All my fall perennials planting is done and I'm in bulb planting round three (I received another batch that I had forgotten I had ordered). Most of my clean-up is done, and it's too early to get started on leaves. I've started some planning for next spring, but otherwise I have the green-thumb blues and I'm not looking forward to months of winter.
I have a guy coming this morning to give me an estimate on digging out the stretch down the side of the driveway for me. The prior owners put down rocks and gravel around the plants, which have by now become imbedded in the soil. Sticking a shovel in it will about knock your shoulder out. I'm too old and too girly to do it myself :)
Fall Gardening - What are you doing?
Let's see...I've been planting spring blooming bulbs and a few fall perennials. Mostly I've been digging up bulbs and perennials that won't make it through the winter, easing them into dormancy and over wintering them either in the basement or garage. Since I'm nuts and 80% of my garden is tropicals, I've been doing alot of that! Still can't wait until next spring, though!
I have never had the patience to dig things and over-winter them indoors, with the exception of two pots that were my grandmothers, and it's the pots that I'm protecting rather than the plants. They're old, and I worry that our harsh winters will crack them.
The guy for the dig-out job just left, and he had some great ideas for the front yard - really got me thinking! We've done a lot to the back, because that's where we spend most of our time, but the front has been pretty much untouched. It needs a lot of work. Funny how you don't see it the same way until you walk through with someone else.
ss, I know what you mean by seeing the garden through different eyes. It's surprising to me sometimes what people will comment on that you don't 'see' anymore.
I've done all the planting and moving I'm going to do, too. The containers have been emptied and stored, I did up my cuttings to overwinter and overseeded the lawn. The cannas will come in once we get a killing frost (expected tonight) and then I'll cut down the perennials (except for the grasses and evergreens, lavender etc.) because spring is too hectic.
I still need to put away all my garden art and doodahs. Then there's raking to do because it's been very windy and there's pine needles everywhere. It seems that right now is the peak for the fall tree colours. It's been a rainy fall so far and when it dries up a bit I'd like to finish a flagstone walkway. Oh yeah! I gotta get my spring bulbs planted....that'd be the first order of business. Yikes, I thought things were under control until I wrote all the things I still need to do!
LOL sanannie! I know what you mean. I was sitting here thinking I was in pretty good shape for fall. It's been pretty windy here, and I have pine needles and leves to get cleaned up, not to mention getting all those extra bulbs in the ground. I ordered them early, and totally spaced out printing the online order to put into my garden folder. I have about 100 each daffoldils, chionoxa, and tupips, plus about 50 iris that I need to get in. Yikes! My DH got me a bulb auger that fits onto the drill, at least, so that will make it a bit less of a chore. Then Rob, the guy that came this morning, suggested that I cut the spireas that I want gone down to the ground so that the evergreens can fill in some, limb up some trees before they come dig out the driveway bed, and move the hostas and yuccas that I want to save that are in that stretch.
What's ironic is that I was shifting from garden mode to house mode, and I just bought two bolts of fabric, plus trim etc to redecorate the bedroom, which of course, is spread out all over the kitchen because I've started on the cutting.
Thank goodness it's hunting season, and DH is gone on weekends so I have alone-time to get all this stuff done!
I, thankfully do not have leaves to rake yet. I just started shifting to inside activities, too. It's time to recover the couches, except I haven't been able to make much time for it. I wish my husband would go hunting! He just sits around and talks about how much he wants to go but doesn't! LOL, that means I have to dote on him all the time.
I am preparing my plants for a local plant trade! How fun, to see your gardening friends, share plants and a good meal.
I am also doing my complete set of fall photos. I have decided to do this every year. Then I carefully splice and piece the photos together so I have views of the entire garden by "area". I carefully label the plants then I begin to think about re-arranging the design, or what to add, change...whatever. This is work I do over the winter, before I order seeds.
