From winter through the spring, 2021 was filled with lots of activity and color in the garden.
2021 was quite a year for me in the garden. I started a blog, to keep track of all of my adventures. We put in a wildlife pond, a new pollinator bed, built two more raised beds, filled the deck to bursting with pots, and I planted more seeds than ever. I added quite a few native plants to the yard, tried winter sowing, started growing a few exotic (for Central Ohio!) plants like pineapples and a banana tree, and I’ve stuffed every available surface indoors with potted plants.
The yard saw quite a few visitors this year, everything from dragonflies and bees, to hawks and cats. Our birdfeeder collection multiplied (much to the delight of the local sparrow population), and the compost pile has continued to grow, then break down, only to grow again.
Recently, our lemon tree has started forming flowers for the first time! I’m so excited at the prospect of lemons.
Our raised beds had a productive year. Things kicked off with asparagus and lettuce in the springtime, then the herbs, garlic, shallots, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and green beans from the summer into fall.
2021 was a warm year, and a wet one, too. According to the local weatherman, who keeps track of these sort of things, this will have been our 7th warmest year since 1879. Just this month, which has been unusually warm, we tied our record for the 3rd warmest December since 1878. We’ve spent a few days with the windows open this week, which has never happened before at this time of year. Our hellebores are budding already (which usually doesn’t happen until March or April) and while most of the perennials dies back last month when we had a bit of snow, the yard is looking pretty green.
I made a few ceramic tiles this fall, with impressions of ferns and leaves from the garden.
Despite the temperatures and rainfall, the garden seemed mostly happy this year. I only watered the pots and raised beds with veggies and annuals- all the plants and trees out in the flower beds were left up to their own devices. I put in a lot of natives, which grow very deep roots that can withstand the summer heat. And I tend not to plant perennials that require much in the way of fussing.
When not gardening, I spent some time crafting up artwork and gifts for friends and family, inspired by, and borrowing from the garden itself. I made up some beeswax candles with bits of dried lavender from the flowers beds. I also dried up a bunch of herbs, like thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, bay leaves, parsley, fennel, and dill, some of which ended up in mixes for friends. Finally, I made up some little clay tiles and pendants, which I “printed” with impressions of ferns and other plants around the yard. I painted them, and shipped them off for some one-of-a-kind art for friends. They turned out rather nicely, if I do say so myself, and I hope to make up some more.
The lavender candles, mid-wax-pouring
I’m really looking forward to the next gardening season. This winter, I’ll be working on my Master Gardener certification, and soon, it will be time to start sowing seeds again. I’ve already been pouring over the seed catalogues as they arrive, and may have already purchased my body weight in seeds… I’m excited to see which new (to me) plants, flowers, and trees catch my eye and end up in the garden this coming year.
As pandemic life continues, and things in the world feel uncertain, I hope that your garden is still bringing you peace and joy. While those seed catalogues pour in, and you find yourself deep into springtime daydreams, may 2022 find you safe and healthy. Happy gardening!
Summer and fall were filled with flowers and treats for the pollinators and I to enjoy!
We’ve been having some particularly gorgeous sunrises lately.
It’s been a hot minute. I accidentally took the better part of a month off from updating the blog, and decided I ought to get back into the groove. So, now it’s December. We’ve had a few snowy days, some freezing days, cloudy days, and a lot of days where the temperatures have been above average for this time of year. The yard is blooming with dandelions again, something that usually doesn’t happen until the springtime.
A lot of the warmer-season bugs, like bees, have left for the season, but we’re still seeing ladybugs, stinkbugs, spiders, and little beetles whose species I don’t know. I’m sure if I did any digging around in the not-yet-frozen-ground, I’d find plenty of worms, pill bugs, and other creepy crawlies roaming about, too. Even when it is cooler out, there’s a lot going on in the soil.
Our volunteer maple tree put on quite a gorgeous show in November, with fiery orange leaves.
I did a tour of the garden the other day and was surprised at how much was still green this year. A few of the ferns are still hanging out, and the snow and freezing cold mornings haven’t managed to put all of the perennials to sleep yet. Most of the plants have finished for the season, though. As usual, I left up the vast majority for a winter display, as well as to help feed and house the local wildlife until springtime. I’m really enjoying all the tall, dry grasses, like the little bluestem. I know I talk about that native plant a lot, but I just love how different it looks in each season, and its tall, flowy brown stalks with their willowy little seed heads are just gorgeous at this time of year.
I love the way all the different plants look at this time of year, from brown grasses, to frost-covered herbs and green, orange, and red heucheras.
In addition to the gardens, we’ve still been enjoying our harvest from this years crops. The sugar pie pumpkins we grew made for some absolutely delicious pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving. And we are still making our way through the tomato paste from the san marzano tomatoes, as well as the smorgasbord of green beans that continue to pack the freezer. (I like mine with a little bacon and onion… mmm!).
Our sugar pie pumpkins made for a delicious pie!
I’ve been diligently making lists of which veggies, herbs, and fruits I’d like to try out next season. This process is ongoing, and I’ll likely make up about 74 different lists of plans before throwing the whole process out and simply buying whichever seed packets catch my eye once the seed catalogs arrive this winter. It’s fun to daydream, though, and I love a good list.
