My Gardens in December 2015

December was warm considering it was supposed to be winter. We still hadn’t had a really big killing frost.

The Kitchen Garden in December 2015

Sparse, but still a few things were growing in the kitchen garden in December, due to the warm weather. I have never had as much growing this late in the season before.

 Arugula, Rainbow Chard, and Leeks.

Kale ‘Redbor.’

Rainbow Chard and Dill.

Parsley...thriving!

More Parsley, Sorrel, and Garlic Chives.

Garlic Chives and Sorrel.

The Flower Garden in December 2015

Foggy mornings were somewhat common in the garden in the warmth of December.

It was warm enough for a yellow rose or two to still be blooming!

And daffodils thought it was already spring.

There was even mint still growing outside the back door – enough to make a couple mojitos.

Also outside the back door, Oregano, Thyme, and Sage, were still green – barely touched by frost at all.

But no mistake, it WAS December.

The Christmas Ferns had their fine greenery for Christmas, hence the name.

Winnie watched over the garden, as always.

I put the leftover pumpkins from Halloween and Easter out in the garden for the squirrels to munch on. Usually they devour them, but this time they really weren’t interested.

The neighbor’s cats continued to take advantage of the warmer weather.

As did my cats!

My Gardens in November of 2015

I am determined to get caught up with my garden posts!

My Kitchen Garden in November of 2015

The gravel path gets covered in leaves by November. I swear it is under there somewhere.

Puss, one of my neighbor’s cats, was still enjoying sitting on the garden bench in November since it was a warm fall.

The Alaska Nasturtium crawled its way toward the garden bench, as well.

Despite the increasingly cold weather, the flowers of the red Gift Zinnias hung on!

Kale ‘Redbor,’ with its ruffled, dark purple leaves. This is an edible kale, however it requires massaging to get it to soften up a bit before cooking.

Leaks, Rainbow Chard, Merlot Lettuce, and Arugula still looking good in November?! Was true!

My Flower Garden in November of 2015

The garden chair was still a pleasant place to sit, even this late in fall.

In this shot, the hostas were devastated by the first frost.

Behind the chair, Mr. Gnome guzzled down some fall cider outside his house.

The flower garden was a mix of browns, greens, and yellows.

Those roses, oh those roses. They just weren’t willing to give up quite yet.

The wisteria leaves put on their fall color on top of the shed.

The grass was surprisingly green for this time of the year, again due to it being warmer than usual. The silver of the sage shows we were still able to enjoy some herbs even this late in the year.

The leaves coated most of the moss in the Secret Garden.

The angel slept in a blanket of leaves in this same area.

Also in the Secret Garden, the flowers on this hydrangea turned a bright pinkish red.

Colorful leaves in front of the shed / workshop in November.

My Gardens in October of 2015

I am so behind with my garden posts that I debated on whether or not I should just leave out the rest of my photos from the end of last year. I decided that since I use this blog as a garden journal, I wanted to include them, even though they are months old at this point. So here goes it...

My Kitchen Garden in October of 2015

The garden was definitely winding down in October. The Gift Zinnias were still blooming their glorious red color, though, in the kitchen garden. I started to loose hope on my Brussels Sprouts, but I still thought the sweet potatoes might turn out ok.

I did manage to get a few Garden Salsa Peppers.

Indigo Ruby Tomatoes, at last!

A few nasturtiums hanging on.

A fall bounty of asters, Gift Zinnias, mint, Rainbow Chard, yellow Tumbling Tom Tomatoes, Doe Peppers, and Garden Salsa peppers.

The grass in the kitchen garden took on a fall glow.

Fall colors in the kitchen garden.

 My Flower Garden in October of 2015

Roses were hanging on in October. Colorblaze Lime Time Coleus added a pop of brightness to the increasingly drab-colored garden this time of the year.

Bright magenta roses with Joe Pye Weed and white Butterfly Bush.

More roses put on a last minute show.

 Sedum with dried Purple Coneflower seed-heads.

Dried Joe Pye Weed with Purple Coneflower seed-heads and the white-blooming Butterfly Bush a few weeks later.

Winnie was framed by dried Joe Pye Weed.

Pretty Aster.

These hydrangea flowers take on a pink hue in the fall.

This variety does, too.

A few weeks later they were drying up.

The other side of the back yard, basking in the warm glow of the fall sun.

The Secret Garden area in the fall.

Herbs were still at the ready by the back door - Sage and Thyme.

My bog pots, which contain my carnivorous Pitcher Plants, always look great just as it is getting too cold to leave them outside.

When I heard of our first chance of frost, I brought in all of the exposed potted plants. This is always a bit of a chore. I put them on the screened-in back porch, then have to trek them all through the house into the greenhouse, since there is no outside access to it.

My Front Porch in October of 2015

The front porch plants lasted much longer than usual last year, due to warmer weather. I still had some blooms when I decorated for Christmas! I had moved my Dragon Wing Begonias to the fern stand because they got so leggy in the hanging baskets. I replaced the baskets with yellow mums.

The giant-leafed plants are Gryphon Begonias. They got so big and dramatic by fall.

In the basket above the Gryphons – Silverdust and a red-blooming Begonia.

 No fall decorations are complete without mums.

Other Begonias and a Maindenhair Fern. I wish I could find the tag for the green Begonia with the dark red marks in the center because that one is still thriving in my greenhouse right now.