Our little tomato plant is wrapping up. For such a little plant, it was a power house. We had 5 waves of at least 20 tomatoes each. There are maybe a dozen or so tomatoes still on the plant, most of which are green or yellow green. In past years I brought them in and ripened them on the counter. This year I am going to try a recipe for green tomatoes. Haven’t decided on one yet. If you have a favorite, please share!
It’s October. The corn fields are drying. The sky is vivid blue (when it’s not totally cloudy). In a month we will be ripe for snow to fill the growing empty spaces in the garden. For now it is time to join in the fall merriment.
And a 25 year old favorite:
The one on the left may be ready for a “refresh” painting. On the list for next weekend.
Just had an awesome discovery – check it out.
Yes, that is a new cluster of daylilies! I looked online and it sounds like ‘Just Plum Happy’ daylilies re-bloom. I did not know that. This is our most mature ‘Just Plum Happy’ daylily and this is the first year it has re-bloomed. Very exciting!
Not another frost in the forecast for 10 days so maybe … at least some of the buds will have enough runway to bloom.
Very glad I harvested those seeds. Can’t wait to see if they revert to the parentage or create something entirely new.
Fall clean-up for week #1 is almost complete (sans pulling in the hummingbird feeders). Time invested so far: about 2 hrs.
It helped that our guest in the garden was there to lend moral support.
2 of the 3 clematis in back are now trimmed back, the daylilies in one garden are trimmed back, all of the asian lilies are trimmed back, the hostas that were fading and wilting are trimmed back, the irises that never bloom (I keep hoping-lol) are trimmed back, all of the remaining hosta scapes are trimmed back (goodness knows what I will do with all those Aureomarginata seeds!), and all of the linden branches that came down in the recent storm are picked up. 2 large bags packed to the gills.
It’s starting to look lighter in the garden. Kinda sad. But hey, some scarecrow garden picks might look good in those open spaces 😉
Today all that’s left on the agenda is pulling in the hummingbird feeders, washing them, and putting them in storage.
Next week – trim back the ‘Marque Moon’ daylilies and the all the red daylilies.
I need to begin fall cleanup today. It usually takes six Saturdays, and I am right on the edge of running late. Saturday is the day, because compost is open until 2 pm on Saturdays in the fall.
It’s always a little sad to start this process, but I cut everything back by hand (no weed whipping – yet) and if I don’t get going, it will be bitterly cold when the last bit needs to be done. (Experience talking here) Plus, there are those few things to be transplanted, or given to neighbors. And then there’s that bag of 30 tulips.
The past few falls it stayed nice enough that some of the hosta leaves were able to turn colors before they wilted from frost.
So I will leave those for another week. I’ll start with the asian lilies, the fading hostas, and the daylilies whose leaves are browning up.
Yup. I need to get started. No more hanging on. It’s time. We have our “guest in the garden” this weekend. He can lend moral support. In 30 minutes.
If it were April/May, I’d be all over a day to get out in the garden early, but Brrr! Who wants to leave the comfy house with cozy throws to go out and cut down the garden?
It does help that part of the garden came in the house last night – the hibiscus, shamrocks and amaryllis. They are still in the entryway acclimating before I put them in their locations for the next 6 months. Maybe I’ll enjoy them inside for just a few more minutes.
No? Okay, here we go. Once I get going it will be fun? Or at least familiar …
We are headed to our first frost tonight – 31°. Brrr! Then we’ll be in the mid 50’s during the daytime tomorrow. I am reminded that this is the time of year we Minnesotans, as my husband says, “hardy up”.
The squirrels are chubbing up. They get the whole “hardy up” thing. One of our white squirrels came to fill up early this morning.
I am thinking that only a week and a half ago we were comfortably taking a day cruise in Duluth (MN).
It was only during the last 10 min or so when the wind picked up that I even pulled my hood up. Today I wore my new heavy jacket to work – and was glad for it!
Tonight the hibiscus and shamrocks and amaryllis came in. They will make their home inside now until probably early May.
And our “guest in the garden”, little 9 pound Sandy, came with his fall vest when I picked him up late this afternoon. Missy said he is already getting chilled when he goes out.