Speaking of lists, my project this month is to catalog all of the indoor plants. My little indoor jungle has become of showcase of my lack of self control in garden centers, as well as my inability to remember the names of anything. While one of the problems is surely too far gone to be helped, I think I can put my organizational skills to some use coming up with a spreadsheet naming all my plants. Who knows. Maybe in taking a closer look at all the plants, I’ll find some that can be split, necessitating a trip to the greenhouse for more pots! And plants! Win-win!
Hope that your garden is having a lovely sleep while you move your efforts indoors (if you are in the northern hemisphere). Happy gardening!
A few frosty mornings hailed the end of my beloved marigolds. They were a gorgeous addition to the raised beds, and I’ll definitely be planting more seeds next year.
Well, as expected, we had our first freezes this past week. The temps dipped back into the upper 20s one day, and each morning, the tips of every leaf and blade of grass have been covered in white frost. We said goodbye to the last of the zinnias, the marigolds, the hostas, sedums, as well as the remaining basil and oregano, pokeberry bush, and one lone tomato plant that I’d forgotten had planted itself beside the deck stairs.
We’ve had frost each morning for almost a week now. It finally feels like fall is here to stay.
I finally made it outside to attend to the hostas, sedum, and peony plants. After a hard freeze, the leaves of each of these plants tend to yellow and grow mushy. So, I went out and cut the plants back to the ground. The leaves were all tossed into the compost pile, and in a few months time, new shoots will sprout up for next seasons display. It’s always a little alarming to trim back a plant to its base. But, next year, new growth will pop up in the springtime.
I finally hacked back the hostas, and cleaned up things around the pond a bit. The area around the compost bin is next on the To Do List. You can barely see it in the corner here.
Taking these plants down gave me some good one-on-one time with the garden again. Really, it’s been awhile since I’ve been out to do much in the yard. It was just so bloody hot this summer, and humid (conditions I detest). Having some nice, cool days to get out and dig around a bit brought me a lot of happiness. I pulled some weeds, checked out the health of the plants that I’m leaving alone until next springs growth begins, and I did a bit of maintenance work around the pond. I pulled out the leaves and plant debris, and cleaned up a bit of the area around the water that I’d been letting grow wild. I’m still letting things grow, but it’s more of a controlled chaos.
Yesterday, I cut the hostas down to the ground. So long for now, beauties!
Over the weekend, in addition to the yard cleanup work, the husband took me to one of my favorite plant nurseries in the area: Groovy Plants Ranch. This was our second visit, and I was pretty much in planty heaven. The Ranch has several greenhouses, stocked full of exotic plants from all over the world. They have tropical varieties, cacti, succulents, and more in all shapes and sizes. The Ranch also has an area where you can pot up any new plants you’d like to buy there, as well as an old school house that they’ve converted into a little shop with local artwork, and seasonal plants. Right now, it is filled with all kinds of bulbs. The whole property is protected by a sweet Australian Shepherd who was quite fond of belly rubs. While the husband was distracted with her, I managed to sneak off to add a few more things to the basket.
My new pretties <3
Earlier this year, I’d made the decision that I wasn’t going to plant any more bulbs this year. I have tulips, a few varieties of daffodils, and crocuses already in the yard, and I don’t need any more. And, in years past, I’d had far more success trying to grow garlic by planting it in early spring than in the fall. So, naturally, I came home from The Ranch with an armload of daffodil and garlic bulbs. The daffodils went in under the big locust tree in our front yard, and the garlic went into one of the raised beds out back. What can I say? I am physically incapable of saying no to plants.
Garlic and daffodil bulbs… I don’t want to talk about it!
In addition to the bulbs, I nabbed a few more succulents, some more rock plants, and a pretty, frilly tropical plant whose name I forgot to write down. That reminds me… this winter, I want to take stock of all of my indoor plants. My collection has tripled in size since the Pandemic started, and I should probably be keeping better track of what all I’m growing. Anyway, I brought home lots of goodies. The kitchen windowsill is now completely filled with tiny potted succulents.
We’ve had some really pretty sunrises lately. Please ignore the giant floating phone reflection in the window!
I have one more recent plant acquisition to own up to: I bought a vanilla plant. It’s on its way in the mail. Vanilla, you may not know, is a type of orchid. The plant is a vine, and grows in the wild in Mexico. My little baby vine will be here soon, and I plan to train it up a potted trellis next to the loofah vines and the lemon tree in the husbands office. When it’s warm enough out again, all will move back to the deck. The vines take a bit of time to grow vanilla pods, but when they do, we’ll have our very own vanilla seeds. Picture the best custard you’ve ever had. Now imagine that, but 100x better, and that’s the crème brûlée that the husband will be making with our vanilla. I don’t mean to brag. Them’s just the facts.
The vanilla will likely take a few years to grow seed pods. In fact, it will probably be ready to harvest for the first time around the same time as our pineapples and lemons. But all will be worth the wait. That’s going to be one glorious summer, let me tell you.
In the summer, several of the peonies tend to end up in bouquets. In the fall, their spent flowers look almost as pretty, to me. I salvaged a few when I chopped the leaves down during fall clean up, and they ended up in a vase in the bathroom.
Anyway, for now, with the outdoor garden heading back to sleep, my attentions have been shifting to all my indoor plants. Many spend their summer on the deck, and move back inside as the temperatures fall. Some, I keep inside year-round, as we have much more rainfall than they prefer. I have a lot of them, as I’d mentioned, everything from air plants, to lithops, to long, vining pothos, and caterpillar plants. All of them make me quite happy, and have become a comfort during dark winter days, when my mood is not great. I’ll likely introduce them all to you at some point.
