"Seems like most years this doesn't happen till mid or late December"

Last year it was about the end of Nov, this year the end of Oct.
It's global warming, we're all going to freeze to death!

TOMATOES, the tomatoes look great! ;-)

Also, I'm a little further south than you are, so everything is still the same for us.

Pentas look really good....blue pea vine continues to be very pretty. Firespike! and firebush - both look great. And Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow has bloomed for the first time...looks sooo pretty.

Guess that's part of the reason I wouldn't move to the West Coast, thank you Gulfstream!!

It's 45 here this morning, supposed to go to 41 tonight and in the 40's each night this week. Really unusual for this early. Corrie, my tomatoes look fine too so far. I hope they still look fine after this week.

Beth, I guess you're right. My pentas are enjoying this cool weather so far. The purple firespike has some burnt leaves, but that may be all the wind we've had. Gingers look awful, the acalyphas are pretty sad too. My firebushes seem to have lost a lot of leaves and look kind of ugly right now, maybe the wind. However, the rondeletias (panama rose) are just starting to bloom and look good. Maybe they'll detract attention from some nearby others. Heliconias are just starting to bloom. It makes me sad that this wind/cold may make them ugly too. White candles still look pretty good but are in a more protected area.

What else looks good right now?

Ana

My cassias are still looking good, so are my hardier hibiscus, firespike, and salvias. The phillippine violets and forsythia salvia are loving this weather and blooming like crazy! My mom's reddish leave crinum is just now starting to bloom and my red maple's leaves have turned a beautiful red. The gulfcoast penstemun is also in full bloom.

All of the viola seeds that I scattered throughout the front garden are sprouting so soon I'll have a carpet of violas blooming. I love violas!

All my salvias are blooming and look great right now. My plumbago is still going strong.
My gingers and plumeria look pretty sad and I know my heliconia are not going to last much longer.
I am really worried about my coleus. They have always given me great color for the holidays. But this year I don't know if they are going to last that long.
We have a large group of family and friends that come over every Thanksgiving and I am worried that my garden is going to look pretty sad.

I have several cassia bicapsularis and are in full bloom right now.

The other really great (new) addition in my yard is the dombeya x seminole, in full bloom right now,too.

My canna tropicanna is still putting out very stunning orange blooms, I am surprised!

If you haven't seen the ornamental grasses out there, they are in full bloom now,too: the pink muhly grass,the red fountain grass,etc.

The easiest thing to do is to fill up your yard with crotons,the are full of color and all foliage so it's year round!

teeka

Karalynn and teeka, cassia bicapsularis is a great idea. I will have to think of where I can put a couple in the future. My neighbor has one that is gorgeous right now, and teeka, I remember seeing yours from your video...stunning.

Ariel, I don't know why, but I kill all my salvias. I can't grow them. Have tried several types several times. I've seen your beauties though. Maybe next spring I'll try again. Yes, my coleus is looking raggedy, and I'm worried about tonight and what that's going to do to my heliconias that are just starting to bloom.

Teeka, I do have a dombeya seminole that is just starting to bloom- nothing like yours. It doesn't get as much sun as it used to, but still very pretty.

It just goes to show that it's important to have good 'bones' in your yard to take the spotlight when other stuff gets bitten back. It's just so early, though.

Anna

Anna, I killed all the salvias too, till I got them out of full sun. With some afternoon shade or dappled light they did better for me. Being in zone 10 might make the difference about full sun.

I had to go see what was blooming,
allamanda, purple, yellow (big and small flowered), cherries jubliee, peaches and cream.

black eyed susan vine, several colors
snail vine
turks cap, white, pink and red. and small flowered red
cannas, all the colors are coming back nicely after summers heat.
tacoma, yellow, orange
powder puff, red, not white yet, darn.
stokes aster
African daisy
popcorn cassia
a baby fiddlewood
both types of potato trees
white brug
red firspike
sweet accacia
Ylang Ylang tree
Chinese perfume tree
dombeya semonial
thryalls
Phil. violet, purple, white

Anna
I can relate to you being worried. We are going to get visitors too for the Holidays and I want the yard to look nice.
The front house has the look like everybody else, the common theme was here before we arrived.
Now in the back is were everybody is different.
I have two maples and two figs that soon will lose the leaves.
It is getting cold at night.

Katkin
That sure looks like a lot of blooms. Do you recommend any of these that looks good all year round?. They don't have to flower all the time.
I will be planning a side of the yard that has full sun western exposure. Is empty now and has a white fence.

Willy

Hi Willy, I am zone 10, and don't know about your zone, but the Turks cap, Tacoma Stans, thryallis, flower all year as well as the African daisy, in full sun, as long as there's no frost. The cannas do too, but get rust in the summer and can look ratty. If they look bad enough, I just cut them down and back they come. The brugs flower off and on, but don't put them in full sun, like I did, they aren't happy there. The firespike flowers now, but has green leaves all year. Hope this helps. ;o)

Thanks Katkin, your info is going to be very useful.