It’s the last day of winter here in the northern hemisphere today, and the season is hanging on firmly. We’ve had flurries the past few days, temps in the 20s, and quite blustery winds. Of course, living in Ohio, if you don’t like the weather here, just wait a few hours. The high tomorrow is going to be in the 50s, which is what’s expected at this time of year.
Not that I’d have started my outdoor gardening last month on the 70+ degree days (our last frost date isn’t until early May). However, it it has been interesting to watch all of the early growth outdoors grind to a halt. Trees had started budding out, and perennials were shooting up almost a month early. And then, in the past couple weeks, Mother Nature seems to have hit the pause switch.
Since I’m incapable of exhibiting any sort of patience, I haven’t paid this weather setback too much attention. I set up a greenhouse in our basement, and this years seed-starting has taken off with a flurry of planting. I spent this weekend transplanting seedlings that have already outgrown their first tiny pots. Heading down to check on the greenhouse has become a highlight of the day, and I’ve been obsessively monitoring the temperature and humidity as I watch all the little seeds sprout and grow. It will be awhile before anything moves outdoors, but what kind of gardener would I be if I didn’t test the limits of the greenhouse (and the laws of physics) by cramming in as many plants as possible?
The greenhouse is currently housing a collection of pothos, pineapples, a lemon tree, a few succulents, some madder root, a banana tree, and a crop of seedlings: basil, comfrey, cumin, oregano, sesame, cantaloupe, watermelon, leeks, lettuce, loofahs, bell peppers, poblano peppers, cayenne peppers, tomatillos, cherry tomatoes, paste tomatoes, petunias, blue false indigo, and swamp milkweed. Out on the deck, the cold frame is housing some spinach, and, creek sedge, yellow coneflowers, tall ironweed, blue false indigo, wild bergamot, and swamp milkweed are all basking away in recycled milk jugs until it’s warm enough for them to sprout.
The next few weeks should continue to be pretty busy. We’re having a new fence installed to replace the current one, which is beyond dilapidated. Once things warm up just a bit more, I’ll get the leeks transplanted outdoors, the carrots, onions, parsley, and snow peas planted, and the next round of seedlings will get planted in the greenhouse. Our asparagus crop should be springing up soon, a favorite of ours. And, I’m planning to mulch all of the beds around the garden with leaf compost.
Come April, I have a few shrubs to add to the yard. I’ll be nabbing a rain barrel and getting that set up. I’m also planning to rework one of our shade gardens by the wildlife pond. The compost bin that lives there may be moving around a bit, and I want to better design the space so things look a little more cohesive with the rest of the yard. It’s also entirely possible that I’ll be adding another raised bed so I have room for everything I’d like to grow this year (see aforementioned seed-starting mania).
So, that’s early springtime sorted around these parts. Hopefully your gardening plans are also coming together this year. If not, it’s only Mid-March. There’s plenty of time! Happy gardening!
One of the greenhouse shelves, packed full of lettuce and tomatoes.
The hellebores started blooming last month, and are really in their prime now.
After a January that felt about seven years long, somehow, it’s already almost the end of February. The sun stays out just a little later in the evenings, and the garden is waking back up. The hellebores and crocuses have been blooming, and there’s a few other bulbs and perennials springing up out of the ground, like the peonies and tulips. Many of the trees around the house have buds already, and it would not surprise me to see daffodils blooming shortly.
Springtime doesn’t officially start for another month, and our last frost likely won’t be until early May, but our weather hasn’t really felt terribly wintery lately. We’ve had a fair amount of rain so far this year, and very little snowfall. The temperatures have been bouncing around a lot, from the 60s and 70s, to the 20s and 30s, and back again. We’ve had a few thunderstorms, and lots of very windy days, with the threat of severe weather looming. For Central Ohio, where my garden grows, these changing weather patterns are a little alarming.
