August 24, 2008
THE FIRST COLD NIGHTS AND FIRST FLAME-COLORED LEAVES stir a mixed well of emotions: “Thank goodness,” I think, and then, “Why can’t it last?” Frankly, I am as burned out as my garden at this point, and will be happy to be free of from twice-weekly mowing and lusty weeds. I say that, however, as someone whose best gardening season is yet to come. Some hints of it are showing already:
Various of the many viburnums here are already devoured, but V. sieboldii is partway ready for avian visitors (above), and the many smaller yellow fruits of V. dilatatum ‘Michael Dodge’ are really coloring up nicely, too (below).
Many plants have had a good fruit set because of extra-heavy rainfall, including the golden-leaved Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas ‘Aurea,’ below). The birds have taken most of them already.
My favorite large-fruited crabapple, ‘Ralph Shay’ (bottom photo) is getting ripe, and its many smaller-fruited cousins are soon to come into their own as well.
Still ahead: Dozens and dozens of shrubby winterberry hollies (Ilex verticillata), which are mostly still all green but covered in berries. They’ll rate a whole post of their own once they’re ready, once they’ve gone golden or tangerine or fire-engine red and dropped their leaves. Stay tuned on that score.
So which is it now as you look out your window: What lies ahead? Is it uh-oh, or yippee over there?
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Who's Gardening Here?
from martha to just margaret
I was so blessed to visit and document many of the nation’s finest homemade gardens for 15 years for ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ first as its garden editor and then as editorial director for the company. The list of places we were proud to publish included my own upstate New York home a few years back. Take a tour of how it looked then. Want to know more about me? Or read what Anne Raver said in June in The New York Times, calling A Way to Garden “the best (garden blog) I’d ever seen.” Adrian Higgins of The Washington Post was similarly kind. And so was Martha, on her TV show.
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Why Do You Garden?
One of the most popular questions at A Way to Garden: Why do you garden? A bunch of us answered in a stream of comments, and there's great other stuff on the Forums. Just in case you'd like to tell us why, too (or have a good read about what makes the rest of us tick).
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December Garden Chores
All based on my Zone 5B Berkshire/Hudson Valley location; adjust accordingly.
THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES: Gardeners, like their gardens, benefit from a bit of dormancy, and the time is upon us. Enjoy it. Seed-catalog season gets going in earnest later in the month, so early December is prime time to inventory leftover seeds and store them in a cool, dry place. A friend stashes his in the fridge, first sealing in zipper bags with the air squeezed out, then placing the bags in a sealed plastic box rather than have strays get lost among the yogurt and mayonnaise.
Toss those more than a few years old and make a list of what you’ll need. Not that any act of self-control stops me from ordering yet another gourd or pumpkin variety, or some oddity I simply must have or perish. My list of favoirite sources is in the right-hand sidebar of every page here.
Position your seed-shopping easy chair to point out the window, where there are still riches: berries, bark, new birds. Did you join Project Feederwatch yet?
Mole patrol continues: I am still setting out mousetraps under boxes, buckets or cans in the gardens where I see any activity, to rid them from my beds and borders.
HOUSEPLANTS
KEEP AN EYE OUT for signs of houseplant pests like spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects. If tackled before they get out of hand, nonchemical methods are usually successful: a simple shower, insecticidal soap spray (as directed on label) or with the most tenacious (like mealybugs) sometimes an alcohol swab and Q-tip. Overwatering is the biggest risk to houseplants in winter…go easy.
START A POT OF PAPERWHITES in potting soil or pebbles and water, and stagger forcing of another batch every couple of weeks for a winterlong display.
WAKE UP WELL-RESTED amaryllis bulbs by watering once, placing in a bright spot, and waiting for them to respond. If no dice in a couple of weeks, water again…but don’t repeatedly water an unresponsive bulb or it may rot. It will tell you when it’s ready for action.
TREES & SHRUBS
CLEAR TURF OR WEEDS from the area right around the trunks of fruit trees and ornamentals to reduce winter damage by rodents. Hardware cloth collars should be in place year-round as well.
BE EXTRA-VIGILANT cleaning up under fruit trees, as fallen fruit and foliage allowed to overwinter invites added troubles next season.
ALWAYS BE on the lookout for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and prune them out as discovered. This is especially important before winter arrives with its harsher weather, where weaknesses left in place invite tearing and unnecessary extra damage. Remove suckers and water sprouts, too.
