What's looking good in November 2016

[Beverly]

We are having unexpected rains in November and the garden is a muddy mess. No rain today (so far) and viewing the garden yielded a muddy mess with a few bright spots. The hibiscus, after a few months hiatus, is blooming. This is the first one to come out but about 10 buds are in varying stages of maturing. Also, the Queen caterpillars seem to be doing well, eating well, molting well for the most part. This is a photo of a makeshift safe house (made of a plastic coated kitchen thingy, and covered with shade screen) so they can have a safe place to sleep the day away. It is situated among three tropical milkweed plants (Asclepias c.) and you can see one tiny tot making good use of it after a hard mornings eating. The predators cruise the plants but don't pay attention to what is sitting in the middle and it has proven its worth as a safe house. The next is a closeup photo of the sleeping baby. The caterpillars can also crawl under the enclosure and sleep there. Finally, after 1 month, i see Ixora coccinea seedlings coming up. The first time i have tried to grow Ixora c. from seed. I have three coming up now, all looking nice and sturdy, they could grow from 3 to 12 feet (1 to 4 m) given enough space and assuming the ants don't eat them.

 

[Becky]

That hibiscus is beautiful - I love the colour gradient in the petals Do you know which variety it is?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

A few Purple Coneflowers remaining, but not much else.

Here's the moon last night with some Purple Coneflower seedheads.

 

[Beverly]

@JBtheExplorer interesting the last two photos, are they what is referred to as raw photos?

@Becky ... Oh, Becky, Becky, Becky you have no idea of how complex your simple question is. It has been a huge preoccupation for me since i started gardening in Mexico. Firstly, gardening is only an occupation for peasants historically and when i tell people that i have a garden (and tend it myself) they wrinkle up their noses and look at me with surprise and disgust. Only recently with the 20 something generation has the interest in gardening livened up. It is very exciting. But historically, because there has been nationwide disinterest in plants and gardens, there has also been little to no information generated. This is beginning to change now, slowly. There are indigenous names for plants, post Columbian names for plants, regional names for plants. One plant can have over a dozen different names...none of them botanical. Hibiscus is called Hibiscus, Obelisko, and Tulipani (this last one is the name for tulip also). Because i purchased this plant at a nursery here, rather than ordering seeds and growing them, knowing the variety is pretty much out of the question. I have had to create my own variety (out of my need to have one) ... I call it the Sunrise/Sunset Hibiscus but of course no one knows that but me What would you call it?

 

[DeborahJane]

@JBtheExplorer interesting the last two photos, are they what is referred to as raw photos?

@Becky ... Oh, Becky, Becky, Becky you have no idea of how complex your simple question is. It has been a huge preoccupation for me since i started gardening in Mexico. Firstly, gardening is only an occupation for peasants historically and when i tell people that i have a garden (and tend it myself) they wrinkle up their noses and look at me with surprise and disgust. Only recently with the 20 something generation has the interest in gardening livened up. It is very exciting. But historically, because there has been nationwide disinterest in plants and gardens, there has also been little to no information generated. This is beginning to change now, slowly. There are indigenous names for plants, post Columbian names for plants, regional names for plants. One plant can have over a dozen different names...none of them botanical. Hibiscus is called Hibiscus, Obelisko, and Tulipani (this last one is the name for tulip also). Because i purchased this plant at a nursery here, rather than ordering seeds and growing them, knowing the variety is pretty much out of the question. I have had to create my own variety (out of my need to have one) ... I call it the Sunrise/Sunset Hibiscus but of course no one knows that but me What would you call it?

You are one dedicated gardener Beverly. i take my hat off to you....a real lone maverick. i wish there was a face with a cowboy hat but maybe a and a and a will do.

 

[Beverly]

@DeborahJane It has truly been a fascinating journey and continues to be. You can't imagine. I spent 3 years looking for wild Aristolochias (off and on, of course) for my butterfly garden (nurseries here rarely carry native plants), knowing that some species grow wild in Colima. In my knee high rubber boots i trudged through all sorts of terrain...nothing. Then one day i was tending to the garden, pulling weeds, etc. when i came across a seedling that seemed to shout at me. "Well, well, and who are you?" i thought. The leaves were right, all i needed to know was if they were stinky. Oh yes they were stinky and i had my Aristolochia right in my own back yard...a gift from the birds or maybe the gods. It is a vine, but was happy to grow in a clumping mode. It grew fast and it grew to be huge in exactly the spot where i found it. Within a few months, there were hundreds of Polydamas Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars feeding. When i walked into the garden, which is normally quiet, i could hear them chewing from a distance. A most fascinating butterfly, tough as nails, beautiful (dressed for opera opening night), with the ugliest, sweetest caterpillars imaginable, who like to throw their food around.

 

[granjera]

We've had a minimal winter, a long spring, and a long summer. Now, in mid-November, the irises have decided to bloom again.

 

[CrazyConure]

I don't have pictures, but I bought some strawberry plants 2 days ago and they look like they are going to do very well.

 

[Becky]

I have had to create my own variety (out of my need to have one) ... I call it the Sunrise/Sunset Hibiscus but of course no one knows that but me What would you call it?

I think that's an excellent name for it! The colours remind me of a tequila sunrise

 

[Beverly]

@Becky oooh i like that name too v. tequila sunrise, much more poetic.

 

[granjera]

It hits the spot better, too.

 

[DeborahJane]

My American Honeysuckle has taken over where my Banksia Rose left off over the arch.

and it has a lovely fragrance

 

[DeborahJane]

My American Honeysuckle has taken over where my Banksia Rose left off over the arch.View attachment 15846and it has a lovely fragrance

 

[Verdun]

Salvia leucanthemum is still looking pretty good but I will soon be lifting this and dividing it. Been in flower from late June early July. This also has the bonus of nice grey foliage

 

[Verdun]

Silly me! This thread is November 2016. Will post again on more up to date thread