This is the time of year I also do a lot of propigation before winter sets in. We had a "plant house" built, it's open air, not a greenhouse but is very sheltered. I can take transplants and cuttings now and overwinter them in that area with no problems.
girlgroupgirl
Well I messed around and managed to hit Lowe's just as the clearance sale started, so I have LOTs of planting to do! I got 2 'Wine and Roses' weigelas and a variegated one, a 'Goldflame' spirea, and a flowering almond for $3 each!! Who could pass that up? Now I've got to decide where to put them... and SOON! I'm pretty sure they'll go in between the butterfly bushes I got earlier this spring, so I'll have a nice flowering shrub "fence" in front of my neighbor's chain link on one side of our back yard.
I've had so many projects this year! I did a big round bed (20' across) around a tree stump in my front yard and planted it with 4 hy tea roses, about a dozen miniature roses, and 25 or so daylilies. I transformed a former veggie garden in the back yard into a canna garden (with LOTs of other stuff in there too) with a big 3-tier strawberry bed kind of in the middle and paths going around and out from it. I doubled the size of the beds on each side of my front porch and have been planting them up, and then my friend ButterflyChaser came over and helped me scrape (what a MESS!) and paint the gable end of my house next to the driveway so we could get my new water garden installed! Since we did that, I've been designing and working on landscaping a big new bed around that!
I am SO ready for this season to wind down! I sure hope next year I get to just water, weed, prune, and ENJOY!
So now for a couple of pics....
Hey... you ASKED what we were doing! lol
Gail
This is the canna garden with 16 varieties.....
Here's my current project of landscaping around the water garden....
I just got this arch last Christmas and FINALLY decided it needed to go "here" and got 2 of my 'Aloha' roses put on it. The bed in front is the "Roses and Daylilies" bed, and behind is the bed on one side of my porch.
Oops! I was thinking the R&D bed showed in this pic.... I think this one is the one I meant to post....
Here's the other side of the front porch... please excuse my "stuff" all over the place!
I scavenged that statue but need to try and repair it. It's broken in 1/2 and the head is broken off, but I still like it!
And here is the area behind that ramp on the end of the porch (for a disabled relative that visits frequently)....
I'm going to put a new, weather-proof padding on that bench and paint it, but it will stay outside. Not sure where it will "live" yet.
One more pic! One more! I promise!
Forgot to mention that I moved 2 mock orange and a forsythia this spring and did this "shade" garden along the side of the house next to the neighbor with the chain link fence. She loves sitting outside and it's such a better view for her than before! She's around 70 and still push-mows her yard and has a big veggie garden!
Well, o.k.... you talked me into it....
The other end of the shade garden.....
As you can see, I don't care much about the lawn...
One more of the canna garden.... even though they're not blooming too well now... it's been quite dry and I've recently snipped off spent blooms.
I built this "arch" out of scraps.
I've spent the last 2 years caring for my live-in MIL until her passing a year ago this week, and I've really spent a lot of time in the yard this year. I was only able to be outside a little bit at a time before, and couldn't get anything done due to her care requirements. We miss her terribly, but she is resting now and pain free, and I'm free to play with my flowers and 3 year old grandbaby, Emily! What a joy she is! She like to help me water my flowers, and frequently likes to "water" ME!
I think I need a new yard hat.....
I've got everything planted/moved except for some bulbs yet to arrive from Breck's. All I need to do yet before winter really sets in is mulch with leaves from our yard. We've got big oaks and always have tons of leaves, and since we can't afford the mulch we really want, we'll use the leaves. I'm pretty pleased with our status right now, since we started a MAJOR gardening project about a month ago and worked ourselves to death with it. My body has never hurt so bad, but now it gets to rest .
I, too, am going to start on the inside stuff. Our youngest daughter's room is in a state of remodeling and I need to get that painted, and wallpaper removed and painted there. She's 23 and just graduated from college and is out on her own, so Mickey Mouse has to go. LOL.
gardenergail, what a GREAT picture of the two of you!