VEGETABLE, FRUIT & HERBS
FLOWER GARDEN
PROTECT ROSES FROM WINTER damage by mounding up their crowns with a 6- to 12-inch layer of soil before the ground freezes. After all is frozen, add a layer of leaf mulch to further insulate.
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Brief but Juicy
ultimate garden no-no’s
WHEN SOMEONE ASKED in a comment about my point of view on using landscape fabric, the fuse was quickly lit: NO! I said. NO! I’ve rounded up some no-no’s we’ve posted collectively so far, but I bet by now there are a few more things to bitch about. Grab a lawn chair and a cold drink, and we can fester together. Sure beats weeding (which ought to be a garden no-no).
lose anything lately?
THE SAYING GOES THAT a thing of beauty is a joy forever. I guess “forever” in this case is in the mind’s eye. My darling, oldest bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) went down for the count in July, or at least half of it did, and I had already seen the death knell for a couple of my 10 crabapples. Jeez.
true love, really
LOOK, I HAVE A THING for frogs. Call it my little fetish. An issue. Whatever. My general obsession notwithstanding, I’ve finally met THE ONE FOR ME.
hail the stewartia
I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?
more, more, more clematis
WHEN I SEE ‘POLISH SPIRIT’ CLAMBERING up and through the golden Chamaecyparis in late spring-into-summer, I realize I have a serious Clematis shortage around here. Not in the Chamaecyparis, specifically, but in lots of other places where things look a little dull. I’ve got a penchant for growing vines up and over otherwise-dull shrubbery, you see.
can-do pruning
REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.
the ‘other’ peonies
JUNE WAS PEONY TIME, the big raucous kind of peony time, but just before that another kind of peony you might want to consider adopting did its subtler, wonderful thing.
which lilac to plant?
SO MANY LILACS, so little space. Browse a glossary of some of my favorites before you shop—maybe you’ll like them, too.
non-blooming peonies?
Did your peonies not cooperate—was there not a good crop of flower buds, and you don’t know why? This came up on the Forums, and here’s the dish.
twist-off ticks
I AM COMING IN everyday with at least a tick or two on me; not embedded, thankfully, so far, but it's only a matter of time. But I am prepared. Are you?
anything but forsythia
I guess I have a thing against forsythia…even though I have several specimens of it along the fringes of my property. But there are better choices for spring color among shrubs.
surprise (avian) visitors
If you make a garden for birds, or even plant a crabapple or two (or ten), you never know who’ll show up.
magnolias to love
THEY’RE MEMORIES NOW but I couldn't garden without magnolias. Want to know more about the queen of the spring-blooming trees?
order in the garden
I AM LABELING my plants, I am. As memory fades, out comes the label machine, just in the nick. Saved by the Dymo. You can be, too.
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Buried Treasure
I NOTICE THAT BLOGGING results in some rich but buried treasure: great stuff in a comment thread you may not see; interesting topics on the forums that perhaps you haven't visited.
Subjects ranging from feeding and pruning Hydrangeas and pruning clematis, to entertaining (read: ranting) lists and lists of garden no-no’s (not just mine!).
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Compost, Compost, Compost
I am as proud of my compost heap as I am of any part of my garden. It is the archaeological record of my garden past; it is the stuff from which future gardens will arise. Composting’s also a topic I read a lot about, and lately it's from sources like these: Garden Organic, a 50-year-old British charity; Journey to Forever (don’t worry, not some into-the-bunker survivalist cult); and the vast Cornell Composting web archive. Dig in.
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frost calculator
Global-warming black humor aside, gardeners need to know their frost dates—the first and the last in an “average” year—to be able to plan when to sow or transplant what. The frost-date calculator from Victory Seed Company’s website helps.
the mother list
Thanks to Tony Avent, plant hunter and proprietor of Plant Delights Nursery, for sharing the list of all lists—every horticultural link you’d need or want.
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I’m a yippee. I love summer, but I really look forward to fall in the garden. In my zone (11) it is time to get busy refurbishing the garden. October is considered the best time of year for planting so it’s time to start planning next year’s garden.
Zone WHAT? Zone WHERE? Sheila, no wonder you’re a “Yippee!” in that summertime heat. And you’re right: planning time is imminent, because great planting time (even here in Zone 5) is also about to arrive. Thanks for the reminder.
It’s yippee for me too. Hate summer. Hate it hate it hate it.
