Mine-no-yuki

This sasanqua Camellia originated in Japan in 1891
Came to the USA in 1895 according to the American Camellia Society.
I propagated it from my old garden.
It is known as a loose peony form I call it the Thanksgiving Camellia
as it always seems to be in full bloom at that time

Mine-no-yuki translated as 'Snow on the Ridge'

In the woods a much looser form with less flowers

 Maybe because we had regular moisture all through the summer the Camellias seem more floriferous this year.

Kousa Dogwood

What a fabulous year this has been for fall color.
I do not recall this tree, Cornus kousa var. chinensis 'Milky Way', ever being so lovely in the fall.

The top leaves almost match the color of the  sasanqua Camellia 'Cleopatra' behind it.
A few Cyclamen still blooming underneath & the oak leaf Hydrangea leaves starting to turn at the side. The evergreen of the Magnolia grandiflora as a backdrop sets the scene.

Rosmarinus prostratus

I wish you could see all the bees on this fascia planting of prostrate Rosemary
in front of the 'Green Giant' Arborvitae on the gravel driveway.

Rosemary blooms all winter

is fragrant; colorful & tough

Not just for the herb garden

Makes a good hedge, container

or foundation plant

Has many cultivars  to suit your situation

Needs plenty of sun & well drained soil

Veggies

Planted this pretty Black Seeded Simpson lettuce
 in mid September on the site of a compost pile.
The frame of row cover is in place for those frosty nights.
Trying to keep the ants in the adjacent compost pile out of here

In early October planted a lettuce seed mix in this old wooden drawer

Lettuce only needs about 4 inches of soil

Just enough for leaves on sandwiches

they are oh so tender

These collards result from plants I let go to seed last winter

Over the years I have had seed of 'Asian' collards, 'Champion' collards & 'Georgia' collards

also plants of yellow cabbage collards from the Collard Shack in Ayden NC

I always let a couple of plants go to seed, collecting some and letting the others fall where they may.

I like to think this open pollination method means I have my own variety now.

Frosted!

When I returned from a few days away the garden had experienced a severe frost (27 degrees)
 It is 70 degrees this morning and I could go out in the garden to take these photos in my night dress!
The Salvia leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage)
has put on it's winter look. I love this ghostly garment standing tall in the garden.

with Autumn Joy Sedum

I try not to cut this down until spring it adds height to the circle & protects the crown of the plant from winter's variations

November Garden Fragrance

The spicy scent under the big oak turned out to be Osmanthus heterophyllus
the flowers are tiny but when so many bloom at once they pack a heady fragrance.

A sweet scent in a protected southern corner of the house was an early surprise.

Paperwhites!

In November

Not Your Mother's Marigold

Tagetes lemmonii or Mexican Marigold or Copper Canyon Daisy is a deciduous shrub for us.
Evergreen where it hails from in southern Arizona and Mexico and was named after plant collectors Sara and John Lemmon who discovered this among many plants in the 1880s. They sent seed to Asa Gray at Harvard university who named the plant after them.
It was introduced to the nursery trade from their garden in Oakland, CA.

http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=1530

At 5ft tall and wide I am always afraid the frost will get it before it blooms 
as it has only been blooming for about a week.  It has that typical Marigold scent.

Pistacia chinensis

This Chinese Pistachio tree was planted specifically
 for it's fall color in our warm climate.
Every November it never fails to please.
The sapling came from Woodlanders in Aiken SC
ten years ago. I have pruned it to try to get a nicely shaped tree.

According to Monrovia this species is often used as
root stock for it's cousin the nut producing
Pistacia vera.

An added bonus of a female tree
are these pinky/red berries
I did not know about them when I bought the tree and have never seen the flowers.

The male variety is preferred for street trees
eliminating the debris from the berries.
This easy to grow tree is a fall favorite.

Bald Cypress

Taxodium distichum the lovely Bald Cypress has started to change color .

'Tall Tails' Pennisetum in front
'Green Giant' Arborvitae to the left
sighted for morning (here) sun
& evening autumn sun
totally fabulous!

Growing in wet, including river edges and ponds
 & dry areas, even concrete islands
this fabulous native to Eastern North Carolina
will always have a place in my garden.




'Sight for light' it can make the garden so much more.

Colourful Pairings

Fall colors are everywhere in the garden

The berries of Chokecherry
  Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'

with a Camellia  sasanqua
I have never definitely identified this but
I like to think it is 'Pink Snow'
that is what the ground looks like under it.

Leaves of Crape Myrtle 'Sioux'
in front of the Golden Hinoki Cypress
Chamaecyparis obtusa  'Crippsii'

The Crape Myrtle 'Fantasy'
with Indigofera kirilowii

Crane-fly Orchid

Tipularia discolor   http://ui.uncc.edu/story/crane-fly-orchid-nature-flower

although most of the sites I checked have photos of the flower it is the leaf that I find fascinating and much more showy in my garden.
This is just starting to show up in several places in the little wood.
Mostly at the base of trees.

 I have only once seen the flowers as they are quite small and colorless
 & I don't go into the woods as much in the summer.
That is the purple back of the big leaf in the centre of this picture the front of the leaves are green and purple with raised dots. How cool is that!