That’s all I have for this week. Whatever the size of your garden, or whichever season you are now in, I hope your plants are bringing you cheer. Happy gardening!
I found a few lacey leaves during fall clean up. They always catch my eye. Wonder who snacked on this one?
I love the way that prairie plants look in the autumn. We made it to the park yesterday to check out the fall color.
Aaaaand suddenly, it’s November. We’re expecting our first temps below freezing this week, which will officially draw the gardening season to a close. This year has been warmer and wetter than average, which presented its own set of challenges. I thought I’d use today’s post to look back at the garden this year, at what worked well, and which schemes of mine went hay-wire.
When I started the season, I had a few projects in mind. I wanted to turn one of our side yards into a wildflower bed. I planned to add two new raised beds to the back yard for more planting space. And, I wanted to add a native plant bed to the hellstrip in our front yard.
I thought I’d pulled out the last of the carrots in late summer, but I spotted these last stragglers yesterday and harvested them before this weeks freezing temps.
The first of these projects just never made it off the ground, so to speak. The best time to prep a bed like this is in the fall, and I just didn’t get to this bed in time for that. I may work on it over these next few weeks. It would be a nice bed to try the “lasagna” planting method, where you don’t dig anything up, leaving all the organisms and soil structures in place, and instead, layer soil and compostable items like paper on top. The paper kills off the grass, and you’re left with a nice new bed for planting without tearing apart the ground below. It’s far easier on the body, (take that, arthritis!) and is a great way to maintain the health of the soil. Anyway, we’ll see if I get to that this project this month or not…
The next two projects, I did accomplish this past spring. The two raised beds were added early in the season, and we filled them with leaf compost. I grew quite a lot in all four beds this year, all from seed/bulbs: two types of tomatoes, marigolds, carrots, leeks, lettuce, parsley, garlic, shallots, green beans, bachelor button flowers, asparagus, oregano, bush beans, and basil. Everything seemed fairly happy most of the season (though, the druzba tomatoes caught blight at the end of August). I think next year, I’d like to plant about half the beans (they were hard to keep up with), half the tomatoes (I plant to just grow paste tomatoes next year), and I’m hoping to crack the secret to growing parsnips. I’ve tried for two years now, and just never managed to get them to sprout.
Our strawberry plants decided to flower again. The cold will keep them from actually fruiting until next year.
The hellstrip project was also a success. I scaled back my original plan to take out all the sod, and I never managed to get a maple tree planted (though, there’s a volunteer growing out back that I may move to the front yard yet this month). But, in mid-spring, the husband dug out a huge patch of sod, and I moved in a bunch of native plants that I’d grown from seed, along with a few other perennials for the pollinators, like creeping thyme and nepeta. The bed still needs edged with stone to match the others, but so far, it’s looking quite nice. I’m especially proud of the little blue stem grasses that I grew from seed using the winter sewing method. They are an important prairie plant, and look fabulous with their fiery orange and red spikes this fall.
In addition to these larger projects, I spent quite a lot of springtime turning the deck into Plant Central. It sort of started as an accident, as I’d planted way too many seeds, and ran out of space for all of them in the garden beds. But then, I leaned into the idea that the deck was now a hangout for potted plants, ignoring the lack of space for lounging and grilling for their human counterparts. I had… well, frankly, a garden center amount of plants on that deck this year. There were veggies, herbs, tropical plants, native species, fruit… at one point, there was even a 20 foot sugar pie pumpkin vine winding around the grill and half the deck. I really enjoyed my little jungle, and plan to go even more wild next year, because why not.
Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! This was our first year successfully growing pumpkins. I am still awaiting pumpkin pies. Hint hint, husband.
Finally, in what I consider my crowning achievement in the garden this year, I added a wildlife pond. I’d been day-dreaming about having a water feature in the yard for ages, but I expected it to end up as a large pot, with some water and a lily pad or something. Then, in a fit of whimsy, I announced to the husband that we were going to dig out space for a tiny pond. I had certainly done a bit of research beforehand, but really, one day I just woke up and decided I had to have a pond, and that was that. So, we dug out the pond, added a plastic lining, set rocks around the edges and along the bottom, and then added a boatload of native plants around the edges. I mulched the space, added a water pump, and we were off and running. Birds eventually found the space, and then, to my absolute delight, two frogs showed up (Stanley and Stan Lee). The space is wild, and beautiful, if I do say so myself.
So, the year ended up being quite prolific, garden-wise. I added a lot more native plants to the garden, which were vital during the long, hot stretches of summer days. They lured in all sorts of amazing insects and wildlife. I also grew more veggies, fruits, and herbs than I’d ever managed before, all from seed. I certainly learned a few things for the future, and I have lots of notes on what I’d like to plant next season. I’m pleased with the projects the husband and I managed, because landscaping is tough work.
The cats are back on bird watching duty. I’ll be hanging up the suet blocks and setting out sunflower seeds soon to draw in more visitors.
I have a few ideas percolating for next year… I’d like to rip out some more grass, and expand the perennial beds that wind around the entire perimeter of the back yard. I’d also like to create some more height on the deck with a trellis for some climbers. Finally, I’d like to really focus on stuffing more native species into the yard. I have a lot of single plants peppered around, and I’d like to bulk up their numbers to make the landscape flow a little better. We also plan to replace our falling apart fence early next spring, before the perennials wake back up so they aren’t damaged.
