The November garden is so beautiful, with a surprising number of flowers still blooming and fruits for harvesting before the snow flies! Gotta love these sunny November days!
From our 2018 November Garden:
So many flowers! Also fruits: Autumn olives, a few blackberries, lingonberries, mahonia / Oregon grape, a few native huckleberries, American highbush cranberries, barberries, the unusual strawberry tree berry (Arbetus unedo) … as well as nuts, such as hazels and acorns (which I forage nearby). The photos here are mostly flowers, but let’s not forget the roots: dandelion, burdock, mallow, madder, mashua, oca, and so many more. The summer annuals are fading fast, but perennials really shine at this time of year. I love November.
From our 2017 November Garden:
Flowers:
Fruits:
Autumn in All its Glory!
More Garden Fun:
From our 2013 November Garden:
The temperatures are dipping into the 20s, and yet… such miracles!
The Wasabi Arugula is kind of a weedy looking plant. I was intrigued by the seed packet description & so I planted it. It is wonderful! And yes! It definitely tastes like Wasabi!
I have this Mignonette growing just outside the beehives, and they *really* appreciate it! It can get quite large, so I cut it back. Good thing! It bloomed again! Great strategy for extending the bloom into the fall for the bees.
Mashua root blossoms - this plant vines up a good 15 feet high and then droops off to the side - it is amazing! And the flowers - what a pleasant surprise in cold November!
I was surprised to see these Mashua blossoms open up one cold November morning. Aren't they beautiful? Their leaves are like nasturtiums. And have you tried their roots? Delicious!
It was all I could do to keep from eating these broccoli raab blossoms!
Calendulas are so beautiful, they grow so abundantly and for so very long, and they have so many useful properties -- I can't imagine a garden without them.
These little feverfew blossoms are always so cheery! They bloom for such a long time and are great for headaches, too!
The combination of red-orange-purple and how it glows in the sun is something really special about Echinaceas, don't you think? The center design is just so precise! Love these!
The echinaceas take a long time to open up in this cooler weather, but they are still spectacular!
I love the geometry of these hollyhock buds!
Oh my! Hollyhocks just keep on blooming, too! They are a real life-saver for the bees on these cooler days in November!
Can you believe how intricate this little borage bud is? Nature is amazing!
Spectacular borage! They just keep on blooming! The bees absolutely love them!
The wonderful thing about phacelias is how much the bees love them! I was surprised that some had time to go to seed & then sprout & bloom again. A welcome sight for the bees, for sure!
Potentilla - I believe this one is called Mrs. Wilmott's, a Cinquefoil variety that grows on the outside edge of the purple asters.
The bees just love these wild geraniums! And what a welcome sight in mid-November!
Strawberry Tree blossoms
Can someone please tell me what this is? They are everywhere! But insects obviously appreciate them!
Pictured above:
- Wasabi Arugula, Mignonette, Mashua Root Blossoms
- Mashua Root blossoms, Broccoli Raab, Calendula
- Feverfew, Echinacea center, Echinacea stalks & blooms
- Hollyhock buds, Hollyhock blossom, Borage bud
- Borage blossom, Phacelia, Potentilla
- Wild Geranium, Strawberry Tree, White-flowered “weed” (can someone tell me what this is?)
What I learned:
- A LOT of things can still bloom in November, although I must say, the Mashua Roots took a hit when the temps dipped to 25.
- Some flowers, like the Phacelia, can bloom, go to seed, germinate, and bloom again before the season’s end.
- Calendula will keep on blooming and blooming and blooming – but it helps to deadhead the blossoms so it doesn’t fully go to seed.
- Borage, too, is a perpetual bloomer and very loved by the bees.
- Some plants, such as the Mignonette, which I have planted right outside one of the beehives, benefit from being cut back. In this case, I collected the seeds before they shattered – and then the plant up and bloomed again! Double bonus!