DryStoneGarden

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Bloom Day — November Reds

Iochroma coccinea

Iochroma coccinea

The blooms are a little thin for bloom day this November, but I haven’t done bloom day in a couple of months and I like to keep track of what’s blooming in the garden this late in the year. A few of the ever-bloomers like Alyssum and Blessed Calendula are going, plus several red flowers which don’t match each other all that well. The Iochrmoa coccinea has climbed up through the Spicebush and has put out several clusters of flowers. The spicebush itself has a few flowers and some buds, and the Fuchsia ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’ has foliage and flowers leaning against the spicebush too. The Iochroma doesn’t match the more pinky red of the spicebush and the fuchsia, but it is keeping its flowers carefully sequestered.

Spicebush

Spicebush

Gartenmeister Bonstedt Fuchsia

Gartenmeister Bonstedt Fuchsia

One of our California fuchsias is blooming too, in another part of the garden. We have two different seed-grown varieties of California fuchsia, and this one with grayer foliage is the better one. It has been in full bloom for more than a month; the other one, with similar soil, exposure, and watering regime put out only a few flowers and mostly just tends to look like a tumbleweed.

Caliornia fuchsia

Caliornia fuchsia

And we’ve let some of the Rocoto Peppers mature to a red color. They’re too hot for us when they get this red, but I like the look of them for this time of year; they remind me of Christmas lights.

Rocoto Pepper

Rocoto Pepper

Several other plants are in token bloom. The Indigofera still has flowers but is winding down its bloom season, some poppies are flowering, the young Arctostaphylos ‘John Dourley,’ the geraniums in the veggie garden, a couple of Sisyrinchiums, and there are a few Meadowfoam flowers doing a very light fall bloom. That’s about it, just enough to keep the hummingbird happy. My thanks, as always, to Carol at MayDreamsGardens for hosting Bloom Day. Click through for links to over a hundred bloggers showing off their blooms.

6 Responses to “Bloom Day — November Reds”

  1. November 16th, 2010 at 4:16 am

    Carol says:

    Lovely to see so much lushness in bloom and foliage. I wonder you do not have Hummingbirds overwintering there. ;>)

  2. November 16th, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    Denise says:

    I thought my Iochroma coccinea was looking stressed, and now I’m sure of it after seeing the glossy leaves of yours. Looks like quite a bit to keep the hummers happy.

  3. November 16th, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    ryan says:

    The rains do have everything pretty lush. At some point all five of these plants will go at least somewhat deciduous, but no real sign of it yet. We do get hummingbirds staying the winter, too well fed to head south.

    Our Iochroma gets a lot of water from our laundry and our outdoor shower, so it stays glossy except when the weather gets too cold.

  4. November 17th, 2010 at 7:22 am

    Gayle Madwin says:

    I like the combination of flowers and fall color in the fuchsia photo.

  5. November 17th, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    Town Mouse says:

    I have that CA Fuchsia too, it seems to be ready to take over the world ;-> Though the salmon-colored one is also doing pretty well, in case you ever want a cutting.

    Nice colors! Love the pepper!

  6. November 19th, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    lostlandscape (James) says:

    Nice reds to warm up the cooling season. I like the fuchsia you showed. I had one for years–not much fuss, and it seemed to bloom most of the time, unlike the bigger, splashier types that people pampered in hanging baskets. This one’s definitely a much more successful landscape plant.

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