For now, though, the garden is about to go back to sleep for the season, and I have lots of time to daydream about what’s to come in the months ahead. Soon, I’ll be putting the bird feeders back up, and awaiting the first snowfall. Many of my deck plants have been moved inside, so I’m surrounded by green and flowers, even on cold, gloomy winter days. 2021 was a great year in my garden. Hope your gardening season has been even better!
Lots of color in the garden, even after the flowers have finished blooming… from goldenrod, to marigolds, to sedum
There’s a group of vultures circling behind the yard… maybe they saw that this weeks post was late, and assumed the worst? Anyway, after a very warm start to October (the first half of the month was the hottest on record in our area, averaging 15 degrees above normal every day), the past few days have been pretty cool and wet. The sun finally peaked out this afternoon for a bit, but the gray clouds look like they will be returning shortly. It feels like it’s already November.
The maples around our neighborhood are finally hitting their peak color for the season, full of flaming oranges and reds. Is there anything as pretty as a sugar maple in its full autumn color? The cottonwoods and a few other trees behind our house are fully bare, and we can see the skyscrapers of Columbus off in the distance again through the treetop branches.
Our dogwood is looking extra gorgeous this year, with fiery red leaves. The blanket flowers are still in bloom, providing a last-minute snack for any bees still lurking.
Things are definitely quieting way down. Most of the flowers and plants in our garden are heading back to sleep. There’s a few blanket flowers, mums, and asters still in bloom, and we haven’t yet had a really hard frost. But, the leaves of the peonies and hostas are starting to turn yellow and grow mushy. Once things dry out, I’ll head outside and hack those all back to their bases. Everything else in the yard (including the leaves) will stay put until the springtime.
So, while the garden starts napping, I have some news to share. A few months ago, I applied to the Master Gardener Volunteer program here in my county. A few hundred people applied. The other week, I interviewed with some current volunteers, and then today, I found out that I made the program! Our county has so many people apply each time, but only 50 are accepted. I didn’t know this when I applied, and I really didn’t expect to make it once I found out.
I love the way everything morphs in October… all the leaves and flowers seem to take on whole new personalities.
I’m really looking forward to the program. Starting in January, I’ll have classes every week through March, and then a boatload of volunteer hours to make it through. I’ll be paired up with a current Master Gardener mentor to help me traverse the program, and then, if all goes well, by the following January, I’ll have graduated the program. I’m excited to learn more, and to meet other people in the community that love plants as much as I do. I’d apologize, in advance, for all the yammering on I’ll be doing about gardening while in the program, but presumably, in you’re reading this, you’re probably on board already.
Well, that’s all the news from the garden this week. Hopefully, if it’s fall in your area, the sun is out, and the leaves are turning colors. As always, I highly recommend a trip to your local metro park at this time of year to enjoy the changing of the seasons. Happy gardening!
The marigolds I grew from seed this spring have really bushed out this month, and I love seeing their cheery orange-red blossoms.
Fall sunrises seem extra special, with the light shining on all the colorful leaves.
Anyone else having some odd weather? It’s mid-October, and here in Central Ohio, we’re having near record-breaking temperatures… it’s been close to 90 degrees, which is not at all what I expected when we made it home from our vacation. The weekend started off foggy and humid, but the sun came out quickly, blazing hot, and it’s been warm ever since. The trees have started changing color. Our locust tree has dropped most of her leaves. But, the crisp cool autumn days I live for every year are, well, not here yet.
Before our trip, I cleaned out most of the raised beds, planted cover crops, emptied the deck pots, and moved plants indoors. The water pump in the pond was brought in and de-algae-ified (that’s the technical term). I thought there’d be a frost while we were away, or that it would at least be cool enough out that the fledgling pineapple plants would have some words for me. But, the changing climate is definitely making an impact. It seems like every year here, autumn starts a little bit later.
We went for a hike at the local metro park to catch the foggy morning air over the prairie.
Looking online, our first frost date doesn’t seem to be listed as having changed, but my own notes indicate that the frosts here are happening later each October (I’ve taken notes on the daily temps each day for a few years now, because I am a data-loving weirdo). We’ve been setting record highs quite often over the past few years, and the last frost date in the beginning of springtime, in May, seems to be moving as well (towards the middle of the month).
Notes like these are handy when it comes to planting out tender vegetables like tomatoes in the spring, because a frost will kill them off. I’ve also been taking some notes about rainfall, when it’s happening, and how much. This year, we had a LOT more rain than usual, at times when it normally doesn’t occur. The summer months are usually dryer, but we had quite a few days with flooding rains. My tomatoes caught blight, so next year, I’ll look for some varieties that are less likely to catch this disease. And, I’ll plant them even farther apart so their leaves have a better chance at drying as quickly as possible, keeping the blight spores away.
This is the latest I’ve ever harvested peppers. Our italian sweet peppers seem to have enjoyed the extra steamy days this month.
For now, there’s really not much to do around the yard but wait for the frosts to arrive. Once they do, I’ll cut the hostas back to the ground (their leaves get really slimy after the cold hits), but everything else will stay put until the springtime. I know I’ve written about the benefits of waiting to do the annual clean up until the spring before, but I’ll just quickly recap to say it’s best for the wildlife to leave as much as you can standing. The birds, pollinators, and other insects will thank you, and your yard will be healthier and happier.