A few weeks ago, I attended a conference, which included a presentation by Dr. Aaron Wilson, an atmospheric scientist and the Principal Investigator at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. Dr. Wilson spoke to our group of Master Gardeners about the weather, and the shifts we’re experiencing in our climate. Did you know that, if you were born after February of 1985, you have never experienced a cooler than average month on our planet? The climate is heating up, and it’s having a huge impact on our weather.
Making new sycamore friends at a local park.
While these changes are different depending on ones location, in my area, our changing climate mean more extremes. Our temperatures in the winter and spring will continue to bounce around a lot. Just this week, we went from 73 degrees to a high of 32 the next day. (The average high temperature is 41 at this time of year). This January was the third warmest in Ohio since 1880, when such records began being kept in a standardized fashion.
Another way to look at things is our number of growing degree days. GDD are a way to measure the development of plants and insects during the growing season. Basically, plants and insects won’t grow unless it’s a certain temperature outside. Plenty of different conditions factor in, but until it’s 50 degrees out, for the most part, things aren’t growing. Scientists know how many GDD it takes for different plants and trees to start blooming, and for insects to appear. This info is available in what’s called a phenology calendar. Anyway, at this point last year, we’d had 17 GDD. The year before, we’d had 2. Makes sense. Winter is typically cold, and there’s not too many signs of life outdoors in February. However, this year, we’re up to 64 GDD. Forsythia, maples, and dogwoods are all starting to bloom, which usually doesn’t happen for another month.
Just a few last note: this February will be the first on record for my area without measurable snowfall. The ground has not frozen yet this year, and we’re having higher than average rainfall totals.
So, a lot is changing, and we know things are only going to continue to warm up. Summers in Central Ohio will soon feel like they do now in Arkansas, and winter will be more like it is now in North Carolina. It’s overwhelming to think about- after all, the climate impacts everything we do, and in the garden, everything we are able to grow. It impacts which insects and animals reside here, the success of our farmers, our health and safety… it’s a lot to reckon with.
I’m trying to focus on what I can actually impact, and in my garden, that’s my allocation of resources and focus on native planting. Native plants require a lot less resources, and help out the food web. They often have deeper roots than their non-native counterparts, which helps with soil conditions and water runoff. By not using any pesticides in my garden, I’m not harming any of the pollinators or birds. And, just by growing plants, I’m helping to sequester carbon (really, I have little to do with that process- the plants do all of the work there). But, once again, native plants outshine their non-native counterparts, capturing more carbon since they have a better chance at thriving in the conditions.
This year, I plant to add a rain barrel, so the majority of my watering will utilize the rainfall. And I hope to add some drip irrigation in the raised beds. This will have a huge impact on how much watering I typically do during the summertime. I want to use the resources I do have in smarter and more sustainable ways. I know not everyone has access to these options, but since I do, I had better consider them.
So, that’s what’s been on my brain lately. I’ve started growing a few seeds indoors, and will likely be setting up the cold frame again soon to start the next batch of salad fixings. Hopefully, the sun is out where you are, and you’ve been able to start planning for the growing season ahead. Happy gardening!
Once again this year, I did some winter sowing. Many native plants require at least 30 days of freezing temps to grow, and these recycled bottles house seeds and soil quite well out on our deck. The bottles help keep the seeds moist and allow in needed sunlight.
After waking up to thunderstorms in the wee small hours of the morning, I didn’t have tremendously high hopes for the day. But, in the afternoon, the sun came out, and it turned into a lovely time for gardening.
Today is the first of May, my favorite month in the garden. All the perennials are coming back up, there’s lots of trees and flowers in bloom, and it’s not yet so hot and humid that being outside for any length of time is miserable. We’re not quite past our last frost date here in Central Ohio, so I haven’t moved everything outside quite yet. But, I was able to start hardening off the tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, and flowers that I’ve been growing from seed indoors. The process takes about ten days/two weeks, so by the time they are ready to plant in the ground, it will be warm enough to plant them in the ground.
