It begins.
Shumard Oak, Quercus shumardii
Golden Groundsel, Packera obovata
Goldenball Leadtree, Leucaena retusa
Possumhaw Holly, Ilex decidua
Mountain Laurel, Sophora secundiflora
Texas Smoke Tree, Cotinus obovatus
Turks Cap, Malvaviscus arboreus 
Columbine, Aquilegia chrysantha
Mexican Orchid Tree, Bauhinia mexicana
Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata
The budding.
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
In keeping with my native plants manifesto, which you can read here, I’m celebrating Texas Native Plant Week by profiling some of the native plants in my own gardens. The information reflects what I’ve learned from the transformation of my traditional maintenance heavy “yard” to a no-lawn, water-wise garden, featuring beautiful Texas native plants– which were the drivers and are the stars of that metamorphosis.
Turk’s Cap, Malvaviscus arboreus, is another perennial in my gardens that I consider a “staple” plant.
Turk’s Cap was one of the first Texas natives that I loved and planted and I have it growing throughout my property–it serves an anchor perennial for most of my gardens.
The petite, scarlet and swirled hibiscus-like flowers, blooming May through October,
…herald the beginning of our long growing season here in Texas. Turk’s Cap is native to Texas and other parts of the Southeast, all the way to Mexico.
An excellent wildlife plant, it feeds bees (native and honey),
…hummingbirds, butterflies of all sorts, and birds favor the fruits in summer, fall and early winter.
The leaves are wide and tropical looking, giving plenty of room for bird poop to land on,
…and the flowers are showy and prolific.
Gosh, I love the look of this plant. But it’s huge. It can get so, so large, you’ll want to make room for it–so don’t squeeze it in. All of my established stands of Turk’s Cap are 8-10 feet across. Big ole thangs.
If you plant Turk’s Cap, you’d better like where you put it because after a few years, once it’s established, it’s hellacious (and back-breaking) to transplant. The bulbous and massive root (system) is the reason why Turk’s Cap is so hardy and drought tolerant. I don’t water several of my established groups of Turk’s Cap.
Turk’s Cap is best in shade, dappled shade, and part-shade. Yay! A beautiful perennial that is great in shade! It’s adaptable though and works in full sun–in fact, it blooms beautifully. However, the leaves flatten and darken in a way that I find unattractive, so I generally don’t plant mine in full sun–there are much better choices for planting in the blasting Texas sun. However, as a shade perennial? I just love it!
Turk’s Cap is a herbaceous perennial, meaning that it dies to the ground with a hard freeze. It will disappear in a cold winter after you’ve pruned it to the ground, so it’s a good idea to pair Turk’s Cap with evergreen growing companions. Some examples might be Columbine, Iris, holly shrubs (for example, the native Yaupon), Rock Rose, or even some of the more shade tolerant yucca plants, like this Paleleaf Yucca.
(Disclaimer: this particular part of my garden receives late morning to early afternoon summer sun, but is shaded for the remainder of the day.)
Don’t be dissuaded by Turk’s Cap going AWOL in winter. It will return quickly in early spring; tough, hardy and beautiful, Turk’s Cap will bloom and bloom during the long Texas growing season.
My Gardener Says... 