nature, Photography

November 8’s Friday Fleurday

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Although it’s November we still have quite a variety of flowers contributing their lovely presence to the autumn riot of colour.

These Japanese anemones are still doing well among the leaf litter.
A pretty dahlia; this one was growing in a kitchen garden.
Although the public rose garden has been put to bed for the winter, there are many matador roses around in the city parks.
Asters are always a welcome sight.
There are lots of sunflowers everywhere, too. The birds will appreciate this!
A couple of days ago I found this rhododendron bloom that was breaking its dormancy. There were additional buds on this bush that were also beginning to bloom, but another bush nearby showed no sign of “spring confusion.” I hope it goes to sleep again as it’s not time yet!

Happy Friday, happy weekend.

33 thoughts on “November 8’s Friday Fleurday”

    1. Good question, so I looked them up. There is indeed a type of rhododendron called “Autumn Joy,” but the problem is that I’ve seen this particular bush blooming in spring, too. I checked my photos to confirm that, so I did a bit of searching and learned that rhododendrons can become confused when the daylight and darkness hours are about the same and if there have also been some unusually warm days at the same time. Apparently a few buds will open in those circumstances but the rest will wait until spring. I’m going to keep checking this bush to see what it does. Cheers.

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        1. Thanks, Jude. I checked that rhododendron bush again today and saw that two buds have opened – one of them is collapsing now – and a few others leaning that way but most of the buds seem to be firmly closed.

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  5. It is amazing how long some blooms will hang on after the end of summer. We finally made it to Queen Elizabeth Park yesterday and the roses while fewer are still gorgeous. Thanks for these bright photos. Happy Friday. Allan

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    1. Thanks, Allan. I love how gently everything is slowly slipping into winter sleep. So lovely and of course very different from NWT! I’m also amazed at how well the roses are doing. There are still lots of them; so great!

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  6. It’s remarkable how much colour there still is in November, especially on the west coast. I don’t think I’ve seen a rhododendron blossom so late in the year before. You’re right, it’s not time yet!!

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    1. I believe this rhododendron bush might think it’s spring! I’ve read up about how some will start blooming when the hours of daylight roughly equal the hours of darkness and also if there’s some warmish weather at the same time. I’m going to keep an eye on it to see how far this blooming goes. Yes, we really have a lot of colour still. It’s so great. Cheers.

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        1. So that’s 32 x 48 km. The Okanagan Valley is 200 x 20 km (124 x 12 miles), so it’s very long and narrow with a depth of 232 m (765 ft) but with mountains on both sides. It’s thought by some to have the most temperate climate in Canada although I would dispute that given my experience in other areas. We love it here, though. Here’s a bit of info for you if you’re interested. https://www.hellobc.com/places-to-go/okanagan-valley/
          Cheers.

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          2. My pleasure, John, and thank you. I used to fly to LV when I was doing some flight training in Phoenix so I know it a little. There’s really good hiking on the western edge of the city at Red Rock Canyon. I remember very much enjoying that. As Wikipedia shows, there’s so much more than gambling and over-the-top partying!

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          4. Yes, I am, but retired now. I occasionally do a bit of right-seat flying for a friend’s company and then there’s recreational flying. I keep my skills up. Now and then I post an aviation picture. Cheers.

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    1. Thank you very much. 😊 I hope you’re enjoying your return, Tricia. It’s usually very temperate here in the Okanagan Valley, but I also am concerned that we’re seeing too much of this for too long.

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