WHAT ARE YOU DOING SATURDAY? said my friend Bob the other day. Want to do a workshop on fall and beyond: on getting the garden ready for the offseason, overwintering tender things, planning for bulb-planting season (and for the spring to come)? Why not, I thought (another way to procrastinate from my book-writing!) and so here’s the last-minute suggestion for a Labor Day weekend attraction if you are nearby the Hudson Valley-Berkshires region:
On Saturday, September 5, just as Mercury goes retrograde again (heaven help us), Bob Hyland, Andrew Beckman and I will give a hands-on class from 11-1 at their Loomis Creek Nursery, near Hudson, NY. We’ll show you what to cut back, and not; review the basics of composting and offseason soil care; prepare to have fresh herbs on hand for the winter; teach you how to stash precious but nonhardy “investment plants” safely for the winter, make room for bulbs and lots more.
All for $5, and a phone call to reserve a spot; we have a few remaining. Loomis Creek is at (518) 851-9801. (And p.s., that’s an oakleaf hydrangea up top, H. quercifolia, in the colors that are coming up soon.)
Margaret,
Can you ask Bob the next spur of the moment workshop he wants to do, can he please make it on a Sunday.
Have a wonderful time, the weather will be on your side.
I’m not local but I would love a post or direction on ‘stashing precious but nonhardy “investment plants” safely for the winter.’ I have lavender plants that never survive winter.
I can’t believe this…. fall…. all ready… ughhhhhhh. I think I will postpone my fall for another month!
Hi Margaret,
Sounds delightful, but I’m many miles away. I second the request — if it’s not too much trouble — for a recap as you’re covering everything that I completely fail at. Thanks for this blog. I read it faithfully!
@Susan: Noted!
@Amy: Yes, will do post on that (which is big part of class) shortly. Figured I could take pix while we demo stuff.
@Eric: Good plan. Let us know how it goes. :)
Wish I could come. You’re so amazing Margaret! Maybe you could post some of the things you share at the workshop?
Thanks for all you do for us garden nuts.
Tod from Pumpkin Pond
Hey Margaret! Todd here (your Greene Co. neighbor). Thank you again for having your beautiful gardens open for Copake Falls Day; it was great day!
Just saw this post and I hope I can come to Loomis Creek tomorrow. I will give them a ring to see if there is still room.
Fingers crossed.
@Todd: Just reserved you a space with the Loomis management; see you tomorrow. :)
Thanks Margaret – that sounds great. I was actually wanting to make plans for both me and my partner Stephen. Do you think they can fit him in too! If not, no worries…;) See you tomorrow.
Welcome, Rachel. Will do; saved the topic until after the workshop because I bet I will learn a lot fo great tricks from my friends Andrew and Bob to add to my list of solutions for overwintering things. Three heads are better than one. :) See you soon.
@Todd: We will make room. See you in a bit.
@Tod: I hope to see you soon anyhow, and hope that home-improvement project is going smoothly up the road there. :)
Aftermath: We had a full-and-then-some house of 35, and a lot of fun (or at least I did). Next year, my Loomis Creek friends and I plan to do more events and are already brewing enhancements: a shadier outdoor classroom; perhaps a workshop here in my garden, and who knows what else. Stay tuned. And if there are topics you’d like to see covered in a part-day or all-day format, chime in; suggestions welcome.
Margaret I am so glad to know about your blog. I wish I could have brought my mother-in-law to this.