Also, I don’t like it very much.
Welcome, Mr. Subjunctive. I think I catch your drift: Summer’s not your thing, perhaps? Hope to see you here soon again.
Zone 11? I thought it was bad here in zone 8! What I’m really tired of is watering all the pots. I don’t have that many but a number have to be watered once a day. And I am now enjoying thinking about what I want to move where and what I want to buy…… As for weeds, we have them all year here, so that job never goes away, sob! I did once enjoy the Wisconsin winters where you were forced not to garden……
I’ve got to agree with mr_subjunctive on this one…
Yipppppeeeeee!!!! Yahoooooo!!!! The probability of hot, humid, stifling days is decreasing. The probability of comfortably cool sleeping temperatures is increasing. Hurray!!!!!
/krys
I can hardly believe the gardening season is starting to wind down! I saw a hugh display of Mums at Whole Foods today and I was sort of taken aback like “wow is it time, already?”
Even though I did a ton of stuff on my to-do list for the year, I still feel like there is so much left and not enough time before frost.
Fall is by far my favorite time of year. Dallas summers are way too hot to enjoy; I find myself in bunker mode, simply operating the garden on a “keep it alive” basis. Fall gives you three months of cooler weather, plantings, and growing many of the things people up north grow in the summer, like violas and lobelia and snapdragons and more.
It’s not yippee for me, or even uh-oh. It’s more like “WAAAAAHHHHH!!!” Summer is way too ephemeral for me, and winter so very long. I start feeling wistful about the fleeting season when my pink dogwood finishes flowering in May. I never seem to get enough of the peonies or poppies (especially) or lilies. True, the coneflowers and rudbeckia last quite long enough. I garden in Dutchess Co., NY (Zone 5) and also in Brooklyn (Zone 6) so maybe i’m just being greedy - but the coming of fall saddens me. I want the gardening season to last longer! Mustn’t cling, the Buddhists say. Or maybe I should just move to Zone 8?
It’s a definitely uh-oh for me. I was walking around the nursery the other day and noticed how quiet it was compare to the start of the season. I’m in zone 6, so our gardening season is really short.
Definitely a yippee. Fall, my favorite time of the year is almost here. And I just love the months of down-time that follow (starting in November) when I don’t have the constant nagging thought: “Oh, I must get to that” about weeding, watering, deadheading and mowing. Yippee again! The cosy months are coming…maybe I’ll have time to read a book.
I’m afraid I fall in the “uh-oh” camp. I love summer. I love fall, too, but it is inevitably followed by winter, which I don’t like at all. I far prefer heat to cold.
But I think we all need the dormant season in our gardens, to rest and read, and to allow us to return to that gleeful anticipation of spring.
I am a yipee. My fall and winter vegetable garden are far easier to grow than the short spring and summer sets.
Welcome to Deb (”yippee” as she prepares for easier vegetable growing), Louise (”uh-oh,” lamenting a too-short season), Cara (”waaaahhh,” but trying not to cling to things ephemeral), Krys (”yippee” as the heat subsides and sleep is easier in the cool nights). We are so glad to have you here with us. Please come again soon.
I’m in zone 4. The most lovely few weeks will be upon us soon and it’s bittersweet. I am so doggone tired from all of the work this summer I’m almost a “yippee” vote…almost…but not quite. I’m looking forward to the first fire, curling up on the couch and reading from the near toppling stack of books by my bed, listening to the snow fall. But gads, all of that winter loveliness gets old come January & February!
Farmer’s Almanac is saying it’ll be a long, cold winter this year. Get your long-johns out.
I’m a little of both… As in, yippee, no more watering the garden! But then, uh-oh, cold weather’s coming, and the flowers and veggies will (mostly) be gone. Summer was weird here in Seattle this year, much cooler and rainier than usual. I’m curious to see if my water bill went down! - Karen
This is the wettest, coldest summer we’ve ever experienced. We’ve had only 6 (yes,SIX) days of summer. I’ll explain: my definition of summer is a bit of sun and a temperature somewhere in the 70s. Twice recently, the temperature was 58 at midday. The woods around us seem happy enough; the plants on the decks seem confused - as am I. Can I regret the passage of that which I’ve never had?
