Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for November 2014.
Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 6a garden in central Indiana, we are experiencing that blast of cold air that the weathermen have been telling us about for days. They like to call it a polar vortex.
Back in the old days, we just called it “winter”.
Out in the garden, we finally have a sunny day after several cloudy days. The garden is frosty and in need of a gardener’s attention to finish its final preparations for winter.
But let’s not be too hasty doing the clean up. The tall sedum above looks lovely tipped by Jack Frost in the early morning. We wouldn’t see that if we had cut it all back by now.
I’ve been watching the Christmas Rose, Helleborus niger, to see if it has any flower buds yet.
I don’t see any yet, but I’m sure it’s because I didn’t stay out long enough to really look. It’s cold out there!
Inside, though, some of the house plants are blooming right on schedule, including these two Thanksgiving Cactus, Schlumbergera truncata.
I purchased this white one because the store where I buy groceries puts them right in my path and I am weak and like to buy pretty flowering plants.
I got this one from a co-worker. It’s an orange red color, perfect for fall.
I know these are both Thanksgiving cactus and not Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) because of when they bloom (around Thanksgiving time) and because their stem sections have points on them. Christmas cactus have rounded stem sections.
I rarely see true Christmas cactus plants in the stores, but I always stop and look whenever I see any them on display, just in case. If I find one, I’m buying it.
There are a few other houseplants blooming inside, including Crown of Thorns and Streptocarpella, but other than that, its a light bloom day for me as we head into the winter season of rest.
What’s blooming in your garden on this cold November day?
We’d love to have you join in for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and show us what’s blooming in your garden right now. It’s easy to participate.
Just post on your blog about what is blooming in your garden and then leave a comment below and put a link to your post in the Mr. Linky Widget. If Mr. Linky doesn’t cooperate for you, send me an email, and I’ll help you out as soon as I can.
Now, together, let’s recite the quote that started this whole bloom day business so many years ago…
“We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence
Thanks for hosting the GBBD meme again, I have never heard of a Thanksgiving cactus before, perhaps because over here we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving – my cactus was sold as a Christmas cactus, even though it is the spikey type, this is the most common type of Schlumbergera sold in Europe and they are commonly called Christmas cactus. I know now that it is a Schlumbergera truncata so thanks for the info 🙂
Jack Frost has certainly hit your garden but the Sedum looks nice with a little bit of glisten! Your Thankgiving Cactus also looks nice all in bloom. Thank you for hosting this wonderful meme Carol and a Happy GBBD to you!
Very nice houseplants! A very November gardening moment.
Your comment on the polar vortex made me giggle. It sounds much more dramatic than winter! I agree with you about not cutting back Sedum – not least because they give creatures places to hide during the polar vortex. Like Helene, I haven't seen a Thanksgiving Cactus although I suspect I inadvertently bought one for my daughter. I thought it was a bit early for Christmas! I will inspect its leaves.
Love that cactus! Growing up in New England, we called it "Christmas cactus".
We've have our first frosts, but some of my roses are still quite active. Thanks for the opportunity to share. Karen
Dear Carol, thans for hosting. Lucky for me we did not had à cold day so far! Groetjes from Holland, Hetty
I know this is not a true flower, but it is different! Thanks for hosting GBBD. Brenda
Hi Carol.
Your house plants are beautiful. Thanks for hosting GBBD,
Those grocery displays of flowering plants of any type get me. They often find their way into my cart and sit around the house looking pretty. Happy GBBD.
No signs of winter here yet Carol, so I have the opportunity to write about fuchsias in November for this month's Blooms Day. The only thing that's certain about our weather is that it'll be different to what we expect 😉
Happy Blooms Day everyone!
I have the same TG cactus as your first one, it is such a good bloomer. I had a few flowers left in my garden still this week, but we did start getting frost and cold temps Thursday. Thanks for hosting!
The frost is on the sedum! Glad you're not buried in snow at least. Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for hosting!
