![\"DSC04899\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gardenescapades.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSC04899-e1448747812140.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere is the thug hardy geranium that I mostly rooted out this year. \u00a0I\u2019ll need to tackle them again in late winter to really finish the job. \u00a0For now, this volunteer in one of the raised veggie beds is a brave delight.<\/p>\n
Here is a close up of the geranium\u2019s flower.<\/p>\n I grew the white version of borage several years ago. \u00a0Few of them remain, but this one popped up and is courageously blooming despite the cold.<\/p>\n The last hardy soul I found blooming is a mullein\u2013a flower that would easily get missed any other time of year:<\/p>\n The greenhouse has a couple of showy bloomers right now, starting with the plectranthus:<\/p>\n But the big show stopper is the masdevallia orchid:<\/p>\n This orchid has done extremely well for me in the cool greenhouse, but normal bloom time is spring. \u00a0It will throw occasional flowers other times of year. \u00a0I have four divisions of the original plant now and they all produce many flowers. \u00a0They are super easy to grow, too\u2013I just keep them moist in spring\/summer\/fall and not so much in winter, and I feed heaviest in the spring (when I remember). \u00a0They don\u2019t really seem to care\u2013they just bloom and bloom!<\/p>\n Back to outside, here are some scenes from under the red Japanese maple in the pond garden:<\/p>\n Leon\u2019s ceramic mushroom creations surrounded by the red fallen leaves. \u00a0You can see Acanthus mollis at the top of the picture.<\/p>\n The freshness and delicate nature of ferns really shows to great effect when surrounded by the fallen maple leaves. \u00a0I\u2019m pretty good at figuring out which plants are which, but I need to study my ferns for sure\u2013I have no idea which ones are which.<\/p>\n Another shot of my beloved Hakone grass\u2026this time with some autumn tints adding to the show.<\/p>\n Lastly, some fall color from a seedling\u2013something in the barberry\/mahonia family is my guess\u2013started from collected seeds from the wilds of an arboretum or someplace:<\/p>\n \n<\/p> <\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week has had some cold days (mid-40s) and even colder nights (high 20s). \u00a0I wandered around to see what might dare to bloom in this cold and snapped these pictures: Here is the thug hardy geranium that I mostly rooted out this year. \u00a0I\u2019ll need to tackle them again in late winter to really … Continue reading Frostier and Frostier<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n