Thursday, November 15, 2012

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD November 2012

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' with its bright autumn foliage around our Circle Lawn.
Sedum 'Autumn Joy' with its bright autumn foliage around our Circle Lawn.

Welcome to November in Pennsylvania!

It has been a colder fall this year than what we had last year when there was a clematis blooming for GBBD... and yet, we have not had any frost like last year. I was concerned the garden would not be interesting enough for a post this month, but when I bundled up for my walk around I was pleasantly surprised! Though the leaves are all down and the bulbs have all been tucked in for winter, there are still a few florets and petals about the place.

Cherry Corner garden with vivid yellow daylily (Hemerocallis) foliage and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' around the weeping cherry tree, which gives this garden its name.
Cherry Corner garden with vivid yellow daylily (Hemerocallis) foliage and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' around the weeping cherry tree, which gives this garden its name.
The Circle Lawn is just behind Cherry Corner garden and has a hedge of Sedum 'Autumn Joy' around it also. These two stands help to give this area some coherence because your eye naturally connects each one to the other.
The Circle Lawn is just behind Cherry Corner garden and has a hedge of Sedum 'Autumn Joy' around it also. These two stands help to give this area some coherence because your eye naturally connects each one to the other.
A few brave yellow foxgloves, Digitalis grandiflora, still out in the cold.
A few brave yellow foxgloves still out in the cold (Digitalis grandiflora). Our days are now quite chilly, down in the 30's and 40's F (-1 to 7 C).
The little white flowers in the Driveway Garden are not flowers at all, but seeds from my favorite native flat-topped aster, Doellingeria umbellata. Everything is admittedly a bit of a mess at this time of year, with the wind and leaves blowing about.
The little white flowers in the Driveway Garden are not flowers at all, but seeds from my favorite native flat-topped aster, Doellingeria umbellata. Everything is admittedly a bit of a mess at this time of year, with the wind and leaves blowing about. But I still like appreciating the different greens and blues in this border... especially if you squint :)


This is the time of year that I begin to really appreciate Lamium maculatum. This nearly evergreen variety keeps blooming into December and starts again as the bulbs are emerging.
This is the time of year that I begin to really appreciate Lamium maculatum. This nearly evergreen variety keeps blooming into December and starts again as the bulbs are emerging. It does get a bit thuggish, but I do not mind beating it back for the sake of its ground covering qualities.
This photo gives you are better view of Lamium maculatum in the Driveway Garden to the left.
This photo gives you are better view of Lamium maculatum in the Driveway Garden to the left.
Jumping up to the Hill Garden, we have a few fading Rosa 'The Fairy' hanging on through the cold.
Jumping up to the Hill Garden, we have a few fading Rosa 'The Fairy' hanging on through the cold.
Here is the Hill Garden with the low November light going down behind it. I am pleased with the color variation in the foliage at this time of year.
Here is the Hill Garden with the low November light going down behind it. I am pleased with the color variation in the foliage at this time of year.
Rosa 'The Fairy' waiting for the snow.
Rosa 'The Fairy' waiting for the snow.
More Sedum 'Autumn Joy' set between some barberry bushes. The silvery lamb's ears (Stachys byzantine) are always nice, even in the winter months. A few Allium tuberosum seed heads are still standing in this garden, along with the coneflower.
More Sedum 'Autumn Joy' set between some barberry bushes. The silvery lamb's ears (Stachys byzantine) are always nice, even in the winter months. A few Allium tuberosum seed heads are still standing in this garden, along with the coneflower.
One last photo of Rosa 'The Fairy' for the season.
I am linked at May Dreams for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day today.

Thanks for stopping by WMG! I appreciate each and every comment that you leave. It is encouraging to garden not just for myself, but also for you all. So thank you for letting me share with you!

If you are still curious about our gardens, take a look at the garden map. You might also like to sign up by email, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest at the bottom of my blog.

Thanks again!
~Julie

30 comments:

  1. Stopping by from GBBD. I love your Rosa 'The Fairy'. I don't have a single rose bloom left in my gardens.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Jennifer! Those last flowers are like treasure, yes?
      Happy November!
      ~Julie

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  2. That rose is one tough cookie. For some reason Lamium has never thrived for me. Maybe I need to give it another try :).

    Bloom Day is a great way to force yourself out and take a good look at your garden even when you think it might not be worth the effort.

