November 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Robert]

Here are a few plants that are looking good in our late November garden.



This grafted dwarf Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum, has great autumn color. The name of the variety has been forgotten.



Our local California native Polypodium calirhiza returns each autumn when temperatures cool and precipitation begins to fall. It survives best with complete dry shade during the summer.



Asarum splendens spreads around in the shady parts of our garden. The foliage is always attractive.



Like the beautiful garden scenes/photographs that Ian Young shares with us through the Bulb Log, this is a nice scene of Cyclamen hederifolium with autumn leaves. The red leaves are from Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’. This variety has beautiful crimson-red autumn leaves and grows extremely well in our Sacramento garden. Jasmin loves how the cyclamen spread around the garden, providing both flowers and foliage.



My favorite form of Cyclamen coum is getting ready to bloom. Cyclamen coum does well in our garden and provides flowers during the wintertime.

[Leena]

Very pretty autumn pictures Robert.

Here it is the same as in Norway: winter came last week and it has been now around -10C for the past week.
In my garden there is less than 1cm snow, the same is almost everywhere in the southern Finland.
It looks that the same weather type will continue at least for the next 10 days, so winter is here now.

[Robert]

Leena,

Your “winter” garden photographs are very beautiful. I enjoy the beauty of frosted plants or even a pristine sheet of winter snow over a mountain meadow. In the past we enjoyed frost in our Sacramento garden. Now the temperature rarely drops to 0 C. Last year, the temperature dropped once to 0 C, but only briefly. This light frost was not enough to severely damage even frost tender plants. So far this season, up in the Sierra Nevada Foothills at our Placerville property there has been only one night of temperatures 0 C or below, -1 C. Snow is also becoming rare at our Placerville property. 40 years ago, some snow during the winter was very common. At times the snow would be deep and linger for a week or more. Our climate has changed a great deal over the last 40 years and these climatic changes are accelerating now. Gardening requires much adaptation to keep ahead of these changes.

Today we saw the American River (near our Sacramento home) for the first time in months. Here on 1 December it is so dry one can walk across areas with sand bars that normally are submerged.

[Leena]

Our climate has changed a great deal over the last 40 years and these climatic changes are accelerating now. Gardening requires much adaptation to keep ahead of these changes.

It is the same here.
When I got my first car more than 40 years ago, I remember that we had to change to winter tires by the end of October at the latest, most often in mid October, because winter and snow came so early. Now we do it a month later, though there may be occasional icy mornings before that. On the "positive" side is that spring also comes earlier, many years almost a month earlier than before.
Here winters have become more unpredictable. Earlier it was easier on perennial plants because there was more snow and ground didn't freeze so deep. Now there are times with no snow and still very cold, or rains and ice, so planting in raised beds is even more important than before. I also use dry oak leaves to protect my most precious or possibly not so hardy plants from times when there is no snow and still cold. This is in the south of Finland, in more north there is now snow though it is also colder there.

[Robert]

Leena,

I enjoy seeing the beauty within your garden in all seasons. This is true for everyone who participates in this forum category. I find the techniques you use to evaluate new plants and protect plants from weather extremes in your garden and climate enlightening - especially the use of simple techniques such as autumn leaves to protect potentially tender plants from the cold. I look forward to more postings and comments from those that participate.