful! I hope that turn out just like the picture. As for larkspur, I feel your pain - and also love the stuff.

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