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    1. Sue,
      Definitely give the Lamium another try :) It like full sun and good drainage, so it is a good candidate for planting by a sidewalk or driveway. There are many wonderful cultivars, but my experience has been that most revert to an older variety, like the green and white stripe, that is more stable. They are lovely with bulbs in the spring!
      ~Julie

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  3. Thanks for the tour round your garden, nice to see some flowers still hanging on. We still have a few roses too and one clematis flower! Flowers at this time of year are very precious and to be enjoyed, worth going for a walk round to find them.

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    1. Glad you are able to be out and about Pauline! It is the true gardener that can appreciate all that the garden is going through at this time of year. With eyes of faith, I can see spring coming again.
      ~Julie

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  4. Also the November garden round tours are appreciated. It is so nice to see differences all over the world. Your garden looks like mine in western Europe. Temperature here about 1 to 8 degr. C. Rosa The Fairy looks the same and the Lamium maculatum, indeed at this time of year it's allowed, it's a great groundcover but behaves like a weed in my garden.

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    1. Janneke,
      Isn't it true that some of the most aggresive plants are also the best groundcovers? Finding the right spot the first time is the trick!
      ~Julie

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  5. I also have those yellow foxgloves. I really like them for partially shaded areas.

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    1. I love them too. They were breathtaking last year in fall... hoping they will do it again sometime!
      ~Julie

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  6. Love the colors in your garden. And The Fairy is just the icing on the cake. Lovely! Happy GBBBD!

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  7. You have some pretty roses in bloom. They do look like they are shivering on the vine though. The temps are dropping here tonight after the warm weather we have been having.

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    1. Definitely shivering :) Yours looked so sunny in comparison!
      ~julie

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  8. Beautiful blooms...and that vignette with the Sedum, Stachys & Barberry is sublime!

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  9. How in the world is your lamium still going strong, while mine in SC is already done? I have lazy lamium, apparently! ;-) Your photos are so lovely--with the blooms, seed heads, and roses drying on the bushes, the photos have a lovely vintage quality about them. Happy GBBD to you!

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    1. Thanks Julie! It is fun to be able to capture the many varied moments of the garden all year.

      Maybe your lamium were too dry this summer and are catching up on their moisture? You might look for blooms at Christmas time!
      ~Julie

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  10. You still have lots of color in your garden!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  11. Interesting--our gardens are very similar right now. Similar things blooming, too--Lamium, Autumn Joy Sedum. You are fortunate to have Rose blooms, too! Happy GBBD!

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  12. Happy GBBD Julie, despite the colder temperatures it is still a great pleasure to walk around the garden with you. Lots of colour and even the fading colours are truely lovely. Christina

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  13. It is amazzing what you can find when you really look at this time of year. I think GBBD makes us look at our gardens better

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  14. Julie!!! Love looking through all your photos and learning names of different flowers. :) I especially love the Rosa 'The Fairy' and the Sedum 'autumn joy'... So pretty! :)

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  15. What a beautiful garden and there's so much autumn interest! Btw, I think your header photo is stunning. gail

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    1. Thanks Gail! The blue clematis photo was one from this garden when it was only 2 years old. It is still a show stopping clematis.... I just wish I had not misplaced that tag....ugh. That is always what happens, yes?
      ~Julie

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  16. I like my Lamium too - I agree its a bit thuggish but worth the bit of effort, in my opnion. I love your use of colour and texture - makes your garden look beautiful throughout the year. Lovely!

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    1. Thanks Christine! That is a high complement from you... you know your gardens!

      I do not mind working with an aggressive plant, because it pays me back in easily and quickly covering the ground. Adding that layer is really what makes a garden look finished in my mind. Large plants have their place but they all benefit from having something around their feet. (Excepting irises which hate it, of course.)
      ~Julie

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  17. Our climates couldn't be further apart, but I always enjoy seeing how different textures and colours work together, like your driveway bed and the sedum, stachys and barberry, and sometimes wondering how it would look with sub-tropical substitutes.

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  18. Hello Julie, Lamium is a favorite of mine also, although it can be aggressive and I spend time pulling miscreants out in the spring. Have a wonderful family Thanksgiving. P. x

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  19. Wonderful photographs! It is hard to say good bye to the garden. I am amazed your lamium is still blooming. You must have had frost by now. We've had several killing frosts here in Michigan. Those last blooms of the season are precious.

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  20. Julie I think your garden is beautiful and not messy at all...so much like my garden as well with aster seedheads, sedums, lamium and roses. Happy Thanksgiving!

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