Christmas Cactus/ Today's Flowers

Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata)

I have kept this lovely Thanksgiving cactus for several years in a kitchen window.  I love it's candy cane colours but I confess I treat it badly so was surprised to see it sprouting buds, then bloom.

A white Thanksgiving cactus

This white version was a recent gift. Maybe if I treat it badly it will bloom again next year. What do you think?

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Echevaria/ Today's Flowers

Echevaria Setosa

This Mexican Firecracker Plant (Echevaria setosa) is mine for the winter. I'm babysitting it because I have a sun room and the real owner does not. I feel lucky because it's flowering NOW so I am enjoying its beauty.

The arching branch on which the blossoms flower

Echevaria are succulents so require very little water in winter especially in my sun room where the temperature may go slightly below 7°C (45°F) in the depth of winter as the room is unheated. I may have to rescue it in January and February when it gets really cold outdoors.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Smoke Bush/ Today's Flowers

Hoar frost on purple smoke bush (Cotinus Coggygria)

This purple-green smoke bush is actually a lower branch on a seedling a friend gave me a few years ago. It has grown fast! Earlier this year it had purple-pink plumes that look sort of like smoke, hence the bush's name.  Unfortunately, I did not think to take photos of them at the time so hopefully I will remember next year!

Beads  of water on purple smoke bush

I love the way water beats up on the leaves.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Northern Sea Oats/ Today's Flowers

Frost on northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

Of the grasses I grow in my gardens, northern sea oats is my favourite. It grows in a clump in sun or shade, blooming in July. But even now in November the  it looks decorative in my garden. Here the morning frost looks a lot like sugar or salt.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Raspberry Leaves/ Today's Flowers

Frost on red leaves on raspberry (Rubus) plant

In mid Autumn, the leaves on raspberry plants turn bright red. Here the morning frost looks a lot like sugar or salt.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Front Garden/ Today's Flowers

Front garden display

As freezing weather approaches my neck of the woods, garden flowers are becoming more and more scarce. As you can see, gourds (including pumpkins) are filling in for a while.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Dipladenia / Today's Flowers

Blossoms in a hanging basket I saw last summer in Port Perry, Ontario

This was a hanging basket I would have liked to have hanging from my porch.  It was a beauty.

Thank you for the correction, Xavi! It's a Dipladenia  or mandevilla!

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Virginia Creeper/Today's Flowers

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

Not a flower, true, but this time of year the leaves on Virginia creeper vines sure are colourful.

Virginia creeper is a native vine here, growing over everything in its path: rocks, bushes, fences and even up telephone poles. It's fast growing and can "creep" up to 20 feet in a year.

A young plant, which next year will likely have covered this fence

Most of the growing season  the leaves are green, but in autumn they turn a brilliant red or maroon. Older vines also have dark blue berries that are popular with some birds which disperse the seeds.

This is a plant I enjoy seeing in the wild but prefer to NOT have in my gardens...so I rip it out.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Orange Canoe/ Today's Flowers

Flowerbed in a canoe outside an art gallery, Huntsville, Ontario

What do you do when you live in Toronto's Cottage Country, there's tarmac outside your door and you want flowers? Plant your annuals in an old canoe!

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Spanish Poppies/ Today's Flowers

Spanish poppy and seed pod

This lovely Spanish poppy (Papaver rupifragum) 'Double Tangerine Gem' begins blooming in late spring,,,

Spanish poppy in foreground and bud in background

and is still blooming in my gardens now.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Aster/ Today's Flowers

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

This aster is a common wildflower in fields and along roadsides across Ontario. New England asters are so attractive they are often sold at nurseries.

Bumble bees on New England asters

 As you can see the bumblebees like them too!

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Castor Plant/ Today's Flowers

Fruit (poisonous) of the castor plant (Rincinus communis)

Considered a striking annual in  gardens here in Ontario,  castor plant is a weed in parts of the southern United States where it is a prolific perennial.  For sure, wherever it grows it's a robust plant that looks quite tropical. This particular plant has large green leaves with red veins. 

Closeup of the spiny, poisonous fruit

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Variegated Physotegia/ Today's Flowers

Variegated obedient plant or false dragonhead (Physotegia virginiana variegata)

This is another plant I love because it blooms in September. This particular variety has  variegated leaves that looks beautiful as soon as the first leaves appear in June.

Closeup of Physogegia

The reason Physotegia is commonly known as OBEDIENT plant is because you can bend the individual flowers left or right.

Hummingbirds love this plant too!

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Sunny Days/ Today's Flowers

Sunny days, chasing the clouds away...

This photo was taken a little more than a week ago! So this mosaic is posted in remembrance of a sunny, hot summer here in Ontario.

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Japanese Anemone/ Today's Flowers

Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis)

Late-blooming perennials, Japanese anemones are bright and colourful in my gardens right now.

Backside of Japanese anemone

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Wild Cucumber/ Today's Flowers

Wild Cucumber (Echinocystis lobata) aka wild balsam apple

Blooming now over most of southern Ontario, rapid-growing wild cucumber vines grow along fence lines, at the edge of woods and in lowland areas.  The fruit looks sort of like a prickly cucumber. (It's not edible, though! At least I don't believe it is.)

The green spikes to the right of the the wild cucumber  -  ahh-choo! -  are ragweed flowers (Yep those are flowers). Ragweed's pollen when blown in the wind causes hay fever.

Wild cucumber climbs up then cascades down this tree trunk

The vine grows to 5 metres (17 feet) long, covering everything in it's path

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Water Lilies/ Today's Flowers

Waterlily (Nymphaea tuberosa)

This time of year, shallow ponds and quiet waters across Ontario are dotted with waterlilies. So far I have seen no frogs on the pads, though! (Do they REALLY sit on pads?)

Here are four seen from a little further away.

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Cardinal Flowers/ Today's Flowers

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

A wildflower blooming now in wet places near Rosseau, Ontario. I've tried to grow it, but my soil is not damp enough and I don't have a pond.

Growing in shallow water along the edge of Rosseau River.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Purple Coneflowers/ Today's Flowers

Monarch butterfly on purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

This monarch is looking a little rough but is still out enjoying what it really likes - the nectar of purple coneflowers!

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Ditch Lilies/ Today's Flowers

Wild orange daylily, a.k.a. ditch lily (Hemerocallis fulva)

Beautiful...but not for most of my gardens. This wild  daylily  is invasive.  Truth be told, however, I do have a nice patch of these lilies on town property close to the road.

Beside the road between East Gwillimbury and Uxbridge, Ontario

This is how I love them best, mixed with other wildflowers beside country roads.

If you love flowers -- and who doesn't - check out Today's Flowers at http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/