Since many of the flowers have finished for the season, my attention has really turned to the trees, both in and around our yard, and out at the park. Autumn is such an art show for trees in my area. I’m so fascinated by their display each year, because things always seem to look a little different. Water and temperature impact the color of the leaves, and of course, there’s always new trees, trees that are no longer growing, and trees that have grown quite a lot to change the landscape. This time of year, I find myself wandering out of my garden quite a bit more than usual for a nice walk in the woods.
Hopefully you are having a wonderful start to October and the fall season (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere). Happy gardening!
We’ve been having some really gorgeous sun rises, which I’m finally catching since the days are getting shorter and the sun pops up later each day.
“Life starts over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald
It’s finally fall! We’ve had a deliciously cool start to the season, and I’ve been spending much more time outdoors to enjoy all the colors, sounds, and scents of fall. It’s been nice to just sit on the deck and watch the golden cottonwood leaves glitter and dance in the wind.
There’s still a lot going on in the garden, and I’ve seen more birds around this week. A group of blue jays have been playing in the back yard each morning. I watched them bury peanuts from the neighbors feeders in our raised beds, and they’ve been chasing each other around the fenceposts. The warblers have returned to the yard as well, driving the cats wild as they set up camp on the deck furniture, yelling and digging through the remaining potted plants for treats.
In the fall, our bay window becomes a little jungle, with space for the cats to nap under the tropical leaves.
Out in the yard, I cleaned out most of the raised beds. The druzba tomatoes had caught blight, a fungus that attacks during very damp conditions and causes leaves to brown and then rot. We had a summer full of pouring rains and humidity, and the tomatoes just couldn’t cope with it. I know that next year, I’ll be excited to grow them again, but I am feeling a little salty about the tomatoes at the moment. Not that it’s their fault, but they are just so particular about their growing conditions… it’s hard to get the formula right with climate change making our weather more extreme every year. Too little, or uneven watering? They catch blossom end rot (which I dealt with last year). Too much water (which is so often out of our control), they catch blight. Ugh.
Blight is pretty easy to spot on tomato leaves, starting with dark brown spots that eventually take over the entire leaf, killing the plant.
So, the blighted plants have been removed, and I made sure not to add them to the compost pile with everything else, as blight can overwinter in the soil and attack again. For the bed that was hit this year, I’ve made a note in my planner to plant something else there next year (not tomatoes), which should help the problem to disappear. We’ll see. I planted out some hairy vetch seeds in the beds. I have no expectations for them what-so-ever, but hopefully, the vetch will grow because it helps replace nutrients like nitrogen back into the soil.
I have marigolds growing next to where the tomatoes lived, and I’m letting them stay put over winter to give the birds and insects some food and housing material. I may harvest some of their seeds to grow again next year. In the final raised beds, the asparagus stays put, but I removed the bush beans. The last bed still has pole beans in it, that I’m letting dry so I can harvest the seeds to use next year. There’s still parsley growing in that bed, which is pretty tolerant of cold weather. I plan to let it stay there until next season.
I brought in our loofah vine to overwinter and found a cute little loofah, starting to grow!
Out in the rest of the beds, I’m letting things stay as is for now. The only clean up I’ll do will be to remove the slimy hosta leaves after we get a few hard frosts. All the rest of the perennials I’ll let be until the spring, when they will be cut back to the ground to regrow. And, on the deck, I’ve brought in all the tender plants, like my pineapples. A few plants, like the dahlias and cannas, I cut back to the soil level, and brought the entire pot inside to live in the garage this winter. Plants like this will die off in the cold, but they will be protected in the garage, where it stays a bit warmer and dark. Why plants like this are fine with these conditions is something I don’t understand yet, but next spring, I’ll haul the pots back outside and watch them start growing like nothing happened.
After removing the flowers, gently dig up the geraniums, shake out the dirt from the roots, and store them in a cool, dark spot where they will have a bit of air to keep from rotting, like in an open box.
Another plant that I’m over-wintering are my geraniums. I used to bring the entire pot in each fall, but they take up a lot of room. The other night, I saw a video from gardening guru, Susan Mulvihill, of Susan’s in the Garden on a different way to overwinter the plants. She is a master gardener out in Washington, and one of my go to resources for gardening advice. Anyway, Susan explained that to save your geraniums, you can cut off all the flowers, gently remove the plants from the dirt (with leaves still on), shake as much dirt off the roots as possible, and then store them in a box with some airflow in a garage or basement. I’m putting mine in a paper bag in the basement. Check on them about once a month to make sure nothing is rotting. The plants will look like they die off, but in the spring, you’ll see leaves start growing again. Plant magic! I’m hoping this not only saves me some space in the house, but also helps these geraniums to be less leggy-looking when they grow again next spring. I’ve had them for years now and they are getting a wee bit scraggly.
That’s all I have for the week. I may do some clean up in the pond and unplug the fountain this week, but that’s really about the last of the clean up I have to do until the springtime. Now it’s just sitting back, watching the leaves change color and fall, and enjoying these sunny, cool days. Happy gardening!
This mantis was so big, I spotted her from my perch on the couch. She was making her way around the lemon tree, perhaps in search of a snack.