I think I am a yippee. I have very fair skin and burn easily. Summer is not my favorite season. I prefer Fall and Spring. I even prefer Winter to Summer, but I live in Southern California, so Winter isn’t that bad.
i look at each season much in the same vein as one of my favorite grateful dead lyrics: “get what you come for, be ready to go.” meaning, enjoy it while it is here, then move on…to what? to enjoy it while it is here, then move on…and so it will go on just so with or without me.
Welcome, Karen. Yes, I have heard that Seattle, where some dear gardening friends live, has been wacky this summer indeed. Actually I feel like wacky=weather; more and more the two words are synonymous all over the place. Glad to have you join us.
Welcome, Chris, and thank you for interjecting the “change is the only constant” bit of reality into the conversation. You are exactly right. Love the way you express it, and hope you will visit with us soon again.
It depends on the season. When we have a perfect summer like this one (only a few over 100 degree days and plenty of rain) I am a little sad. On those years of the drought summers, I think “Woo-Hoo!!!”~~Dee
Uh oh is too mild a reaction for me. Boo hoo is more like it! Please don’t make summer come to an end! After living most of my life in beautiful, but chilly Michigan, I hold dear each precious moment of summer warmth. We are now in only slighter warmer central Ohio, where winters are cold and very dreary. I do love fall, but I know that the hated winter is waiting right behind it. I can’t bear to say goodbye to my beautiful flowers, and fresh vegetables and herbs. The houseplants I nurture all winter are a poor substitute. Give me eternal summer!
Welcome, Robin. So we have one more very passionate “nay” vote, not unlike Cara’s “WAAAAHHHH!” I count on my houseplants and many very large winter plantings that I view from key windows to tide me over (and also on the birds, whom I count for various citizen science projects all winter long). Hope to see you again soon.
Yeah, what a relief! My arms are tired.
Yippee! I would happily live in perpetual October. Those three LONG months of January, February, and March are so close on its heels, though. I must look for more things that offer winter interest. Thanks for the ideas (I’m another Zone 5′er).
I don’t want to let go of summer. Not yet anyway!!
Fall? No way. I’ll take perpetual spring.
I saw the leaves this weekend. Too soon, too soon! I’m in denial. I’m convinced it is a wide-spread leaf rust or something. Yeah, that’s it. Fingers in ears, La, La, La!
Margaret, If we could just shorten January, February, and March…. I feel sad to see summer slip away but the seasonal changes in the garden intrigue me and fall is fantastic, waiting for spring gets to me.
Welcome, Kathy Klaus. I think you are in good company among those who would gladly give back some of January and February and even March. Do stop in again soon.
Reading all these responses I wonder, does it come down to how old you are, which zone you grow in, or just your temperament? I used to love each season in its turn, but as I grow older I dread the winters more each year. This year I plan to overcompensate by planting 1,000 bulbs in my front yard. And daydream about moving to zone 7. Or maybe 8.
Dear Margaret! My first visit on your fantastic blog! Love gardening, but don’t know that much about it yet. I mostly collect material from my garden (that was there when we moved in) and from the nature around us. Love making wreaths and arrangements! I’ll be back for more :))) Hugs from Sweden, Minna : )
Welcome, Minna, all the way from Sweden. I have just made a quick trip there, to your Blomsterverkstad, and am feeling very sheepish about my own paltry attempts at flower arranging and craftiness now. Beautiful! Please do join us regularly.
Remember a while ago when you wrote about the frustration of gardening.. when things are at that ‘in-between’ stage and so forth? This time of year brings that frustration to light again. It’s been very dry, and no amount of watering seems to fulfill the needs of the beautiful gardens.. I’m ready. I’m ready for the season change. My partner David refers to my readiness for the season change as ‘retail mindset;’ always ready for the next one. It’s been a great year (especially having a fun place to share!) but it’s time for change (and cooler weather!)
Those leaves are awesome, Margaret! I’d love to press them.
My choice would be to stay right here…right between summer and fall, and enjoy the best of both.
margaret,
i look at it this way…if fall is coming, can spring be that far away? thanks for opening your garden for copake falls day. i have been inspired! also thanks for the weigela cuttings & lamium. i hope jack is enjoying the ‘kitty treats’..
denden
Guilty of “retail mindset” here. I love the new beginnings fall brings and anxiously await the arrival of the UPS truck carrying goodies from magical sources like Khems and Plants Delight scheduled for after Labor Day. I have prepared a new shade bed and another new bed in full sun ready to receive the chosen plants. I began digging and dividing existing plants yesterday for the great fall transplant fest. We’ve had a fantastic growing season and many of my plants are ready to divide and conquer. This autumn — after the rainiest summer on Cape Cod in 50 years — the show should be spectacular.
