You mean it is winter?

Everybody is shutting down, covering the gardens, mulching and mulching to protect the roots of their plants. My garden is still going strong, here in zone 9a.

We garden pretty much year around. Well, o.k., in summer we garden from the picture window. It is way too hot to spend much time outside in the summertime, but Autumn and Spring are fantastic, and Winter is also very good, as we don't often have a really hard freeze. We grow a
lot of vegetables here in the winter.

I usually have cuttings of everything I love in my garden rooting in the greenhouse over winter. Some things need to be stuck in summer, while it is hot, like hibiscus, so I do that and let them grow out over winter. Then put them in the ground or a nice big pot in the Spring.

I still have a lot that is flourishing in my garden. This little pretty is called Brazilian Buttons, and it blooms year around. It spreads, but it is so cute that I don't mind at all. It can be propagated by cuttings or seeds, and I usually have some of both on the shelf in the greenhouse in winter. Just in case.....


This plant is one that is very unusual, and I am kind of stingy about it. I have had nursery people want cuttings, but I am not generous about it. It is a firespike, but as you can see, this one is pink. HOT PINK! The only firespikes sold here are RED, which I love too, but they are common. I might be wrong to not want to see my precious pink firespike everywhere...But I do love to see it in my garden. And....I do share lavishly with my friends. Another plus about the firespike is that it blooms in deep shade. How great is that?

The firespike will freeze, but comes back reliably from the roots.


This is one of the many hibiscus in the garden. The colors range from pinks (many shades), red, orange, yellow, peach/salmon, white, and maroon. The forms range from huge and exotic, to double/ruffled, and this simple single. Foliage ranges from green-green, to blue-green, to maroon. I love all hibiscus, and the work done by breeders in recent years is astonishing.

This is also a hibiscus, an exotic. The blooms, when open will be at least 8" across, and the colors are blended. Just beautiful.


How could I possibly get along without coleus? NOT! There are many varieties of coleus, but my very favorite is 'Duck's Foot', unfortunately not shown here. This coleus is called 'Stained Glass' I think. The green one is a Kong coleus.


Esperanza is a given in my garden. I must have it. Even in our drought this summer, Esperanza never missed a beat. She bloomed, she swayed in the breezes, she got fancier and fancier, as the drought got worse. She did everything but Cha-Cha in my yard, and she was beautiful all over the county! I love her


Another staple for me is Bulbine. In Florida, they call her Bulbinella, I have been told. She blooms in orange or yellow, and she blooms just about all year, too. The orange is hardier than the yellow, but the yellow is more elegant.


In the front garden this Cat's Whiskers is going nuts. It love the cool weather of fall. It will also freeze back should we have a hard freeze, but will usually come back the following year. You may have to wait on it, as it likes for the ground to warm up a bit before it peeks out.


And this shot is of the back yard. On the other side of those cannas is our pond. It gets defoliated in winter, because so much back there is really tropical. But it does come back, and it does surprise me when it does sometimes.

So now I have put these here on November 1, what will I have to post on November 15?

Shrimp plant, roses, canna, jatropha, Christmas bells, clock vine, blue sky vine, shell pea vine, plumbago, yucca, aloe vera, ruellia, firebush, lantana and veggies. Lots of veggies!

At least, that's the plan.