Black eyed susans, mums, and new england aster: some of my favorite fall flowers
While this weekend was toasty and hot, and I spent most of it hiding indoors, fall will be here in two more days! The weather is supposed to cool off quite a bit this week, with high temps falling from the upper 80s to the 60s. I believe I’ve mentioned my obsession with autumn before, am I am over the moon with excitement for some cool days to get out in the garden. We’re still probably a few weeks away from our first frost, but the trees behind our house are definitely yellowing. The sycamores and cottonwoods are filling with golden leaves. Soon, the fiery oranges and reds of the oaks and maples will be here. I cannot wait!
The sun is rising later and later each morning. Here’s a recent view of the backyard.
Things are wrapping up in the raised beds. I harvested the last of the leeks this weekend (potato leek soup is on the menu!), and we’re nearing the end of the tomatoes. I’m planning to de-thaw all the tomatoes I already harvested/peeled/diced/froze this year to cook up some tomato paste for the salsa my family cans each October.
Also on the agenda this week will be to plant out the vetch seeds I bought as a cover crop in the raised beds. The hairy vetch (seriously, that plant needs a major rebranding) will keep the weeds out of the beds until it’s time to plant again, and the crop helps to add nitrogen back to the soil, as well as helping to keep the dirt from eroding (which is not a large concern in a raised bed, but a good thing to know for general planting). So, next spring, when it’s time to plant again, in addition to the compost I’ll add to the beds, the vetch will have been working on giving the soil a great boost. The next round of plants will have plenty to eat. Happy soil = happy plants!
The last of this years’ leek harvest
In addition to the raised beds, I have some clean up work to do with the deck pots. Quite a few will be coming back in doors for the winter, like our lemon tree, pineapples, and loofah vine. But some, like the marigolds, will be composted and I’ll clean up the pots to add back to the pile under the potting bench for next year. I had more potted plants on the deck this year than ever before, and was pretty pleased with the end result. A few did not perform as expected, like the cannas. I bought the cannas last year, and they grew a few feet tall and flowered. I overwintered the tubers in the garage, and planted them outside this spring once it warmed up again. They both grew, but are much shorter, and only one re-flowered. I may simply put the entire pot into the garage, and not take the plants down to the roots this year to see if that helps them grow better next year.
One of our canna plants finally flowered. I love these tropical flowers!
Out in the rest of the flower beds, fall is definitely on its way. The late summer/early fall plants are all looking quite snazzy, and I’m taking stock of which perennials I’d like to split next spring. As usual, the lamb’s ear are out of control, and could be divided multiple times. I mentioned last week about expanding the borders to make room for more plants… I think I may start working on that this fall. As long as the ground isn’t frozen, there’s really no reason to wait. Finally, I have a tree that I need to move. This spring, a maple tree started growing next to the compost pile, quite close to the house. It’s a terrible spot for a tree, and while it’s relatively small still, I’d like to move it to the front yard. That will be a great spot for the maple to grow up and I know there aren’t any gas or electric lines that I need to worry about having had 8-1-1 out to mark things last winter.
I’m growing four pineapples. The oldest (second from the right) was started in the winter, and the newest (farthest on the left) got going about a month ago. They look pretty scraggly at first, but quickly settle in and start growing. Next year, we should have pineapples to enjoy!
That will all pretty much wrap up my fall gardening chores. I used to do a lot more cleanup- cutting back most of the perennials to the ground, but now I’ve learned to let them be for the wildlife. It’s not too tough a sell: put off your work until the spring and relax! Also, the locals will truly be grateful. The debris from our perennials helps house and feed insects, birds, and other wildlife. Winters are tough on all these populations with resources scarce. So, leaving some flowers heads and plant stalks for the birds to enjoy really makes a huge difference. Plus, a lot of these plants are really pretty in winter. The soft browns of the grasses and plants look quite pretty against a backdrop of snow.
Stan Lee the Frog has been out every afternoon, enjoying the warm rocks around the pond.
Anyways, that’s my plan for the rest of the year here. The next few weeks should be pretty nice around the garden: cooler days, with lots of sunshine to sit out and watch the bees buzzing around the aster. I’m excited to start canning up all the veggies I grew this year, and to just enjoy all the sights and smells of fall as the weather turns. Hope things in your garden are slowing down so you can relax and enjoy all of your hard work. Happy gardening!
Our native plants and other perennials have been Grand Central Station for the pollinators lately: more bee species than I can count, wasps, moths, and butterflies. I feel like I see something new every time I’m outside!
I’m loving all the color in the garden at this time of year from the sedum, false indigo, blanket flowers, and the aster.
We’re about a week out now from the official start of fall, but summer is still doing its thing. It’s back into the 90s, with higher humidity, and it’s been a minute since we’ve seen any rain. I ought to be out watering in the mornings, but at this point in the season, my motivation is seriously waning. Most of the crops I planted have either been harvested already, or they are having their last hurrah.
I’ll haul quite a few of the deck pots back into the house once it does finally start frosting at night again, but some of the annuals, like the german chamomile and the zinnias, just had this one season, and I’ll compost the plants once the cold air wipes them out. A few things, like the basil, I let flower, and once they throw out seeds, I’ll harvest those, dry them, and save them to plant next springtime.
The marigolds around the tomato beds are looking quite happy.
I’m trying to keep my Seed Starting Plant Spreadsheet up to date with notes about how everything did, and which varieties I’d like to try out next year. For the most part, I’m pleased with everything that I planted, but there were a few duds. The san marzano paste tomatoes have been growing like mad all season, and every day, dozens more seem to ripen for harvest. But the larger druzba tomatoes that I’d tried never really seemed happy. I did harvest a few, but most of the ripened tomatoes were split. We had an awfully hot summer, with temps about 10-15 degrees higher than they really like, and there was more rain than usual, with flooding rains happening often. Next year, I think I’ll try a different variety and see if they fare a little better.
