Those Dazzling November Days
In the normal course of events, November is one of the two most dismal months of the year. At least, in my part of the world. An inky blackness falls by 5 PM, the leaves are dead, and a penetrating chill is in the air. (The other most dismal month is February.)
This is what November looked like in my garden last year. The poet Thomas Hood (who lived in the comparatively mild climate of England) expressed the quality of Novemberness when he wrote:
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers. no leaves, no birds –
November!
So far this year, however, it’s as if November got a personality transplant. Days that are mild or even downright warm. Â Bright blue skies with a mellow, friendly sun. Leaves still changing to their bright autumn hues, but also – flowers! Last year the ground was frozen by now – this year we’re still waiting for a hard frost.
Here’s a picture of that same spot, taken yesterday.
But that’s just the beginning. My ‘Golden Raindrops’ crabapple has a bold but cheerful green-yellow color scheme. Though admittedly, the ‘Donald Wyman’ crab in the front is completely leafless.
Here’s a closer look.
OK, I know Burning Bush (Euonymous alatus) is invasive, but we inherited this one from the former owners, and Judy won’t let me remove it. Also, as far as I can tell it doesn’t seem to be invasive in this area. But anyhow – that’s a pretty cheerful color for well into November, isn’t it?
Here’s a young Witch Hazel growing (Hamemelis virginiana) in the East Side yard. Three winters in a row it was chewed to the ground by rabbits, then I protected it with hardware cloth. Now it’s growing, and showing its thanks with some nice foliage color. Next year maybe we’ll see some flowers.
This Ginkgo Tree (Ginkgo biloba) with the brilliant golden-yellow color is a couple of blocks from my house, but I had to show it anyway. And look at that sky – that is not a November sky.
Normally my Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’) is a straw color by now. This year the color is richer with more gold and orange tones mixed in.
Here’s another couple of pictures of Switchgrass, just because I love it.
Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) doesn’t look quite so different this year, though the leaves are certainly staying green longer.
And flowers? Well, someone seems to have convinced ‘Cassie’ that it’s actually June.
Zinnias, Heleniums, and Gaillardia – like a bunch of energetic toddlers, none of them seem ready to go to sleep.
I’m trying to enjoy this suspiciously sweet November. It’s hard not to feel, though, that winter is lurking around the corner. It’s chuckling maliciously to itself, waiting for us to get completely comfortable, before hitting us with a massive blizzard and sub-zero temperatures. But perhaps not.
Has November been acting strange where you live?
gardeninacity 
Yes, it has been gloriously warm in Rochester, NY. Though a change is coming I believe.
Sooner or later, you would think, though it is over 60 degrees here today.
Yes, November is strange here too – not far south of Indianapolis. My mango colored coneflower (can’t recall the name) has five new blooms on it. The Fragrant Angel has two. I had to mow the grass yesterday. It’s strange weather – maybe it’s the new normal.
Is it ‘Mango Meadowbrite’? That’s a variety that was developed here at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
We had a very warm and dry start to our fall, then flooding. It’s cooler, but not as cool as it used to be this time of of year. Part of that is El Nino, of course, but our fall and winters come later and our summers hang around longer. Lots of pretties still in your garden, but oh, that switch grass!
It’s looking especially good this year, not sure if that is because of the warm fall.
Agree, very crazy fall here. I keep thinking everything is almost done, but then the leaves and flowers (and tomatoes) are still just hanging on. I have no idea when fall cleanup will be. Late for sure.
I know, I’m still waiting for leaves to fall. I hate to do the raking more than once, though despite my best efforts that’s what usually happens.
We’ve had a lovely autumn here in Portland, no complaints from me! So, January, where does it fall on your ugly meter? For me it’s the #1 worse month…
I’d put January 3rd, because of the Holidays afterglow. Plus in February winter is starting to feel like it has lasted forever.
very warm November over here in Berlin, too. I ferár that winter will get his hands back on us well into late spring, next year. You know, snow in May and some such nonsense…
I fear the exact same thing, though the meteorologists say we should have a mile winter because of el nino.