I do hope we get some frost here in the UK. It's drearily raining yet again and the ground is already sodden, though my camellia seems to lap it up. V pretty cactus. I'm just hopeless with pots on the windowsill, but perhaps I could get away with a cactus. Thank you for hosting.
My sedums don't look that good = way too cold here. Ugh.
I didn't know that about the Christmas cactus and Thanksgiving cactus. WIll have to take a look at mine which this year chose to bloom in the summer. It's in the greenhouse experiencing some long dark nights but its actually warmer in there than the house. Happy bloom day.
I still have a few blooms after the cold spell. Relly enjoying the cold weather.
If GBBD had been on November 13, I would have had outdoor flowers to show you. What a spectacular fall it has been, but the winter switch has now been flipped. I am so happy I read your post before posting mine, because I never knew that every "Christmas" cactus I own is actually a Thanksgiving cactus. And so is another one I bought last week. Thank you for saving me from embarrassment. RamblinwithAM.
I have a cactus beginning to bloom. I haven't seen any buds on my Hellabore, either. thanks for hosting!
You have me wondering about my own "Christmas cactus" – I'll have to check its leaves. November in Southern California is very different. Thanks, as always, for hosting GBBD, Carol!
Thanks as always for hosting Carol and a happy GBBD. There has been mention of the cold weather in the USA on our weather news over this side of the pond. We have still to experience our first frost. It's wet and mild and we are all hoping that it is not going to be a repeat of last winter. Your Thanksgiving cactus are most attractive. We do not have them named as such over here but no doubt the same plants exist. Hope that you are keeping snug and warm.
Oh dear, not another polar vortex. I hope it won't be like last year for you.
Here, we haven't had any frost yet so there are still some blooms to be found. Thanks for hosting GBBD again.
I wonder why we don't see true Christmas Cacti in the stores any more? Your post reminded me to go take pictures of my own Thanksgiving cactus to post later. This polar vortex is not my favorite thing as here in zone 8 we are fond of warmer winter temperatures! Thanks for once again hosting the party and Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Thanks som much for hosting! Have a wonderful weekend.
There's a Schlumbergera with one open bloom in my collection. Some, though they have the little points, will not open before Christmas. I just call all of them 'Jungle Cacti/Cactus/Cactuses.'
I keep looking for the old fashioned one that Mama grew. I think they're not in the trade because they're not as spectacular as the ones we see for sale.
Thank you for hosting this fun meme.
As Helene said, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving over here so mine is an Early Christmas Cactus warning me to get cracking because there's less than 6 weeks to go! In the meantime Happy GBBD … thanks for hosting x
Winter has come early here in Portland, OR. Thus I cheated and my photos were taken before the temperatures dipped and the wind roared.
We've had a couple of light frosts but not something you'd describe as Polar Vortex Like. It amazes me how they come up with such fancy names.
Nice Cactii, I particularly like the white one.
As always, thanks for hosting Carol.
We were forecasted to get our first freeze last night, so I thought I would try to capture the garden on Friday, but ran out of time and daylight. Rolling the dice paid off, no visible damage as the dip was brief, and there were plenty of blooms to photograph this morning.
Let us all hope that this winter is not like last year's, though the seers say otherwise. Happy GBBD to you Carol!
I'm always happy to participate in Bloom Day. We had our first cold spell here in Southeast Texas, zone 9a, this week, too, although, fortunately, it did not get as cold as predicted. Still 34 degrees seems might chilly to us!
TY for sponsoring GBBD! It's fun to see what gardeners all over the world are up to!
Oh well, I suppose we can expect the weather to be a bit different at this time of year, whether it's bog standard Winter or a Polar Vortex or Big Freeze – or a damp squib. I am sure we will still find some sort of bloom regardless – thank you so much for hosting the meme.
It can't be time to start looking for buds on hellebores already! Stay warm, Carol.
