Celebrating the Survivors

For this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, the outdoor blooms are few and far between. I admit I cheated a little, and took these photos a few days ago. However, these particular plants are still in roughly these same stages today and we're having a warming trend, with winds from the southwest.

Shown above, my Mums (Chrysanthemum x. morifolium) continue to bloom, despite several rounds of frosts and freezes. They're such cheery, hardy plants.



These Fuchsias (Fuchsia 'Dark Eyes') have paused as buds, while most of their neighbors closer to the earlier cold winds have succumbed to the elements.



Lesser Calamint (Calamintha nepeta) always amazes me this time of year--frequently sporting a few tiny blooms until the weather is consistently brutal for several days. It probably helps that they're growing as a patch of groundcovers near a corner of the house.



This is a former "bloom." However, the seedheads of Sedum 'Autumn Joy' (S. spectabile) are stunning as they age to a bright mauve. They brighten the landscape in various garden locations for weeks on end.

Finally, the 'Ozawa' Allium (A. thunbergii) I celebrated recently remains regal as the blooms close and fade.

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! And thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting!

The Latest-Blooming Alliums

The garden is sleeping now, but some plants, and even blooms, are holding on to bits of color during the transition to winter. One of those plants is the late-blooming Allium (A. thunbergii), 'Ozawa.' The photo above is from earlier in the season (mid-October), but this is the latest-blooming Allium in my garden. 'Ozawa' is hardy to USDA zone 4.



It's a petite little variety, only about a foot tall, and it forms a compact clump that comes back every year, but doesn't spread much (I have two clumps). Unlike my other Alliums, this one must be caged; if not, unfortunately the rabbits will eat the buds and blooms. Although there are fewer pollinators active when it's blooming in October and November, I have seen some on it; particularly honeybees and some flies.



It's even pretty and colorful after the blooms fade and the seeds start to form. At this point, it tends to shift from a light lavender color to bright pink.

Last week, after our first snow (which is melted now), I noticed the Allium's sweet spot of color. Beyond the rabbit challenge, it's any easy addition to the garden for late-season interest.

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I hope my American friends had a Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Holidays to all in the weeks ahead!

Pick a Colorado Plant, Any Plant

At every Garden Bloggers Fling, attendees discuss which plant signifies that particular gathering and locale. It's always interesting to hear the ideas. Was it the multicolored Ice Plants (Delosperma spp.) blooming in so many of the gardens?



Or the tiny Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum spp.) and other low-growing succulent plants, which were also prevalent? These were particularly prominent in the many rock and crevice gardens in the Denver area.



The Ninebarks (Physocarpus opulifolius) were blooming: Who can argue with this beauty? But wait; this was one of the plants of the Toronto Fling, right?



The cold-hardy Agaves were happy in several gardens. (Is this A. havardiana?) Well, Agaves were also an Austin Fling plant.



Oh my gosh, the Poppies (Papaver and Eschscholzia spp.)!

















But Poppies are popular everywhere.



Maybe it was the masses of African Daisies (Osteospermum spp.).



Or the Cactuses, like this stunning, bright pink-blooming Beaver-Tail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris).



Personally, I'm always partial to delicate, but tough Astrantias (A. major).



And an all-time favorite that's native only to the Southwest U.S. and Northern Mexico is the shrub Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa). It looks different at various stages and in different lighting.







Apache Plume seedheads resemble those of Prairie Smoke (Geum troflorum); both are in the rose family.



Many people felt that Foxtail Lilies (Eremurus robustus) were the Denver Fling signature plant.



They were quite dramatic--like candelabra glowing over their garden beds.



But perhaps the signature plant of the Denver Garden Bloggers Fling was the Rocky Mountain Penstemon (P. strictus). That color, that form, those "pollinator pockets"!







How does one choose? All the Fling plants were fabulous!

Plant of the Month: Dwarf Korean Lilac

No shrub can compete with the beauty, blooms, and fragrance of the Dwarf Korean Lilac (Syringa meyeri) when it's flowering. I've posted about this one many times, and I probably will again, but it deserves to be plant of the month and I've never done that until now.

We have two of these shrubs, both of which were here when we moved to this property nearly 20 years ago. Every year, the explosion of lavender/pink flowers is one of my favorite garden events of the season, generally peaking just after the Common Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris).



No, this is not a native shrub, but it definitely has pollinator value. The bumblebees were all over it when I was taking these photos. Later, I saw a monarch butterfly on it (I was in the garden working and didn't capture the photo). I've also seen tiger swallowtails and other butterflies, honeybees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators enjoying its sweet nectar.



This year's damp, cool spring has been good to these shrubs, and they seemed to handle the extremely cold winter better than the Common Lilacs.

Dwarf Korean Lilac is hardy in USDA garden zones 3 to 7, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden. It naturally reaches a height of 5 to 7 feet, and a spread of 6 to 10 feet, but we keep ours trimmed to a much smaller width--pruning it each spring after it blooms. Although it's listed as needing full sun, both of ours thrive in partial sun.

Most winters, rabbits chew the lower branches; with snow cover, the damage is less significant. In years with heavy rabbit grazing, I simply prune the entire shrub more dramatically, and it always bounces back the next spring.



I like the statement it makes at the corner of the house. From this angle, you can't see it, but the shrub borders the driveway and a sidewalk. When you walk by, the scent is so very sweet!



My heart is happy when the Dwarf Korean Lilacs bloom.