The deck is already packed full of pots. I started a bunch of native grasses from seed to add to the borders along our fence: Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), Big Bluestem (Andropogon geradii), Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans), and Broom Sedge (Andropogon virginicus). There’s also pots full of strawberries, potatoes, thyme, chives, mint, and a bunch of native perennials, like Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). The cold frame filled up very quickly this year, but we’re about past the time where I need it. Looks like I skated by starting too many seeds for yet another year!
Out in the raised beds, things are also filling up. Our asparagus is in its fourth year, so it’s really coming in nicely. We’ve already been able to enjoy a few harvests on the grill. The garlic I planted last fall is also looking quite nice. It should be time to harvest those bulbs here in a few weeks. Also out in the beds are some carrots, leeks, onions, snow peas, and potatoes. We’re going to have potatoes coming out of our ears this year. I have four grow bags full of them on the deck, and two more rows of potatoes out in the raised beds. I’m just trying to represent my Irish heritage well!
As usual, the deck is filling up with potted plants.
Just off of the raised beds is the wildlife pond that went in last year. I’ve had a few people ask how the pond had its start in life, so I thought I’d share the tale again, and give an update.
I’d had a small water feature in mind for a few years, but I wasn’t sure about what to put in. Fountains are EXPENSIVE and I thought a pond would be too much upkeep. Two years ago, I added a few small, shallow pots to the landscape, filled with water for the birds and pollinators to enjoy. I highly recommend this. It’s a simple way to help lure more wildlife into the yard, and things are easy to clean and maintain. But, with every viewing of the BBC’s Gardeners World, I wanted more.
Our lot is just over 6,000 square feet, which is below average for the US (you people with acreage are really throwing off the curve). It’s more than big enough for two fairly lazy people who hate lawn maintenance, and as I searched online for examples of wildlife ponds, I knew the yard was large enough to fit what I had in mind as well. I wanted something about 3′ by 3′, in a circle-ish shape, and shallow enough that I wouldn’t have to do much digging to put the thing in. So, one day, I told the husband that we were putting a pond in, and we started to dig. Well, actually, back that up. First, I called 8-1-1 and had the utility companies come out to mark our electric and cable lines so we wouldn’t hit anything. If you’re ever doing any digging in your yard, for a tree, a pond, or any kind of larger hole, Call Before You Dig!
So, yard spray-painted with lines marking the important things, we mapped out the spot for the pond with an old hose. I’ve seen this done before, and it’s a great way to “see” what your new project is going to look like before you start digging around. Just use the hose like a border, and make the shape you want. Once we had things outlined, we started digging.
The pond is about 2′ deep in the center, with tapered edges, and a little beach on one end. I specifically wanted a wildlife-style pond in the yard, and for animals to be able to get in and use the thing, I knew a gradual entryway was required. Once the digging was complete, we added a lining, using plastic sheeting. The sheet is fairly thick, and I folded it in half to add even more oomph to the lining.
The perennials are coming back in nicely this year, framing in the pond and helping to provide food and shelter to any critters who may be in the area. Now that the rocks have settled in, I have a few more to add, but I’m happy with the progress so far!
Next, we added some river rock and pebbles to the bottom, and along the edges. Then, larger flat stones went in around the border of the pond and along the sides, to hide the plastic sheet. Once that was finished, we filled the pond with water, and I used some old branches and sticks to line one end of the pond and make it look more natural and wild. This makes a great space for wildlife to hide and nest. After a simple bubbler went in to circulate the water around, that was that for the pond.
The area where we put the pond is mostly in the shade. It was a damp area to begin with, that grew a lot of moss and henbit. So, I added in plants that liked the shade and wet conditions, and used mostly species native to our area to lure in even more o the things we wanted, like dragonflies and caterpillars. There’s a lot around the pond, all perennials: an eastern redbud tree, a buttonbush, maidenhair ferns, wild geraniums, creek sedge, blue flag irises, sweet flag irises, jack-in-the-pulpits, rue anemones, sea oats, spiderwort, a pitcher plant, and a little grouping of hostas and heucheras. The native plants and trees (all but the last two) support over 100 species of caterpillars!