A cup of hot tea to chase away the chill, a candle going indoors to cozy things up, and a weekend walk in the middle of the day when it’s warmest will be the new norm pretty soon.
It’s getting to be hot tea time in the fall garden again. Not to worry – I have plenty in stock ☺ Lemon and raspberry and mint and matcha, english breakfast and irish breakfast, and, of course green.
The buffet is stocked and the pantry is full. It will be a while til I need to buy any more. But what a treat to sit in the garden on a cool morning with a hot cup of tea.
Looking forward to that this weekend. But maybe not until 9am or so on Saturday. We’re supposed to have a chilly 33° at 7am on Saturday. Brrrr!
Friday night we are supposed to have a frost. If that forecast holds, it’s time to pull in the hibiscus and shamrocks.
The shamrocks look fine, but the leaves on an entire main branch of the hibiscus turned brown a couple weeks ago. It is probably 10 years old. I put fertilizer on it in the spring, and coffee grounds to also fertilize and keep pests away. I’m hoping it is not failing. It is in a very large pot, so big that my husband and I have to carry it outside together, but I suspect it is getting root-bound. Getting a larger pot is not an option. The plant barely fits through the door now. So I think I will just watch it for now. Hopefully it will recover.
Tonight I saw something new. I heard a lot of an unfamiliar chirping out by the smaller pine. It went on and on so I went to look. I saw a male cardinal feeding a female cardinal. The female was the one chirping. They started out on separate branches but soon she sat on the branch right next to him. He would get food out of the feeder, and feed it to her. Very cool. I’ve never seen that before. I looked it up and it sounds like cardinals are monogamous. Maybe it’s the Mom and Dad that we saw going back and forth to feed the hatchlings we heard this summer. Maybe it’s a new “couple”. It seems unlikely they are breeding, as we are at the end of September, but maybe. We’ll see.
A few weekends ago I had time to sit on the patio, look at the garden areas, relax in the shade, and think. Our small pine tree, the one with the bird feeders, has become a little ecosystem. Finches and chickadees and cardinals and doves, squirrels of different colorings and even a mama squirrel comes by. Our garden had humingbirds and monarchs and bumble bees and dragonflies. All coming to feed and some stopping for quite a while. It is peaceful. I need that time, sometimes even with no phone to take pictures. Yes, that was very healthy.
During those few weeks, it seemed as if the stores were sometimes quite successful in getting fall merchandise out the door – in 92° weather! Scarecrows were showing up down the street!
But now fall is definitely here. Our linden is shedding yellow leaves, one or two at a time, but there is a growing pile on the lawn. I have gotten out my boxes of tea for hot beverages. The sweatshirts that sat in the closet over the summer are starting to come out.
In the garden, the daylilies and hostas are all done blooming.
The sedum are in full bloom.
But our little tomato plant, although looking quite tired, is still bearing fruit. It had five waves of blooms!
Now my mind is beginning to consider plant moves – like the sedum that didn’t get much sun this year because the ‘Aureomarginata’ hostas have gotten so big.
Poor thing! It needs much more spacious accommodations.
Some things have been fading, too, like the beautiful pink asian lilies that are getting crowded by hostas and sedum out front. We have had them for probably a dozen years. I don’t want to lose them, if possible.
It’s not quite scarecrow picks in the ground time at our house yet, but I’m thinking … What do I want to move around so next year is even better?
Fall was also starting on the north shore when we were there last week. One of the days we were up there we took a gondola ride. Check out the start of fall color!
A few weeks ago I noticed the chickadees were eating out of the hummingbird feeder.
I thought that odd, so I looked it up. I found it is not uncommon for chickadees to do that. It is similar to their eating pine sap. Sure enough, when I watched, I saw them eating pine sap.
We really enjoy the chickadees and are hoping they stick around through the four seasons now that we have the seed feeders available for them.
The hummingbirds have moved through, but we have left the feeders up for a few more days. This weekend we’ll take them down, clean them, and put them in storage until next spring. Until then, enjoy, chickadees!
