Friday, November 15, 2013

A Misty November Bloom Day

A misty rain started earlier than what was suggested. Then it misted continuously for a only a 30% chance of rain. I came home early and had a nap.





















Before dark I headed out into a misty garden to find my contribution for Carol's November Bloom Day. I wondered if the 15 degree low on Wednesday would have frozen it.

No, the native Witch Hazel, Hamamelis virginiana was still in bloom, unfazed by a slap of freezing cold.





















The stems are covered with tiny blossoms composed of thin wiry petals.





















A few more late autumn crocus have emerged and will wait for the next sunny day to open. That might not be until Monday. The dry spell is over. The weather has turned once more.





















The main and only real show for November's Bloom Day is the Witch Hazel.



























It actually shows up pretty well in the barren bones of the naked forest.





















But Gardy will need more than that to get through the winter.

The dried flowers and burgundy leaves of the Oakleaf Hydrangea are a nice contrast to the evergreen form of the clumping bamboo. The hydrangea is lasting much longer than expected and the bamboo stays green year round.

It is all the evergreens that I have been planting that will help take me through the winter's barren time in the deciduous forest. Now they just need to grow faster and gain some size.





















It was a cool and misty day on the mountain top in mid November where the native Witch hazel blooms.


9 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

The misty surrounds makes it seem quite cool. The Witch Hazel is so cheerful in the mist. Happy GBBD.

Hoehoegrow said...

What a fabulous place you live in ... even if it is cold!!The Hamamelis is a welcome little shot of colour which clearly is as tough as old boots !

Hannah said...

The native witch hazel looks enchanting. I haven't tried it. The burgundy leaves on the Hydrangea are really a beautiful color, I hadn't seen them before.

beverly said...

Glad it lost its leaves; I thought that one often hung onto them.

Christopher C. NC said...

It was quite cool Lisa. That humidity penetrates. I was feeling cold at times.

Thanks Jane. I love it up here on the mountain top.

Hannah the Oakleaf hydrangea does fall color in the leaves better than most other types.

Bev it does try to hold the leaves as it starts to bloom. They usually finish falling during bloom. When they skip a year of blooming then the leaves will hang even longer.

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Christopher C. NC said...

Thanks for the offer Liz, but I have country deer, not suburban deer and they are not a problem. They are low in number, get hunted and stick to their wild foods.

Unknown said...

Hi Chris, your property looks great. I am learning about clumping bamboo and like it a lot. I wonder if you knew which species you have? I'm looking for bambusa textilis. I wonder if you know where I might find some, or if you might have a culm or two to spare. Maybe we could work out a trade. Thank you for your time
John
Asheville

Christopher C. NC said...

Hi John, I have Fargesia rufa. The Fargesia genus has a number of very cold hardy clumping bamboos. Sorry can't help you with locating the bambusa textilis.