Happy Halloween!

 California - and all of the southern states really - have such a surreal climate for those of us raised much further north. It's already snowed in my hometown and even a bit further north here in Oakland at 37.8 degrees latitude, it's still in the mid-seventies a day from November. One thing benefiting from this mild weather is our gardens. Given the warmish weather, even with much cooler nights, plants just keep on growing and/or blooming. Which, for those of us who have diverse gardens, makes for a wonderful garden stroll this time of year.

With that in mind, here are this week's photos. They give a pictorial representation of our Indian Summer. 

A hard to find Impatiens 'Jungle Gold.' Little white and gold flowers in the autumn.

Aechmea blanchetiana Orangeade. One of my favorite bromeliads.

Yerba Buena is Satureja douglasii. This species mate is S. mimuloides. It's more of a sun lover, with lovely peach-colored flowers.

Justicia Fruit Salad. The lime green parts are the bracts. The red things sprouting from those bracts are the flowers.

Still forming - slowly - my Buddha's Hand fruit is still growing and yet to turn yellow.

Echeveria gibbiflora. This species of Echeveria takes many forms. This one is red and ruffled.

Here's my latest dwarf conifer - Chamaecyparis obtusa tetragona aurea. 'Aurea' means gold and this species is meant to acquire strong gold colors.

Another of my many Chamaecyparis, this C. lawsoniana Van Pelt's Blue was I think the very first dwarf conifer I brought home, now about 8 years ago.

Adenanthos sericeus, better known as Wooly bush. Gets 6-8' tall said the label. Right. Mine is now about 15' tall. No complaints from me.

Although Lepechinia hastata is the most widely available of the Pitcher sages, this L. bella has the most exquisite blue flowers.

The bromeliad in the front center is Neoregelia Green Apple x Olens cv Vulcan. Long name for a small guy but I do love the green apple color and the red tips.

Polystichum polyblepharum. That's quite a mouthful so you can call it Japanese Lace fern. Lovely.

Asclepias cancellata.I did have a nice fat caterpillar on this milkweed but haven't seen him lately. I did accidentally capture a spider on the prowl here though.

Darwinia taxifolia. The new (or winter?) growth is emerging pink. Curious.

Leucospermum Veldfire. Though it hasn't begun blooming, I just like the form and look of it now.

I decided to try my Aechmea Pepita in the crevice of this fir tree. We'll see how it does.

Cistus McGuire's Gold. Finally a photo that shows off its golden tones.

Driveways bed. I've planted a host of dry garden plants in the front portion of our driveways bed. Succulents, aloes, yuccas, agaves and more. So far, so good.

Correa species Orange. That's how this Australian Fuchsia came labelled. It does indeed have pinkish-orange flowers and right now, lots of them!

Vigna caracalla, better known as Snail vine, is a vigorous climber with corkscrew flowers that, yes, do resemble snails. Lavender and white, they are also sweetly fragrant.

My little Helichrysum Lemon Licorice is just starting to spread.

Speaking of 'lemon' this is my Santolina 'Lemon Fizz.' It is most happy in its location.

My Azalea Court Jester is almost done blooming but here's one last photo showing the variation in the flower.

My Clematis Belle of Woking is a double form variety and you can see it opening up in this photo. btw, Woking is indeed a town in England.

Here's one of my dwarf conifer bowls. On the left is an Ilex (yes, not a conifer), center is Chamaecyparis Snow and to the right is a low growing Juniper.

Okay, it doesn't look like much now but my newly acquired Illicium floridanum (from UCBG) will grow quickly and eventually sprout unusual reddish-brown flowers. This plant is sometimes referred to as Florida Anise, given that the crushed leaves smell sweetly of anise.

This cutting from the garden of Ann Nichols, by way of Barbara Siegel, is as yet identified but I love its dark textured leaves.

Begonia Irene Nuss. On top of its large cane begonia leaves, this poular plant also produces some of the largest flowers in the genus.

A hard to find bromeliad, this x Vriecantarea 'Julietta' is coming along fine.

Though a bit dark, I like the way the light catches just the opening of a Rhododendron 'Sappho' flower.

I'm very excited that my Orostachys fimbriata is getting ready to flower. They produce towers like you see here, from which eventually sprout hundreds of tiny white flowers.

Here's my latest dwarf conifer - Abies koreana Aureum. Abies is the botanical designation for fir trees, 'koreana' must mean 'coming from Korea' and the Aureum refers to its golden foliage. Should I ever be lucky enough to have it produce fir cones, those are a vivid purple!

Lastly, though they are very small, those vivid robins egg blue flowers belong to Salvia bullulata Light Form.

Summer after Fall

 No need to expand on the subject line; we often get our nicest weather in late September through mid-November. A bit cool in the morning but then lovely blue skies and pleasant to warm weather. I always think, tell your out of state friends to visit in early November. It's likely really cold if not wintry already in their home state and meanwhile it's a balmy 70 degrees here. If that doesn't make them want to move here then I guess they're not meant to.

Our gardens also benefit from this extended summer, with certain plants continuing to bloom well into December. Today's photos somewhat mirror that situation, with much still in bloom in my late October garden. Meanwhile, a wicked cold front is moving down the east coast. Okay, then, here are this week's photos. 

For some reason my usually spring blooming Clematis Belle of Woking is blooming in October. Must be the warmth. Then again, there are a few clematis that are repeat bloomers.

Dianthus seem to bloom nearly round in the milder areas of the Bay Area. They are incredibly hardy, toughing out winter temps.

There are summer blooming Oxalis and there are winter blooming types. Here's one of the winter types, O. triangularis. Hailing from South America, it is one of the hardiest of all Oxalis species.

Though not yet in bloom, my new Erythrina crista-galli, curiously known as Cockspur Coral tree, is putting out a healthy set of leaves. This is my second attempt at growing it. If it can make it through the colder climes at Ruth Bancroft Garden, it should be fine here in Oakland.

Speaking of confused, this newly arrived and potted lily has put out its first flower. It too must be confusing the warm weather for spring.

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Barry's Silver.' One of my favorite dwarf conifers.

Eriogonum crocatum. One of the most silver of all the California buckwheats. Sweet!

Another usually spring-blooming Clematis, this C. Niobe is eager to show off its velvety rich burgundy color.

Blue Bear's Paw fern. One of my favorite ferns.

This new addition to my Begonia collection is called 'Frosty.' You can see why, with its silvery sheen.

Pelargonium Fireworks Red and White. A reliable bloomer and one of many red-flowering plants in bloom in my garden these days.

Here's another red bloomer - Salvia regla 'Huntington Gardens.' This sage also has fragrant foliage.

Mina Lobata vine has a neat trick, with flowers opening a vivid red, then aging through orange, yellow and white.

My Rudbeckia Indian Summer keeps on flushing out large golden flowers with chocolate centers.

Most of my Mimulus varieties are also in bloom. Here's my M. Jelly Bean Gold.

I had to temporarily move my Neoregelia Orange Splendor into the shade, whereupon it lost its color, reverting to all green. But back in the sun for only 3 weeks, it's already reclaimed most of its dark red tone.

Perhaps the reddest flower in my garden, Ruellia elegans is the very embodiment of vibrant red color!

I recently did my first order with Kartuz Greenhouse in Southern California. They specialize in Begonias and semi-tropical plants. Here's one of the latter - Breynia disticha Minima. As the variety name implies, it stays small. Love the delicate and variegated leaves.

Billbergia 'Halleluja.' This is the most reliable bloomer of my large collection of bromeliads. It has 3 open flower spikes right now, with two more coming on. Spectacular!