Most of the native seeds I tried out using the winter sowing method (seeds planted in milk jugs and left outside all winter) did really well. The prairie blazing star, little blue stem, and swamp milkweed, especially took off and were able to join their brethren out in the flower beds. I plan to try this method out again for seeds that need a cold, stratification period. Mother Nature does all the work, and no grow lights or watering are required (unless it’s seriously dry where you live).
Our dahlias are finally starting to flower, and there’s been lots of activity around the garden, with sulfur butterflies dancing around the aster and bees galore buzzing around the sedum.
Another top performer were the herbs that I’d planted. For example, the borage, basil, thyme, and parsley, to paraphrase Tom Petty, “grew up tall, and they grew up right.” The parsley can withstand a bit of cold, so I’ll let that keep growing in the deck pots and the raised bed. The thyme should be a perennial in our area, so I’ll plant out what growing in pots now, so it can continue to grow. Some may end up in the kitchen for easy harvesting throughout the winter. I’m envisioning some delicious roasted chicken dishes on cool nights, starring fresh sprigs of thyme… mmmm…
In addition to the aforementioned plants, I’m really pleased with how well the flowers did that I’d started from seed, like the “Happy Days Marigolds,” and the “Berry Basket Zinnias.” They were easy to start growing, and took off quickly in the cold frame this spring. I plan to grow both again next year. The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds have been enjoying the zinnias almost as much as I have, and any plant that gets that much attention from pollinators is a winner in my book.
Late summer and early fall is a great time to check out the local population of black walnut trees. Their gorgeous leaves start to lighten and then turn to gold.
The rest of the garden seems to be doing pretty well still. Our aster and goldenrod are really the stars right now, flower-wise. I’m seeing lots of different moth, butterfly, and bee species on each daily. Next year, I’m thinking about widening the plant border a bit that wraps around the entire back yard. This way, I’ll be able to fit a few more plants in between the tall asters and goldenrods and the grass. I feel like some more perennials, like black-eyed susans, coneflowers, little blue stem, anise hyssop, and sedum would do well. I have all of these in the garden already, and the pollinators love these species. Also, they each provide some interest all year long, so even in the winter, they will offer something nice to look at, in addition to providing more food for the birds to enjoy.
Another expansion project that would actually be wise to start here shortly is the pollinator bed that I’d planned to add in this year on the side of the house. I have a wildflower seed mix that I want to plant, and prepping the bed now so I can drop those seeds this fall would be very well timed. With so much grass to remove, a nice way to tackle this space will be by covering the grass with some cardboard and dirt, through a method called Lasagna Layering. The carboard and dirt block out the light, killing the grass. And by keeping the area wet, the organisms that grow in the compost will help break down the cardboard, leaving me with soil for the plants. Plus, by not actually doing any digging, I won’t be disrupting the organisms and critters that currently live in the soil. I’ll go into more detail about the benefits of “no dig” planting in another post, but as someone with arthritis, I know I feel gleeful any time I am encouraged not to dig a hole in the ground.
Anyway, that’s all I have for today. Hope that your garden is thriving, and you enjoy the end of the season of summer. Happy gardening!
The cranesbill, maidenhair ferns, and pokeberries are all looking happy in the shade gardens this year.
September is THE time for new england aster and goldenrod. Our yard is a blaze of yellows and purples.
We’re about a week into September, and it’s been deliciously nice out: sunny and in the 70s for almost a week now. Usually, our Septembers here in Central Ohio are pretty toasty still. We likely won’t have any frost for another month, but it does finally feel like autumn is in sight. The leaves on the cottonwoods are starting to turn a golden green, the hum of the cicadas is waning, and the days are starting later, with the sun setting earlier each night. They are little signs, but for a fall-lover like myself, the utopia of a Midwest Fall is almost here. I can feel it!
Out in the garden, our sedums are really starting to bloom. The salmon pinks of the autumn joy sedum, and the magentas of the autumn fire stonecrops are bursting, and absolutely covered in bees, stocking up on these last flowers of the season. The aster, goldenrods, blanket flowers, and black-eyed susan’s are still flowering away, and some of my favorite native grasses, like little blue stem and switchgrass, are starting to throw up seeds, the long green grasses lighting up with deep oranges and reds.
The tallgrass prairies at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park are a wash a brilliant colors, with pollinators dancing around every petal.
We took a trip out to the largest metro park in the state, Battelle Darby Creek, to check out all the gorgeous tall grass prairie plants in bloom. There were more bees and monarch butterflies than I could count, hopping all over the goldenrods, ironweed, prairie dock, tall coreopsis, and tickseed sunflowers. And the tall peaks of the big bluestem grasses were softly floating along in the breeze. It was a gorgeous afternoon. The park is a big spot for bird-watching, and we always see lots of interesting wildlife there. Though, the largest stars have to be their herd of bison, which we saw lounging around in a muddy watering hole. The herd had a few babies this summer, and they were keeping close to their mothers as they all bathed in the afternoon sunshine.
Another local park, Prairie Oaks, is a sea of gorgeous big blue stem, swaying in the late summer breeze.