I didn't know about the difference between Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus, thanks for sharing it! Happy GBBD and thanks for hosting! Michele at The Salem Garden
Yes, it seems really "Christmas" cactus are only available as pass-alongs from those with old, heirloom plants.
Bloom Day is CHILLY here in Washington, DC! Stay warm…
Thanks so much for hosting again Carol. I love your photo of the frosty sedum, but have to say I'm very glad we haven't had frost here yet.
Poor you – brrr!
I sense a twin soul – I can't walk past a cool plant without bringing it home either. It truly is an addiction, but at least on Bloom Day, we get to showcase our most recent faves! Anyway, I think I mistakenly posted July's bloom day post in the link window. Tried to change it, but not sure if it worked. If not, would you mind deleting it. This is the one I wanted to post:
https://flutterandhum.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/bloom-day-november-2014/
If we didn't have a weakness for pretty flowers we wouldn't be gardeners.
Happy GBBD!
Happy Bloom day, even here in the deep south it's weirdly cold..thanks again for hosting!
Hi Carol, Your Thanksgiving Cactus are very pretty! Thank you for hosting and stay warm.
My mother used to grow Thanksgiving cactus. Or Christmas cactus. I'm not sure. They're pretty and cheery though! Thanks for hosting!
I do have a true Christmas cactus, judging by the leaves and by its bloom time, but I have one from my mother that might be a Halloween cactus, as that's when it started blooming. I think it will be done before Thanksgiving, too.
Thanks for hosting, Carol. I showed my Christmas cactus on my post, too. P. x
We are having a very pleasant fall here in Central California. We haven't had the first frost yet, but it will be here soon!
At this late hour, I managed to comment twice with the same information. Sorry. Very late overnight after Bloom Day and I won't have photos on the blog until later in the day. It has been a crazy week!
I know how insistent potted plants can be for our attention in winter. It's great to see those silky Thanksgiving cactus blooms!
Beautiful sedums, Carol. I'd leave them too! There are now so many people participating in GBBD that's it's almost impossible to know where to start. I'll be dipping in and out until December … thanks for the celebration!
Carol, I agree that your frosty sedums are beautiful. I, too, am shifting my attention to indoor blooms. My Thanksgiving cacti didn't bloom this year — too traumatized by a summer and fall of construction chaos at my house — so thanks for sharing yours. As always, thanks for hosting this monthly event. -Jean
I too am weak and buy plants that speak to me at the grocery store! I own too many African violets because of that. Thanks for the clarification between Christmas and Thanksgiving cactuses. Two of my three bloomed before Halloween this year, and the third just finished this week. I just looked at all of their stems and believe they are indeed Thanksgiving cacti! Thank you so much for hosting this party every month–I've met so many wonderful blogging friends through it!–Kimberley
Those cactus are lovely but even if i love to have them, they only flower in areas here which are cold. That is only in a very few areas. In our lowlands they don't bloom, they are scared of heat. I love more that white one, seems uncommon here in blog posts. Thanks again for hosting, i almost miss it again.
Little late joining in Carol but thankful I could. Yes winter arrived here too a bit early in the form of 8 inches of snow and frigid temps in the 20s…snowing again as I type this. I was hoping to have a few things flowering inside but alas they are not blooming yet. But I did manage a couple of vases of the last flowers before the "Vortex" hit. Happy Bloom Day!
I hope you're not too cold! It's too early for that! Thanks for hosting another GBBD!
I love Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I enjoy seeing what is going on in all the different gardens across the country. This is the time of year where there is a big difference. I love your Christmas cactus…mine is just starting to bud, but my camellias are really putting on a show this year, so I used them for GBBD. Stay warm!
I think I've broken my own record for how late my post is this month, but we've been out of town, and everything in my garden is frozen anyway. Seeing your Thanksgiving cacti made me look up to the one sitting near my computer–I didn't even notice that's almost ready to bloom, too. The grocery stores in your area know your weakness, Carol:) But I think I would fall for that pretty white cactus, too!