I, too, saw that smattering scattering of red and orange along the Taconic…
The mountain ash is full of red berries, and the leaves have that “dry rustle” when the breezes blow.
You can feel it and hear it—even the set of the moon tells us that autumn is on the way.
Busy, busy. Plants to divide, plants to relocate.
Apple picking! Hot cider! Each season has its pleasures.
” To everything, turn, turn, turn.”
I can’t wait! I was out today hauling hose - we haven’t had any rain since the 15th - and glowering at the absolutely rampageous crabgrass. The sweat was dripping in my eyes, but I could still see everything that was drooping, browning or giving up. Enough!
Fall is my favorite season for the outdoors. I love the colder weather and would never trade it for more southern climes. Bring on the colors, the rustle of leaves, the snap in the air, the berries, birds and first frost. Ah-h-h-h.
Margaret,
You guys are sooo lucky. I’m a definite Yipee! However, our fall will have to wait awhile. Temps are only down to 90’s from 100’s which is a break, but NOT fall yet here in north Texas.
Not so yippee. Whatever happened to the “dog days of August”?? Not this summer, I guess. This week it will only hit 80 degrees after today. Even hearing the crickets (the harbingers of fall) at night brings some sadness as the days start to get shorter… The feeling is akin to the sense of dread I’ve always felt when it stops snowing.
On a more positive note, I do look forward to the colors of Fall — the asters, mums and grasses.
Yippee! The dog who is always too cold and the dog who is always too hot love this weather. They will strike extended yoga poses as the mornings grow colder.
There is a glow to early mornings and evenings, but I won’t remember high school lit to qualify the sight.
My amaryllis are begging me for space in the basement crisper, but it’s too soon. I’ll depress them with views of the washer/dryer for a few weeks.
My WTF? perennial patch has survived my best efforts. I’ll give each plant a real home soon - they were one of those ‘5 season garden for just 79.99′ deals. What kind of plants? Some are red. Some… are not red.
Fall can’t come quickly enough for this Texas gardener. Plus it seems that October is pretty darn gorgeous no matter what part of the country you live in. Bring it on!
Hello Margaret,
What an amazingly thorough weblog. Lovely to read you.
My blog name clownplants.com says it all: misery me all summer. Autumn is usually my high time, with acres of coloured shrubs. This year it looks like a damp squib, with many leaves colouring too early and not attractively either.
Do you know what the influence of too much rain and too little sun is on the fall colouring performance? I always forget this. I suppose to colour up well the leaves require a high sugar level, which means sunshine. No?
Welcome, Jo. There are some clownplants over here, too, at this point…serious ones. As for the foliage, this page explains the biological and meteorological factors at work. Conducive circumstances have to do w/a combination of moisture and temperature and various other factors.
Ideal foliage is apparently produced by a warm and wet spring, a warm, dry summer (uh-oh!) and mild, sunny fall days with cool evenings (but not frost). Again, have a look for more in-depth explanation.
I kept saying as it teemed rain all summer: Great for fall foliage, great for fall foliage. But who knows, maybe not. Thanks for visiting, and sharing your site.
I’m definitely a yippee and I know that sounds strange since I live in North Dakota and who gets excited about one of our winters?!?!? But the fall here is beautiful and I love the warm days and cool nights. At the end of August, I can honestly say that I enjoyed my garden and I can get ready for a quiet winter with no regrets on what I should or shouldn’t have done.
A yippee this year. We’ve moved into a new home and have gutted, practically, the whole yard. We just have mulch, EVERYWHERE. Now, with the cooler weather, we can actually start planting. (Granted, I’m in Southern California and we still have three months before cooler weather, but there is always hope.)
I love to mow.
therefore
I love summer.
but
there will be all those menu changes down at the local eatery yes?
and looking forward to fall cocktail hour(s) of course!
xo
frightened of my first full-length central NY winter. frightened! Fall came in mid-August (nights in the 40s?!) as I was warned it would. I’ll miss bare feet and endless changing flowers, but must submit to the “change is the only constant” approach, enjoy the cool and time to plan, and wait to see if over-wintered seeds pop up next spring.
and did you say you mow twice a week? that’s a little too much summer for anyone!