Visiting that park is always an inspiration for the garden. I know I’ve spoken in the past about how 40% of the US was once covered in prairies, and now only about 1% of that remains. Since learning about the importance of prairies for the ecosystem, I’ve changed my whole thought process in my garden. I garden because enjoy the process of doing so, and the beauty of living amongst the plants, but my garden exists to help give a space to the creatures around me so desperately in need of a home, and food. It’s why I use no pesticides in my yard, and why we added a pond, don’t mow every week, and have removed quite a lot of our lawn to make more room for flower beds. Wildlife really matters to me.
And, since much of the area where I now live, in Central Ohio, was once a prairie, called Darby Plains, I have aimed to include many plants in my garden that would have once lived here before the area was filled with farms and housing developments. At some point, I need to sit down and make a list of everything that I have growing here, but it’s quite a mix of natives, perennials that I just really like (such as my beloved peonies), the vegetable and herb gardens, and pots of annuals. All of these plants play an important role in the garden. The non-natives, like the sunflowers, basil (which I let flower after I’d harvested my share), and the stonecrop all provide food for the local pollinators, squirrels, and birds. Variety isn’t just the spice of life for us humans- insects and animals like a range of food options as well.
Our autumn joy sedum is absolutely covered in bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, and other pollinators. It’s an amazing perennial garden, requiring very little maintenance or watering.
Aside from helping to provide habitat for the locals, and something nice to look at for myself, many of the plants I grow serve another purpose: I can harvest them for use in dyeing fabrics and fibers. So many common plants and trees in our yards can be used to make colorful dyes, like marigolds, dandelions, acorns and oak leaves, walnuts, and sunflowers. If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend the book Harvesting Color by Rebecca Burgess, or by simply picking my brain for a bit.
I added quite a few little blue stem plants to the gardens this year. It’s a native grass, and a perfect addition to the beds. It stays fairly small in height, about 2-3′, and in the late summer, the blades of grass throw up pretty seeds that sway in the wind, with green blades of grass that turn fiery red for the fall and winter seasons.
Currently in the yard, I have queen anne’s lace, madder root, goldenrod, pokeberries, marigolds, sunflowers, coreopsis, echinacea, tickseed, hardy hibiscus, walnuts, maple trees, and I’m sure I’m forgetting others… Anyway, I’ll harvest a few bits of each to ply with here as the weather continues to cool. Adding different metals and materials to the dye bath changes the pH of the water, which changes the colors of everything. It’s fun to play with- the colors you expect aren’t usually what you end up with on your fabrics. For example, queen anne’s lace, with its white flowers and green stems, gives off a lot of yellows, oranges, and browns, depending on the pH of the water. Things get rather “science-y” pretty quickly, (I think that’s the technical term), but it can be a lot of fun to experiment.
Also, I like the idea of using natural colors, from plants that I grew, to dye yarn that I’ve spun up myself, to then knit or weave into an item that I can wear. The whole process feels a bit magical to me, and is one I look forward to at the end of each summer, and throughout the fall.
These black hopi sunflowers are beloved by myself and the pollinators. Once they finish flowering, I’ll use some of them for dyeing, and leave the rest for the birds to snack on.
The cooler weather has also sparked some motivation for me to finally get out and do a bit of weeding and clean up. As I mentioned, we’re probably a ways off from our next frost, but a few of the annuals in the deck pots were looking quite shaggy. So, I went out and cleaned up the deck a bit. I took out the spent zinnias and added them to the compost pile, and I planted out the last of the little blue stem grasses I’d started growing from seed earlier this year. Late summer/fall is a great time to plant perennials and native plants and seeds. I wouldn’t start any bulbs quite yet, but I did add a few purple prairie clover plants to the newest front bed, and I plan to add in a few more grasses out back, like native switch grass, and more big blue stem along the fence.
I also cleaned up a few of the sunflowers, that were finished blooming, and had been knocked over by the high winds and 4″ of rain we had from Hurricane Ida at the start of last week. I removed the flower heads, and set them out for the birds to enjoy, and the plants were tossed under our deck for the critters around the pond. The stalks will hollow out as it cools, and solitary bees use them for their homes.
I was standing on the deck the other day, when I saw this morning glory vine in one of the shade beds. I have no idea how it got there, but I removed the thing to a pot on the deck. These vines take over FAST, and can be hard to get rid of, but the flowers are quite nice. So, if I can control it in a pot, that seems the best possible scenario.
Things are warming up just a bit this week, but it’s only going to be in the low 80s, so I plan to get out to move around a few perennials in the back yard, and continue The Great Tomato Harvest of 2021. The larger Druzba tomatoes I’d planted are not quite doing as well as I’d hoped, but the little San Marzano’s have exceeded expectations. I should have enough here soon to start canning tomato paste. I finally harvested the last of the potatoes and carrots, and the green beans are still prolific, to say the least. I’m looking into planting some cover crops in the beds this fall… maybe some hairy vetch (which totally does not sound like a thing someone would want to possess) to help add nutrients back into the soil and keep the weeds out this fall. I’ve never actually messed about with cover crops, since I use our compost for the veggie beds, but I may see try it out this year to see what all the fuss is about. I can nearly always be talked into planting something, after all.
Anyway, hope things in your garden are thriving and that you’re having nice weather to get out and enjoy the fruits of your labor. The next month or two (in my area) is the last burst of outdoor gardening for the year, and I’m excited to get out to play before the frosts hit. Happy gardening!
