Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day & Foliage Follow-Up: The Colors and Blooms of Autumn

Welcome to my November Garden!

Welcome to my Long Island autumn garden. As we all go through a worldwide pandemic and the results of a historical presidential election here in the U.S., the month of November has been anything but ordinary. I spent the first week engrossed in the activity of stress eating (lots of sweets!) and spending hours outside in the garden. Another unusual thing about this month has been the inconsistency of the season. While the daytime temperatures had been in the 50's and 60's, and we did have our first frost, several days had risen into the mid to upper 70's with a high of 76 ℉ on the 8th. Taking advantage of the warmer days, I have been getting seasonal chores done in the garden. I'll take every moment I can, since being in the garden is my passion and therapy, Come along and join me to explore some autumnal views!

Welcoming Committee

With all the stress going on, one of my favorite things to do is to visit the local nursery. I find peace and a feeling of well being just walking around and being totally surrounded by plants. On a recent visit, I bought myself this cute little bear for the front stoop. It is amazing how this new addition can provide so much joy! 

Autumn at its Peak

By the beginning to mid-November the foliage here is at its peak. Here are Skyland's Golden Oriental Spruce and Coral Bark Maple 'Sangu Kaku' in the front entrance driveway planting. The colors of the Coral Bark Maple are a fiery orange-red and seem to get more intense by the day.

Autumn Views

Here is another view. In the foreground is Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar. This one is about 20-25 years old.

Weeping Japanese Maple Autumn Foliage

On the front lawn, Weeping Japanese Maple 'Viridis' is in autumn mode. Soon just the twisted nature of the trunk and canopy will be on display for winter.

Eastern Redbud 'Lavender Twist' Autumn Foliage

Come along for a closer look up front. After much contemplating, I re-designed and renovated the front entrance planting this summer, starting with this Weeping Eastern Redbud 'Lavender Twist', which was planted in spring. I wanted the tree for its clusters of magenta buds that cover the tree in spring, but am also enjoying its autumn foliage.

Star Magnolia and Weeping Japanese Maple 'Red Select

Strolling around to the back pool garden, 'Star Magnolia' and Weeping Japanese Maple 'Red Select' are extremely vibrant in color this year.

Magnolia Buds

As you can see, the Magnolia is already setting its buds for next season.

Perennial Border November

The back perennial border is showing its fall colors with dried seed heads of Astilbe, Stachys (Lamb's Ear) and  Juniperus 'Blue Star' for a touch of evergreen color.

Stachys (Lamb's Ear) Autumn

This Lamb's Ear is a perennial that adds interest in every season. I think I prefer the foliage even more so than the spikes of pink blooms that appear in summer.

Heuchera Autumn

Did I mention that it has been an unusual fall? This Heuchera just recently set out another flower stalk with the milder temperatures.

Cherry Laurel Bloom in November

The Cherry Laurel in the back shade garden is doing the same thing with a second bloom. I'm not minding it a bit!

Nellie Stevens Holly Berries

One of my favorite things to look forward to in autumn are the berries of Nellie Steven's Holly. They will turn from yellow-orange to a bright red as time goes on.

Sky Pencil Holly Berries

The Sky Pencil Holly is showing its purplish-black berries now in November. Both evergreens attract bird visitors to the garden as the berries are a treat.

Happy Visitors

The birds enjoy the feeder too and it is a popular meeting place every morning and afternoon.

Weeping White Pine Full Sized Cones

As we head southward, you can see the very mature seed cones on the Weeping White Pine in the pool garden, The dwarf Maiden Grass is also showing its attractive plumes.

Dwarf Maiden Grass 'Yaku Jima'

Gardening Tip: Leaving grass for the winter months adds interest to the garden and protects the roots from severe cold. It is best to prune ornamental grasses back in late winter-early spring.

Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake' Autumn Bloom

Moving along to the back garden, even the 'Summer Snowflake' Viburnum is joining some of the other plants by pushing out another round of blooms...

Thanksgiving Cactus

and inside...Thanksgiving Cactus is putting on quite the show!

Thanksgiving Cactus

Another Helpful Tip: Thanksgiving Cactus have serrated, jagged edges to their leaves while Christmas Cactus leaves are more rounded. While both Thanksgiving and Christmas Cactus have elongated foliage, the foliage of Easter Cactus is more rounded-oval.

Dirty Gloves=Happy Gardener 😊

Well...back to the garden!

Thanks for Visiting!

Thank you for visiting my November garden and I hope you enjoyed your stroll. As always, I enjoy hearing from you and seeing what's going on in your garden. Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who has hosted Foliage Follow-Up for all these years, a meme I will still continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Macro Monday 2, Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday with NC Sue and Gardens Galore Link Up Party every other Monday with Everyday Living. I am also happy to join the Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays. 

~Sharing my knowledge and passion of gardening~

My Author Page and Books

A Guide to Northeastern Gardening: Journeys of a Garden Designer Zones 3-9

Landscape Design Combinations 

Dream, Garden, Grow!-Musings of a Lifetime Gardener

As Always...Happy Gardening! 😊

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2020. All rights reserved.