Bloom Report November 2026

We’ve reached the point in the season when flowers start to fade and our attention turns to other aspects of the garden. But there are still flowers! The old faithful Aster tartaricus ‘Jindai’ is blooming in the cottage, while in the Chive Walk Nigella damascena is holding on, their intricate, true-blue flowers seemingly brighter now that it’s cool. Nearby, Lonicera periclymenum ‘Serotina’ is reblooming on the nursery fence, and the flamboyant Ipomoea lobata (sometimes called ‘Spanish Flag’) is blooming en masse on the propagation house.

But overall, the most surprising has been the Eryngium ravenellii - sometimes called ‘Swamp Rattlesnake Master’ - for its two months of continuous blooms. Each pompom-esque flower starts and ends at a different time, starting gray-white and transitioning to powder blue, and then fading to a light berry color. Relative to other Eryngium, E. ravenelli has a gracile form that blends into the background, while the flowers appear to be floating. Pollinators flock to it. We’ve all been enamored with it!

But despite the waning flowers, there is beauty abound. Willowwood is breathtaking in the autumn. Between the wild and the cultivated, the trees of Willowwood are giving the best show I’ve ever seen. My favorite is when leaves are backlit by golden light, brightening and revealing all the variations in their color. During your visit, I highly recommend taking a moment and looking up, taking in what you see and hear – it is salve for the soul!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•