Camellia sasanqua – red

As is traditional for this time of year the red fall camellia leads the parade of things that are always in flower now.  For Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day one can see the progress of the seasons and by looking back to previous years to see how this year compares to previous years.   I find that because our weather has been so dry we actually fewer of the old favorites in flower now.  The pineapple sage is an exception as it is still flowering up a storm in the herb garden.

Pineapple Sage

It truly does smell like pineapple when you crush the leaves.

Fortunately there are some newcomers to fill in the flowering gap.  The new Mahonia that we’ve put in the extended Peony bed is a real winner.

Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’

Both flowers and foliage are exceptional.  I hope this one gets through the winter ok because it looks very nice from the kitchen window.

I gave Beth a couple of choice little daphne’s for her birthday.  Here is one of them in flower.

Daphne collina x cneorum

Of course it has the fragrance that you would expect from a daphne, but this one should only get about 15 inches high when it becomes a grown-up.

A surprising flower that came out of the Rock Garden Society seed exchange is this little Rock Cress.

Rock cress – yellow

This doesn’t match the seed package title so I’m not sure of the true identity.  It seems to be happy to flower even with frost though.

Another plant that seems to be defying the season is a very tiny Vitaliana primuliflora in the Large Trough.

Vitaliana primuliflora

Barely visible with the naked eye this one flower is way ahead of all it’s neighbors.  The whole plant is about the size of a baby’s hand.  Another name for this plant is the ‘Golden Primrose’.

My greatest flowering pleasure for the moment is coming from the greenhouse.  I walked in a few days ago to see a little Lachenalia in bloom and I hadn’t even seen it coming.

A Fall Flower surprise – Lachenalia longituba

The lachenalia was nice treat but the oxalis have been a daily bonus.  I have to thank Diana Chapman of Telos Rare Bulbs for introducing me to the wonderful world of oxalis.

Oxalis bowieii in profusion

They are frightfully easy and continually in flower.  One after another each variety has been interesting to observe as they untwist their flowers to open for the sunlight and then close at night.

Oxalis versicolor in tight bud

Oxalis versicolor in bud

Oxalis versicolor open

Oxalis flava – yellow

Oxalis purpurea ‘Skar’ in bud

Oxalis pupurea ‘Cherry’

There are more varieties to come — and they are all delightful.