The Garden in November

It is a lovely, sunny, warm day, today.  A much welcome change from the last few days which were overcast and cool.  I took a stroll around the garden at noon, to see how things were.  The plants were happy after the recent rains and the back garden looks good, relatively speaking (I'm not showing the bare "lawn"), for the most part:

Pink Oleander

The two pink oleander trees look a bit scraggly, but they survived the drought and are blooming. 

Schefflera Berries

They almost look like grapes, at this stage, don't they?  I am going to pick some of them and plant them in a pot to see if they will grow.

Rose

Not too many of my roses survived, but those that did are trying their best to bloom again.  

Fallen Oranges

There were several more oranges that had split and fallen on the ground.  These are just three of them. 

Gazanias

I love how these gazanias have naturalized themselves in this part of the garden.  It almost looks like a meadow, doesn't it?  The ones we transplanted in the front flower bed didn't do too well and most, if not all, died.  But I am hoping that they might have self-seeded the flower bed and some of the seeds will grow.  Like this plant below, which is growing between two pavers!

Self-seeded Gazania Growing Between Pavers

Apparently, it found the ideal spot in which to grow and flower!

Lantana and Plumbago Hedge

The lantana and plumbago hedge which was cut back earlier is filling out again and flowering, much to the delight of the butterflies.

I had to wait a bit for my cell phone battery to recharge before I could take pictures of the front garden.  There are signs of things to come - some welcome:

African Daisy Seedlings

Promising new plants and flowers later on.

Paperwhites Bulbs Growing

Others, not quite so welcome:

Mushrooms

The fact that these mushrooms (and others) are growing so close to the roots of my roses is troubling, as it might mean that the roots are decaying and the plants are dying.

Another Mushroom Growing at the Base of the Rose Bush

The flower bed along the walkway to the front door is not looking too bad, with the African daisies making a ground cover:

Part of the Front Flower Bed

This portion of the bed gets some afternoon shade from the eucalyptus tree growing in the front garden.  The plumeria is leafing out nicely:

Plumeria

 I had three rose bushes growing in this flower bed, one in front of each lattice.  The one growing by the first lattice is surviving; the iceberg rose growing in front of the middle lattice seems to have died; but the red climbing rose growing in front of the third lattice is doing very well, with new leaves and several buds:

Climbing Rose

At the base of the climbing rose, there are more plants - dusty miller, African daisies, and one or two gazanias:

At the Base of the Climbing Rose

 The African daisies put on quite a show in the spring, but despite being drought tolerant, they didn't do too well in the hot summer.  Now, however, after the rains and the cooler temperatures of the past few days, they are beginning to revive.  Love the color of this African daisy:

Purple African Daisy

 But there are a few bare spots in this flower bed: 

 

Bare Spots in the Flower Bed

This is where my gardener and I planted some of the gazania plants from the back garden, earlier in the summer.  They did well for awhile, but only a few plants continue to survive (and they are not flowering, unlike the ones at the back).  I am hoping that some of their seeds fell in this bare spot and will eventually grow to cover it.  If not, I might plan a trip to the nursery and buy a few plants to fill in this space. In fact, this might be the one spot where I'll grow annual flowers purchased from the garden center on a regular basis.

The succulents we planted along the south wall are doing well:

Aeonium

 And a bit further down the wall:

Aloe

 Can't leave the front garden without showing my pomegranate tree, can I?

Pomegranate Tree

There are only five small fruits, this year, but I am happy to have them.  I will pick them later this week and keep to share with daughter when she comes down.

Pomegranates

That is this month's tour of the garden!  It is coming along, after the rain and the cooler weather.  The plan is to transform the front garden into more of a xeriscape with mostly succulents while retaining what seems to be growing well, and coaxing the back garden as much as possible.    

How is your garden coming along?  Do you live in a climate which allows year-round gardening?  Or do you have to prepare your garden for the winter?