Today, I added the bubbler back into the pond for the season. I started with a little, floating solar fountain. But, after a couple of months, it bit the dust. So, I added in a little aquarium pump, that plugs into an outlet on the deck. It helps keep water circulating and the sound attracts more birds to the pond for bath time.
Other than that, I don’t do a thing to the pond, except weed around it. (And, today, I pulled a few leaves out of the water so they wouldn’t clog up the bubbler). I don’t use any chemicals to clean the water- the bubbler takes care of that. And we’ve had the neatest wildlife show up in the short time the pond has been around: all kinds of birds, dragonflies (just one can eat up to 100 mosquitoes in a day, in case you’re worried about the water in the yard attracting too many of the bloodsuckers), beetles, spiders, other insects, and most excitingly, frogs! Two arrive last summer and I hope we see more this year.
Some of the shade-loving plants and trees in bloom right now: great white trillium, dutchman’s breeches, rue anemone, and flowering dogwood
So, that’s the wildlife pond. It’s doing exactly what I’d wanted: luring in wildlife. And, it’s been fuss-free. Is the water always 100% clear? Nope. Does it look like a well-manicured water feature? Absolutely not. But, those things weren’t my goal. I wanted the space to look natural and I think we succeeded. This spring has already been filled with joyful moments and I wander around the pond, looking at the different wildlife which lives there- the insects, the native wildflowers, and the occasional bird, stopping by to wade around the beach.
Hopefully, this helps get you started if you’re interested in adding your own pond to the yard. There’s lots of books and resources out there to inspire, including this one that I used from the Conservation Foundation. Happy gardening!
Nothing says “Spring in the Midwest” like pansies on the front porch!
Springtime continues, as does our wild weather. In the past week, we’ve seen temps in the teens, and the 70s. It’s snowed, sleeted, thunderstormed, and we’ve had high wind warnings and red flag advisories. Things are supposed to be a little calmer this week, with temps in the 50s and 60s, which is the average for this time of year.
I’ve been focusing my gardening efforts indoors lately (mostly so I don’t blow away). This past week, I started up the next round of annuals: calendula, cornflowers, cosmos, love-in-a-mist, nasturtiums, marigolds, and zinnias for the pollinators and a cut flower garden. I also planted some creeping thyme, basil, and cumin. By the time these start growing up, I’ll be able to move them outdoors, into the cold frame. I don’t have enough grow lights to keep too many seedlings growing indoors, so having the cold frame is a lifesaver.
A few weeks ago, I planted up leeks, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, indigo, rudbeckia, and yarrow, and all of these have sprouted under the grow lights. It’s such a joy when your seeds sprout. The whole process feels a bit like magic to me and I’m so relived that everything is coming up.
Our hellebores are blooming up a storm lately.
Outside, in the milk jugs on the porch, the common blue violets, spring beauties, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, ironweed, purple prairie clover, wild bergamot, and prairie blazing star have sprouted. As excited as I was to see the cantaloupes sprout this past week, I was really over the moon to spy these native seedlings sprouting. Most importantly, they will help the pollinators in the garden this year, but they will also help the garden borders to fill in and look better. One of my goals for this gardening season is to move like plants things into groups, rather than just one of a species planted randomly around the borders.
This week, I’m hoping to get outdoors for a bit of cleanup. I won’t cut any of the perennials back quite yet- that will have to wait just a few more weeks until temps are warm enough that any nesting bees and bugs inside the stalks of these plants have woken up and flown away. But there’s work I can do in the raised beds. They need some more compost and dirt this year before I can start my cool season crops. I want to haul the cold frame up from the basement as well. I have a few long, narrow pots that I’ll plant up with spinach and lettuce here shortly.