Welcome, Lynn, and don’t be afraid. Just buy an electric blanket and a really serious heating pad. (Tee hee, but that is a great one.) And yes, I said twice-weekly. This rainy summer has doubled the growth rate of my lawn and fields over any previous year in memory. Do come back soon.
So let me get this straight: Beth’s “yippee” even though it’s cold where she lives; Turling’s “yippee” even though it’s warm in her area; Blue Arrow (my favorite colleague for two-person mowing duty…my neighbor and friend who isn’t afraid to drive the tractor on the steep part of the hillside like I am) is just hoping for some new specials at JAs in Egremont, MA. OK, everyone’s in character I guess. :)
PS to DenDen: Yes, Jack is delighted at his bag o’treats. Thanks again.
For me it’s uh-oh, even though it’s been feeling and smelling like fall here in SW MI. I ‘m not ready for fall just yet.
Not a lot of rain lately, too hard to keep up with the watering. So my brown perennials have been cut back, and the grass is quite crunchy. Harvested some arugula and dill today. Pulled most of the calendula, it will be back next next without me doing a thing. Love volunteers.
Question about viburnums: Any thoughts on the cultivar ‘Blue Muffin’?
Welcome, Joyce. Crunchy brown is what we usually have here at this time, but not this (soggy) year. As for ‘Blue Muffin,’ it’s a smaller-scale arrowwood viburnum (species dentatum) with (big surprise) blue berries. I have bought some but haven’t grown it to enough of a settled-in size to say what I think. Most of the so-called smaller viburnums get pretty big in time, in my experience, so we shall see! But the fruit is handsome, and so is the fiery fall foliage. I am a viburnum freak, so maybe I am not impartial…
I had to laugh when I read that there is another person who starts getting wistful when the dogwoods drop their flowers. I’ve loved this summer because it has been cooler than usual in upstate NY. I can do without the humidity and this year we really got a break. I don’t mind the rain so much, probably because I grew up in Oregon.
Welcome to Celinabean, a fellow upstater. I didn’t miss the humidity, either. So glad you have joined us, and do come again soon.
I’m feeling surprisingly yippee about it. Usually this time of year is very sad for me for some reason — but this year, not so much. I’m eager for the leaves to turn and to buy some new boots, and for the dahlias to really get their moment in the sun when they are the only flowers at the farmer’s market, and I am really, really excited about the idea of cooking and braising and baking. Wow, Margaret — thanks for making me realize how totally YIPPEE I am!
Welcome, Sarah, and thank you for sharing your gratitude list (or yippee list, however we want to label it). It is so nice to see you here, and hear what you are up to…at least a little sliver. I still think about the great interview you did with me this summer on Pink of Perfection and what fun it was.
cooler temperature here in zone 5 makes it easier to work in my garden and work I have! some new plants that I HAD to have and finding the right spot created a domino affect and others had to be moved or divided; let’s hope everyone will be happy next spring. time to bring the tender perennials inside but first they need to be separated from those that go dormant-oh my! traveling back to my zone 6 home tomorrow-so little time, so much to do-I need a longer day!
Welcome, Carole. The days grow shorter, and as you point out, now’s when we need them to be longer instead. Lots of work ahead, but sounds like you have gotten a jump on it. Nice to see you here.
Yippee!!! The best month of the year for me is October with it’s long shadows and earthtones! Although, we’ve had a decent summer here in the metro D.C. area, I really can’t complain… and the recent tropical storm made everything perc up!
I’m a wannabe gardener… most of my plants have seen two or more “homes” before they adapt to a good spot. The lucky ones are still alive. However, I have a long way to go!
Thanks for your great blog and I enjoyed your article this morning (9/11/08) in the Washington Post.
Welcome, Cindy, another “Yippee!” voter. Moving plants around is what gardening really is, isn’t it? Try a few times before giving up, I figure. Do come again soon.
Woo Hoo in Minnesota Zone 3/4? A first sign in these parts is when the sumac start turning bright red (like right now). My husband gets romantic and reminds me this was the time of year we first met. It’s become our love symbol. We are planning a romantic getaway for the 1st October weekend, hoping to wallow in the fall color splendor. Predicting the exact location of peak colors can be tricky, but that’s part of the fun.
I also start getting excited about compost this time of year. The black gold harvest is here!! I need to get distributing, and storing it now so I have a place to put the new leaves this Oct/Nov.