It's down to the nitty gritty now, those last stalwart plants that have kept on blooming in spite of lows around 20F/-6C and occasional snowflurries. You have to admire a plant such as Aster tataricus (above), which has continued to bloom even though its foliage has turned yellow. Making an encore appearance after a short break is my current favorite Campanula, 'Sarastro.'
Campanula 'Samantha' had been pushing out a couple of blooms, but the last one faded yesterday. There are only a few bracts left on the Heptacodium miconiodes,
their color intensified by the cold weather. By contrast, the mystery Mum is still blooming well.
Notice the bud at the right of the photo.
I always forget about my annuals on Bloom Day, which is very unfair of me, especially when this Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) self sows every year, making it the equivalent of a perennial.
I've had it so long I can't remember when I first sowed the seeds.
These Callibrachoas have been blooming all summer, although they are petering out.
I've paired them in a container with this sturdy pansy
and some Osteospermums, which had gotten a second wind this autumn and were blooming up a storm until the hard frost/freeze this week. The photo in the header shows the ice crystals on one of them.
In the large patio container with a Sedum is this annual Verbena.
(I lost the tag.) I don't know if I will be seeking this out again next year. It had a terrible problem with Earwigs during the warmer weather and stopped blooming completely in August when there was no rain for a couple of weeks.
And now, give it up for the hardest working plants in the garden:
Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina,'
Geranium 'Rozanne' and Phlox 'Nicky.'
As this soggy photo shows, there's still one more bud on the Phlox. All have been in bloom continuously, 'Rozanne' since June 14, the Malva since June 22, and 'Nicky' since July 5. I guess I should mention the Lamium maculatum, which has been intermittently in bloom since April.
All photos were taken yesterday and today, as it is supposed to rain/snow tomorrow. Not a bad showing for November, an even dozen blooming plants, but the gardening season is essentially over. The Galanthus elwesii are already sprouting. In the immortal words of Porky Pig, "That's all folks!"
To find all the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, use google, where Carol, of May Dreams Gardens, is your hostess.