Ridiculously warm here in the UK too, especially at night time, no difference between the day and night temperatures, we will pay for it later!
February is a wonderful month, full of snowdrops, hellebores and the first daffodils, but then we don’t usually have any snow!
Ah, your February sounds like late March in these parts.
I agree about February being the bleakest month, November can be beautiful here, as it is at the moment, or it can be wet and grey but it isn’t usually very cold. I always love your Panicums, mine never look as good. I’d say invasive is a term that very much applies to a particular place, it depends on climate, soil conditions etc. so if your plant isn’t invasive where you are enjoy it without guilt.
Very true that “invasive” is a matter of location. Nothing is invasive everywhere. For A. allatus, I think it would be invasive in a milder, wetter climate.
We are enjoying a similar November Jason, I read yesterday that globally we are set for a 1 celsius rise in temperatures and heading towards 2. I do not want snow or freezes either but its very worrying to think where we are heading as a planet.
That worries me also. However, I try not to dwell on it unless there’s an opportunity to do something about it, like in an election.
Late summer and autumn have been the best part of the year here in the UK, it has now turned very wet although still amazingly warm. The majority of trees have dropped their leaves very quickly without a frost which I can only put down to the lack of water.
Fall here has been on the dry side, though we are supposed to get a decent rain tonight.
That ginko against the blue sky is stunning !!! we too have been having blue skies and Sunshine the past week, we even broke a record with 16 C° night temperature !!! whereas we sometimes have nightfrost in November !
So pleasant but unsettling, isn’t it?
yes it is, not only for us but for nature too ! I wonder what Winter will bring !
That is perhaps the most depressing poem about autumn that I have ever read! Isn’t Cassie beautiful? November is surprisingly warm here in Norfolk UK too. I’m still wearing a t-shirt and my sweet peas are in flower! If it wasn’t for the leaves falling from the trees, I might think it’s September.
I have some Knautia macedonica that I just noticed has started to bloom, and some Trumpet honeysuckle with flower buds. If the weather doesn’t turn very cold they will bloom also.
The outside is rather brown in color, but we haven’t even gone through an entire bag of wood pellets. Strange indeed.
Well, at least it will help folks with their heating bills.
Yes, it is strange here weather-wise. Much too warm and dry. I am not going to complain tho. Much better than the below zero, cold and blowing. The trees are dropping their leaves slowly it seems. Taking turns, such as the service berry has lost every leaf, then the Ash now the maple is slowly depositing it’s leaves on the ground. The Ash is holding on to the majority of it’s seeds too. Now that seems weird. Maybe it is waiting for a good rain. February is the dreaded month to me. Maybe El Nino will give it some life this year.
I know, February is the time when winter starts to drive me crazy. Did you get any of last night’s rain?
You’ve captured some beauty in your urban garden, it’s just lovely! As I was clearing up yesterday, and putting everything away, I thought I should be capturing some shots in the late Fall too in my garden, but alas, everything has been cleared up and put away. February is probably my worst month too, but I am trying hard to enjoy each season and embrace it 🙂
That is a noble goal, but for me difficult to achieve. I am a born grouser.
Yes, November has been beautifully different for us, too. Another bright blue sky day today, following a week or more of the same. Long may it continue!
I wouldn’t mind a mild winter myself.
Nice pictures! I especially like the picture of the northern sea oats. As we Mainers might say, this November has been wicked weird. Yesterday, it was sixty degrees, and when Clif and I were out and about, I didn’t even wear a jacket. However, this warm weather is good for those who live on a modest budget—our fuel consumption is way down.
Same thought occurred to me – mild weather is good for the pocketbook, both public and private.
The inky darkness of the day a a mere 6 PM with the skies so blue and the days so warm is unsettling. I am not sure how my forebears handled the shortening days, but I could see how migratory nomadic habit arose. I realize I would have been following the sun. The Druids no doubt used Stonehenge to tell them when to travel north or somewhere to the south. Makes me consider there might be pairs of these timekeepers!
I would like to go south, at least for a week, this coming winter. Not sure if that will happen this year.
