Last of the Mohigans, I mean blooms

MUCH bigger than any other Rabiea I've ever grown, this astonishing beauty with flowers almost 3" wide greeted me on my return from Cincinnati. I hope I can determine which species it is and that it proves cold hardy (this is its first winter out in the cold here!). Our first hard frost was several weeks ago, and it's been chilly ever since at night, often dipping below freezing--this doesn't seem to mind! November 24, mind you!

Diascia integerrima 'Coral Canyon'

Davis Salman told me once he thought this was my best introduction to horticulture. I am surprised not to see it in gardens more.

Gazania linearis 'Colorado Gold'

Another of my intros--it blooms pretty much non-stop.

Escobaria vivipara

Sometimes seedpods are as pretty as flowers! This demonstrates why this is sometimes called the "nipple cactus"

Salvia greggii

This looked much better last week--dozens of flowers on my big clumps of "Autumn Sage"--which can start blooming in May some years!

Iberis sempervirens

There are a few cultivar names for the autumn re-blooming candtufts. Not sure which one this is.

Blumenbachia insignis

This of us who grow this (not many) have a love-hate relationship with it. Such delicate flowers--but the stinging hairs are a nuisance. I grew Blumenbachia hieronymi for years at Denver Botanic Gardens where it was perennial--this is a self-sowing annual. A perfect plant for masochists..

Daphne cneorum

I'm surprised we don't have more rebloom on the dozens of daphnes in the garden (I once counted over 60 taxa). But then my soil is very sandy, I water sparingly and my plants are all a tad....let's just say tough!

Galanthus elwesii v. monostrictus

 A treasured memento from Montrose--a visit I shall never forget about this time of year. I recorded it in a blog post: check it out.  Every plant seems to harbor a memory (or more).
 

Viburnum farreri 'Nanum' 

Hope this will still bloom next March! I don't think this has bloomed precociously for me before...
 

Crocus laevigatus 'Fontaneyi'

And a special treat for me was finding this--weeks after my other fall crocus were finished. I grew this species for years as a young man in Boulder. There it always bloomed between Christmas and New Year. That was a different clone than this--glad nevertheless to have this widespread Greek crocus that is found on so many of the islands. Amazing that it adapts to our high altitude steppe climate: of course much of my career has focused on demonstratng that these Mediterranean waifs have steppish hearts! 

There were other plants with flower too--such as Malephora crocea--only I was photographing when it  was in the shade and closed. Oh well, you get the drift: it may be early winter but plants are as persistent as gardeners and just want to show off!