I’m excited for these weeks of April. The spring ephemerals that I love will be blooming soon as the weather warms up, and the perennials are starting to pop up for the season. It seems like every day, new green shoots appear. On Sunday, the husband and I headed to our local metro park to check out which wildflowers were flowering.
I absolutely love wildflower walks. Every week, the whole landscape looks different, and spotting tiny little flowers poking up through the fallen leaves in the woods feels like searching for treasure. Sunday, the spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and harbinger-of-spring (Erigenia bulbosa) were flowering. The toadshade (Trillium sessile) and virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) were budding, and should be flowering here soon. I’ve started growing a lot of these in the garden for myself and the pollinators to enjoy, and I cannot wait to see them all pop up in the flower beds!
Hope the weather is warming up wherever you are, and that your garden is also waking from a long winter. Happy gardening!
Bloodroot, spotted at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
Our winter temperatures have finally arrived. We had a dusting of snow the other day, and temps dropped down into the teens and single digits a few nights. Brr! The birds devoured everything in our feeders before the temps dropped off late last week, and I’ve been enjoying checking out all their tracks in the snow. The deck railings seem to be a high traffic area for the birds, and the neighborhood cat appears to gone ice skating on the frozen pond.
When I haven’t been watching the birds hop around through the snow, I’ve been working on planting the first of this seasons seeds. January may seem an odd time for planting in Ohio, but there’s quite a few seeds that need the winter cold to properly grow. These seeds need a period of colder weather to germinate, with temperature changes and precipitation helping to break down the seeds tough outer shells.
Day-dreaming about spring planting in the raised beds…
In the past, I’d put seeds in the fridge to reproduce winters conditions, but I never had much success growing anything this way. Last year, I learned about the Winter Sowing Method and I had much better luck. I described the process in a post last winter, but the basic idea is that you start your seeds that require stratification outdoors. I was able to grow a bounty of native plants from seed this way, and I decided to try it again this year. I grow these seeds in recycled milk and juice containers, with a little seed starting soil mix. The deck is already packed with containers full of prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya), little blue stem (Schizachyrium scoparium), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), and purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea). I have a bunch of native grasses to start with the rest of my recyclable collection, as well as some coneflowers.
Most of my seeds, however, won’t see soil until March. I’m going to start quite a few herbs and veggies indoors, under grow lights. And then, I have a few things that will be directly sown in the ground, like carrots and lettuce in the springtime. I’ve been scouring seed catalogues, adding entirely too many seeds to my collection. I have a few left over from last year to use up this season, in addition to quite a few that I harvested from plants. So, it’s going to be a busy spring, is what I’m getting at!
What seed-obsession?
Along with planting too many seeds, I just started my Master Gardener Volunteer classes this past Friday! Thankfully, in addition to my gardening addiction, I’m also quite a fan of notebooks, pens, and highlighters, because we’ve been given a ton of materials to study. The first class gave an overview of the Master Gardener program, from its history to all the great work Master Gardeners are doing in our community. Next, we learned about soil, what makes it such an important resource, how and why it’s important to test it, and how and what to add to it to help plants grow. I remained overwhelmed with gratitude that I managed to skip Organic Chemistry in college when “Soil Cation Exchange Capacity” was brought up… if you ever want to make your head spin, give that little ditty a Google…
Looks like the neighborhood cat stepped out onto the ice of the pond and did a little skating.
After learning about the ins and outs of soil, we covered the Scientific Classification System, scientific names for plants, and had a plant biology overview. There’s so much to learn, and I’m excited to be a part of the program. I imagine by the time classes wrap up in mid-March, I will be a fount of planty know-how!
I think that wraps things up for this first few days of January. I hope to spend time this week doing a bit more winter sowing, and I ought to get all my seeds organized so I can figure out the order of operations for this years planting. Hope you’re staying warm and healthy. Happy gardening!
I left up our pokeberries for the birds to snack on this winter. I love the way the berries look in the cold.
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!
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!
