After a chilly week and our first real touch of winter, there are still blooms in my gardens. Lucky gardener! Lucky pollinators! I live in central Austin and those supposedly in the know predicted our temperature would fall to the high 20’s by early Friday morning. Well there was no freeze for me and mine. Outlying areas received their first freeze, but much of Austin was spared–this time. To celebrate those lucky blooms, I’m joining with Carol at May Dreams Gardens for November Garden Blogger blooms.
The Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus, bloomed its signature fuchsia necklace rather late this year.
Now with colder temperatures and shorter days, the blossoms are fading on the vine.
I think my honeybees will miss this favorite nectar source.
The native Texas Craglily, Echeandia texensis, still blooms, 
…though it’s going to seed. One patch blossoms in tandem with the blue Henry Duelberg Sage, Salvia farinacea,’Henry Duelberg’.
A freeze would have quickly ended that pretty pairing.
Rock Rose, Pavonia lasiopetala, sports flowers this November and that’s unusual–they normally stop production by late October.
Heavy with seed, I’ll expect more of these lovelies in seedling form next year. Any takers?
And Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata? It just won’t quit. This most photogenic of flowers, has bloomed since September.
This is one of my two last blooming Goldeneye plants.
The Goldeneye plants in the back garden bloomed first, then set seed and were followed by others throughout my gardens, each individual plant taking turn at adding cheeriness and wildlife goodness to the world. I’m glad these hardy natives have planted themselves all over my gardens. Bees, butterflies, birds, as well as this gardener, enjoy and appreciate a long season with these pretties.
The last Frostweed, Verbesina virginica, is in flowering mode.
While most of that species are setting seed.
A few Turk’s Cap, Malvaviscus arboreus, still bloom.
Yellow Bells, Tecoma stans, ‘Esperanza’, are available for passing bees and butterflies.
Blue Mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum,
and Gregg’s Mistflower, Conoclinium greggii,
…are toward the end of their season. A true freeze will force the blue blooms into a tawny fluff, ready for dormancy.
Red Yucca, Hesperaloe parviflora, blossoms on its long bloom spike until a hard freeze.
This hasn’t been a banner year for my salvia species. They’ve bloomed, but not regularly nor as fully as usual. But they aren’t quite ready to close up shop, so bloom they will until it’s just too chilly and dark. Salvia like this red Tropical Sage, Salvia coccinea,
…and this Purple Sage, S. greggii x mycrophylla,
…and this red Autumn Sage, S. greggii,
…and another,
…and this coral Autumn Sage.
They’re determined, if not prolific.
The remains of Fall Aster, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, are tired of blooming and ready for seeding themselves.
When I thought there would be freezing temperatures, I cut the last of the fall blooms of Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea and Tropical Sage and did this:
As well, I cut a few Goldeneye and basil and did this:
I’m not much for cut flowers in the house (I much prefer a garden full of blooms), but they are nice when it’s gloomy outside. I guess November in my garden and my house is not so barren after all!
Pop on over to May Dreams Garden and enjoy a show of November blooms from all over
My Gardener Says... 
Bouquets to save blossoms from ;the freeze are always special, usually the only ones I ever cut.
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I don’t cut flowers for indoors all that often. I will say that coneflower are excellent as cut plants–they last for quite a long time. I’ve never cut the Tropical Sage before and am really happy with how they’ve fared on my kitchen table! Like you, I’d rather leave the majority of my flowers in the garden.
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You do have a lot of pretty blossoms left. We were also spared the predicted freeze. My small goldeneye has survived the deer test and now I will try it where it can grow to those gorgeous proportions yours have.
Another freeze for next week, here’s hoping it turns out to be not so much.
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Good luck with the goldeneye. I’ve so enjoyed mine; it’s one of those plants that I have to be careful with–I’d put it everywhere if I could get away with that.
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Oh yes, you are lucky. And we’re lucky, too, because we get to see your beautiful blooms! It’s snowing here. Happy bloom day!
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Brrr! We’ve warmed up and it’s drippy this weekend. I’m glad the blooms were spared, but it’s just a matter of time!
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It’s such a treat to visit your blog and see the colorful blooms. 🙂
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Glad to oblige–thanks for visiting!
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Maybe you don’t cut blooms for vases indoors very often but when you do? Such loveliness! If I have roses blooming and a heavy rain is forecast (I seem to remember that used to happen once upon a time in Texas…) I usually clip and bring them in, but most of the time I’m like you. I appreciate my flowers growing out in my garden beds, thank you!
The deer around here (perhaps in response to the colder weather?) are eating up a storm while the eating is still good. Only the re-emergence next year of whatever has made it through all the chomping and freezing will let me know if I got new plants and/or seed into the soil in time this last go-round.
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Darn deer. I do hope you have survivors. Geez, if it’s not one thing it’s another. I would imagine that some things (like your munched sumac) would return, given that it’s munched during it’s dormant time and it’s had good root establishment. Wishful thinking?
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❤ your flower arrangement. Goldeneye really is a pretty flower. One of my more tender plants in a pot did freeze. Not sure if that was a microclimate thing or if maybe the soil was too dry. As someone from the great white north I worry a wole lot less about cold temps than frosts.
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Thanks. I hate to cut flowers; I always feel like I’m stealing some nourishment from someone who needs it, but sometimes it’s a thing I do. I’m tickled that my garden didn’t get dinged at all. Even the coral vine and the basil are happily green. I’m sick of making pesto though, so, yeah, I’m done with that!
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hahhaha I know! It will sound mean but I just left the basil to its own devices. The basil is ok of course. It was a little canna that got mushy. Go figure. I am thinking it didn’t have enough water to handle the colder air — especially because the roots only had a pot rather than a whole garden of soil to moderate the temperature.
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I’m so bad with container plants. I now have only succulents and cacti, with the exception of three old bouganvillas. I wacked those back on Thursday and plunked them in the garage for winter. Done!
I’ll probably make one more batch of pesto–my basil has been so yummy this fall and my veg garden was not a resounding success, so I want to exploit *something* that I grew for consumption.
You’re not the first person I’ve heard that lost canna, and coleus too–mush apparently.
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Oh we seem to have some plants in common, despite our hot tropical climate.
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Hi Andrea! I don’t grow as many true tropicals as some gardeners in Austin, but there are certainly a variety which do well here.
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I am like you quite reluctant to pick flowers in the summer but it is a joy to find a bit of garden to bring inside in the gloomy months. Nice to see all your salvias, I am very keen on them. You have quite a few flowers that I don’ t know. All lovely, but I particularly love the Echiandia texensis, it is so dainty.
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It is nice to have fresh flowers from the garden in the darker time of year–they do cheer up the indoors. I was impressed with how many salvia you can grow. Mine haven’t done quite as well this year–something I’ll watch for this next growing season. That Echeandia is a terrific little thing–not commonly planted and it should be.
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