I hope you're still warm and with lights, NHBabs! It's been weirdly warm here in Plymouth, with daytime temperatures in the mid-60's. They're saying this will continue for another week and then start sliding downwards to more seasonal temperatures.

Shrubs and trees are becoming more decorative.

I have several volunteer Kousa dogwoods that are beginning to color their leaves now. One of them is unusual in that it has stayed columnar and, in a good year, will turn much redder than the others.

It has two leaders and seems to be happy that way.

The leaves are smaller than the others. Here it's next to some cotoneasters with berries.

The big old osmanthus and the big old winterberry have flowers and berries, respectively. They don't photograph well from a distance, at least now when the leaves are still on the winterberry. I'll post a picture anyway to try to give an idea of the size of these trees.

Closeup is better:

Osmanthus flowers:

Winterberries:

The Zephirine Drouhin roses still occasionally open a flower:

and the Pilgrim Turkey is flying again waiting for Thanksgiving:

Claire

I have one determined phlox. I’m surprised the flowers survived our frost that killed annuals. Still waiting on Amsonia to color up and highlight the beauty berries. Claire, we’ve been very warm, too! What an interesting Kousa dogwood! Winter berries up here are now leafless.

Still waiting on some good Amsonia color. C'mon, girls! Let's get yellow! This picture shows a brown front one (not sure why it looks like its dying when it should be fine), and yellower middle one, and one in back that is still more yellow-green.

The phlox in my previous post still looks good, too. If tonight isn't its last night, tomorrow night will be for sure.

Deanna, I have an Amsonia 'Blue Ice' and it hasn't colored up at all since I planted it. I just looked it up and evidently if it is not in full sun, it won't color in the fall. I have it in my full sun bed, but I believe it is in a location where it gets shade from other plants. I'm going to have to move it. I don't have room for the larger Amsonias. I hope you get yellow on all of them.

So does that mean that snow storm we had missed you? I haven't had any living roses since we had that snow.

I heard there was snow on the outer Cape but none here. It has been an unbelievably warm November and if that continued I wouldn’t mind one bit.

it was a warm November here, too. It just turned cold the past couple of days. Yes, I think we all enjoy a little warm extension of the growing season, I just don't look forward to another winter of no precipitation like we had last year. That was not good for my garden and the person who depends on income from shoveling for us and others, had just about no work last winter.

I took these yesterday, Nov 27 while setting up Christmas lights... multiple hydrangea pushing out new growth, a vinca flower and foxglove buds. What a strange year! Southwest CT, 7a

Late flowers are always a lovely surprise, but I worry about swelling buds in the fall. You may end up without spring hydrangea flowers.

This cultivar of perennial candytuft/ Iberia sempervirens was selected for autumn bloom in addition to spring bloom and in warm falls like this one I do get bloom.

This morning the frost was beautiful before the sun cleared the trees to the east, on my car hood and roof

And on the dry hydrangea heads.

The frost was an artist at your place, NHBabs! I always feel sorry for my friends who spend the winter in Florida when I see photos like that. I think they are missing out!

The frosted windshield is lovely, NHBabs, and on the hydrangea heads too! Frosting is always a gift, like Mother Nature is hanging around with a spatula in her hand spreading frosting on the world.

I wanted to show a houseplant - pictures from November 4. This is Schlumbergera 'Christmas Fantasy' which is the last of my Christmas cacti. I think I mentioned earlier that the mice were chewing on my Christmas cacti. Plants I'd had for years were dying off. By the time I realized that the mice were probably involved, the others were gone and this one was badly gnawed on.

I covered it and it's recovering, but it still needs protection.

Schlumbergera 'Christmas Fantasy' 11/4/20 uncovered:

And this is what it really looks like in my house:

Schlumbergera 'Christmas Fantasy protected:

Claire

Claire, such a shame that your others were eaten. But your remaining one looks like the bloom will be sort of salmon colored, rather nicer than the typical screaming magenta.

I have a question for you. What type of soil do you use, one that is somewhat gritty, but more organic than a typical cactus mix? Mine needs repotting, which I will wait on until after bloom, but it has been so long thAt I cannot remember what I used last time I repotted it.

NHBabs: I ignore the "cactus" part of the name and just use whatever decent potting soil I have for the other plants. I don't remember what I used this time, but it might have been some Fafard potting soil I got locally.

I've read that drainage is critical so I probably should be adding perlite or maybe vermiculite to the potting soil.

I've been concentrating on keeping the mouse away. And then there's the question of the Clivia seed pods, which disappeared when they got ripe....

Claire

Claire, Fafard is good potting soil. I always buy a large container of perlite to mix into everything. Plants that do the best in the house, usually have a generous addition of that. I don't use vermiculite since reading that it wasn't safe to breathe, which is a shame, since I would have preferred that. Your cactus is very pretty. Will you put it in a sunny window once it opens the blooms?

5 Things to Know About Vermiculite

PM2: The cactus is in an east-facing window overlooking the deck where it spends the summer outside. The light is supplemented with two tall lamps on timers.

Plant space is limited here.

Claire