November 2010 Bloom Day: The Fat Lady Has Taken The Stage

Diascia

but she's not singing yet.  Indian summer ended Friday, and the wild winds that speeded its departure reduced the trees to bare skeletons.  There have been frosts and freezes, and yet a few sturdy plants keep going in spite of it all.  I don't usually show annuals for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, but I figure, if a plant is willing to bloom now,  it deserves to be showcased.  So here are the annuals:

Antirrhinum species

snapdragons are known for their cold-hardiness, which is why I planted one in a container this year. There were more, but the lack of rain did them in.

In a surprising performance, a petunia is still spitting out a few blooms.

I showed this petunia last month. It has become more purple in the colder weather.

Sweet alyssum is more like a perennial in my garden, self-sowing and frothing over the Nanoprairie's edge reliably every year.

Lobularia maritima

I really don't care that it's not a native plant, or that it might look slightly out of place here. It's still blooming, and that's good enough for me.

Behind the sweet alyssum is the very last bloom of the asters and ex-asters.

Symphyotrichum laeve 'Bluebird'

'Bluebird' smooth blue ex-aster is now more noticeable for its fantastic fall foliage color.

Behind the ex-asters and grasses, Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' is still chugging away.

There are fewer flowers and the foliage has seen better days.

Geranium 'Blogold' (Blue Sunrise) is winding down,

but the incredible Geranium 'Bob's Blunder' hasn't skipped a beat.

I even cut some of it to use in an arrangement for a gallery reception at the library Friday.

Also still in fine form is the Korean mum, 'Sheffield'.

It would look even better if the cucumber beetles hadn't returned during last week's warm spell.  Look closely at the upper left corner and you'll see the foliage of the mum is beginning to turn.

Finally, not a bloom, but worthy of inclusion, the calyxes of Heptacodium miconiodes are fading away.

The show is nearly over, and I'm not quite ready for the snow to fly, but it won't be long now.  The fat lady is taking a deep breath.

If you want to see blooms in their prime, visit Carol, at May Dreams Gardens, where bloggers from more southerly climes will undoubtedly post links to their pictures of them.