We had a hard frost the other night, but the bees friend is *still* blooming, although I think the bees have given up for the season. I too inherited a burning bush from the previous owner of my house, and mine too does not propagate. I think mine is a dwarf variety – maybe they are sterile?
Mine has fruit, so it isn’t sterile. Drove up from Springfield yesterday, and it was much colder than Chicago. Thanks, Lake Michigan.
Invasive or not, the color of the burning bush is lovely.
I agree.
Hello Jason, Autumn is looking very good where you are! I can’t remember the last time we had a blue sky. We’ve had ay after day of the sky being overcast of cloudy and while it’s keeping the temperatures up such that we haven’t had frost yet, a little bit of sunshine wouldn’t go amiss.
I hope you get some.
Oh yes, seems we are having a similarly mild November here to yours. They recorded the highest November temperatures ever at the weekend…. somewhere in the south-east of Germany it was 25°C! My roses are producing more and more buds and the garden just doesn’t want to shut down yet. I also have that sense of foreboding though!
I just hope there isn’t a sudden hard freeze.
Yes, wacky weather, but a wonderful display. Your burning bush looks impressively tall and vivid, definitely a keeper.
I’ve pruned the burning bush to make it more columnar, so it doesn’t shade the plants at its base.
We’ve been mild too; actually the first week was hot. I’m hoping the trend continues through December.
That rose is a beauty!
Yup, I don’t have many roses but the ones I have I really like.
Yes, spring in Australia, at least in our region, is very unpredictable this year……lots of rain, and everything blossoming about two weeks earlier than usual….
Well, better early than late.
About the same here–great weather and plenty of great plants to still enjoy.
I guess we should enjoy it while it lasts.
Beautiful ginkgo photo!
An early freeze killed everything off here weeks ago and now with the autumn cleanup wrapped up I’m faced with an excess of warm planting weather…. so I bought even more bulbs 🙂
Good man! That’s what I would do.
It’s been an incredibly mild November here in the south-east UK too. Such lovely photos, Jason (Judy) and lovely to see all that colour in your garden. The Euonymus is gorgeous. My roses are still going, as are the pots of geraniums. It’s weird but great to have an extended gardening season.
Agreed. And I have to think it’s good for newly planted bulbs putting their roots down.
Glad you could foil the rabbits away from your Witch Hazel. It has a nice color. A mild November can be a treat. It’s been warm here but terribly wet. Finally yesterday there was some sunshine!
We’ve definitely had more sunshine than rain here, which is a little unusual for fall.
We’ve also had a warmer fall, but very wet. Thanks, El Nino!! You do have some nice color, though.
Thanks.
Out here in the boonies, we have had a killing frost’ so this counts as Indian Summer. Looking back on notes of previous winters, at least of few 60 degree days were always evident.
Sure, but I don’t think it’s gone below freezing here a single time.
I was just filling bird feeders outside, and I found one of my foxglove blooming! It’s crazy, but I’m not going to complain. I’d really love it if our winters got just a bit shorter 🙂 That rosebush looks pretty amazing for mid-November.
After last year, I’d like a shorter, milder winter – but only up to a point
You still have lovely autumn colour. It is mild here too with plenty of blooms, but I still don’ t like November, it is grey, cheerless, damp and drippy.
It’s usually like that here, but not this year.
I love the burning bush…a keeper for me too, and wow, just look at cassie!
We are having a similar time of it, incredibly mild temperatures and bright days, until five pm, then like you an inky darkness descends. Yesterday our weather turned with awful winds, sheet rain and much colder temperatures.xxx
We just had a cold turn but for the weekend it was mild and sunny once again. I feel like the weather is playing mind games with us poor mortals.
I know which November I prefer. The Ginko are spectacular, so yellow, who needs sunshine with that glow.
Well said.
I would have to agree that November and February are brutal….but this year November is making up for years of dark, brown drab…..thankfully I needed extra time to finish garden chores and November provided.
And now we’re expecting snow this weekend!
I keep wondering if we’re going to get that dismal November weather in December, or if we’re just going to skip November this year (okay with me) and go straight from the glories of October to the beauty of winter.
We just got hit with December weather in November, so you never know!