September Must Come

There is an amazing transition right after Labor Day. It seems as though Summer has a firm hold, and the weather is still hot and dry. But the Tuesday after Labor Day it is Fall - no matter what it might feel like. Kids are around in the morning finding their new bus stops, and everyone gets "back to work," leaving the leisure of the summer behind.

The garden is tired, and mostly spent - though the glory of Fall is yet to be seen. T he tomatoes are ripe on the vine and abundant, the potatoes are ready to be dug, the peppers are heavy on their plants, and the sorry eggplant has yet to produce its second fruit. Sunflowers fill the garden, even though this year I swore they would not.

We are planning how to expand the beds, and when to purchase the mulch to do it with. We want to make the pond larger and deeper, but I still haven't figured out how to do that and preserve the ligularia and the lilies that are on the southeast side where the expansion would be most likely.

Next weekend I must think about taking things inside for the winter. That means the first of probably two or three sprayings of insecticide. I really don't want whiteflies in the house this winter, and I struggle with whether that means spraying heavily or just letting things die outside. And also with whether to try to take in whole plants or just cuttings. The hardest choice will be with the Rex Begonias. For several years I have dug them and put them in pots and kept them through the winter in the light gardens downstairs. This year I took a few leaf cuttings a couple of weeks ago from which I hope to grow new young plants. But I know that I will have to confront the choice of letting the beautiful adult plants on the front porch either die in the frost or be dug and brought inside. I think I will likely dig at least some of them. Maybe this year I'll cut them back heavily when I bring them in.

Other choices: do I bring in the geranium that has been the sentinel plant in front of the garage for many years or let it finally slip away? I really don't like it's color there, but it is so hardy and dependable it is hard to let go of. Also, the two hibiscus that I bought this year were pretty lame. But I cut them both back heavily and the new growth that came was shiny and beautiful. If they can be brought in and protected from the whiteflies that seem to inevitably attach them in late February or March they would be lovely next year.

But the job of keeping things alive and thriving over the winter is not trivial. We'll see.

Pictures for this week are about the light and the structure of the garden.

Mid May Thoughts

The pasque flower and the Darwin tulips in the miniature evergreen garden bloom together this year. It will be interesting to see if they always do.

Well, today is the 19th, and we had frost or very near it last night. I guess there have to be some frosts later than May 15th in order for that to be called the "average date of last frost" for this region. But I really hate to see it get that cold this late. I had to stuff everything that was still in pots into the little greenhouse and then hope like heck that it would make it through the night. Can't really heat that house, have to depend on the ability of all of the soil and pots to hold the heat stored over the daytime.

This morning things looked like they survived, even the cannas that I had no room for in the greenhouse and had to just cover with a little burlap. I do hope that is the last time I have to be so careful this year.

I was off for a three day weekend and of course the weather wasn't as great as I would have liked. Used the first day to shop, doing my annual trip down to Fernau's in Oshkosh. I really like that place - everything seems locally grown and well cared for. Even given that, the prices are lower than they are at most of the "bring 'em in for the season and staff the joint with people who don't care much" places. Stopped also at some of those and bought most of what I'll need for the initial round of planting at least.

Saturday was my annual plant giveaway day. Several people from work were able to stop and pick up the extra plants that have sprouted around the yard. I really like to do that, and people seem to like to come. In between I was able to do some weeding and bed preparation. Getting ready for the transition from spring to summer. Bill roto-tilled the vegetable garden. We got all of the major pots filled with good soil ready for nice plantings. I really should do something to mark the places that need new tulips and daffodils so that I remember next fall. That chore always seems to fall through the cracks though, there is so much to do.

We ordered 8 yards of bark chips on Sunday, for delivery some time this week. That should be enough to get things going this year, though we will probably need another 8 yards or so later. There will be plenty to do this weekend.

The picture here is of the tree I call the 'mystery' tree. It grew on its own, and is now about 9 feet tall or so. Pretty white racaemous blooms in the spring. 5 petals, like an apple or cherry or?? Beautiful redish leaves in the fall. I haven't been diligent in keying it down, and I don 't know what it is. Maybe a wild cherry? Maybe this post will force me to figure it out before someone puts up a comment that makes me feel stupid.

One evening this weekend, can't remember which, the light was so beautiful at sunset that I had to take some pictures. Dark clouds to the south, but bright sun coming in at a very low angle.