Oh, thanks kbaumle! I'm the ugly one, but isn't she the sweetest thing? Grandma'ing is the greatest!
I know what you mean. I'm ready to do some inside stuff too!
My daughter is 23, too!
I got my Breck's bulbs about 4-5 days ago.
I am blessed with a friend (mentioned above) that had a tree trimmer dump his shredded trees on her lot (he didn't want to pay the city to dump at landfill, thank goodness!) and it's been piled up composting for over a year. I can go haul all the mulch I want from her house! Talk about lucky! Last year, I was using mowed-over sycamore leaves for mulch.
Wow.........you're really lucky! (the mulch)
We have another daughter, aged 25, that's getting married next August, so we're planning a wedding, too!
I feel for you! I am the middle of 3 daughters, and we're only 3 years (older sister) and 16 months (younger sister) apart. It makes it tough, but it will be a wonderful bonding experience for you all plus the younger one can get a lot of ideas from big sis (and do's & don'ts!).
The mulch is going fast since Nancy and I started in on it this spring. I don't know if she's going to have him dump some more or not. He doesn't live too far from her and I think she can have him bring her some whenever she wants, so she may not keep a HUGE pile on her lot any more, once this is gone. I'm trying to get all I can before it's gone!
gardengail - what a little cutie! She has the same look on her face that I get when I get a new garden catalog - a little on the devious side :) I think we all hope to just be able to "weed, water, and enjoy", but it never seems to work out that way for me. There's always something to move, a bed to re-do, or some new plant that I just have to have.
jessmerritt - be careful what you wish for. Take duck, goose and deer hunting seasons, add a dash of football and hockey, and **poof** disappearing hubby. We do get some very tasty dinners out of the deal though, and he's a great cook. He can make duck breast on the grill that are better than the average filet mignon. Yummy!
kbaumle - I checked the Lowe's here several times and never saw any great plant deals. A couple of markdowns, but not much. I did go a little overboard at the nice garden center's 1/2 off sale - a jeep load on a Thursday, and another following weekend. Thankfully I got all of those in before the bulbs started to arrive.
I've been struggling with the mulch question too - I had 20 yards dumped this summer, and I need more. We also have a friend who runs a tree trimming business. I just know, though, that if I have it dumped now, I won't get it all spread before the snow flies so I might as well wait until spring. I use leaves for winter protection. We have 6 acres all surrounded by trees, so there's plenty to go around. The mulch is to keep weeds down, and for pathways.
I did not get any of my bulbs in yesterday, but I did get the headboard upholstered and hung, the valance covered and trimmed, and got the curtain panels hemmed up. There's fabric all over the house and the bedroom is a mess, but it will look nice when it's finished. I got a great deal on fabric at JoAnne on clearance, so I was able to buy more than I thought I could afford. Initially all I was going to do was put up a headboard and new lamps. Now it's headboard, valance, curtain panels, shams, throw pillows, and trim the bedskirt. I'm going for the "swanky hotel room" feel, kind of on the masculine side. Skip has dealt with a flowery bedroom long enough, I think :)
I'm the middle of three kids, all about 2 years apart. Unfortunately, my brother and sister both live in California so I don't get to see them very often. My brother and sister in law came for a visit this summer and brought their two little ones (4 and 2). They are just adorable and the best behaved kids I have ever seen! Four days and not a whine, cry, or anything. My DH has a "might-as-well-be" daughter from his first marriage. She's his ex-wife's, but he practically raised her so he says she might as well be his, even though not by blood. She just had a baby this summer. The cutest, chunky little boy. There's something about pudgy babies. My daughter is 18, and his son is 20, so we have a little time (hopefully) before there are any more babies around here.
Lot's going on above, in and out of the garden! Wish I were as productive!
We are bringing in our Elephant Ears, hoping to plant some oriental and orienpet lilies, knifophia, and a few other bulbs still to come from Van Engelen, wintering over the lantanas, spread a little more mulch, and will probably make a little new garden next week with some left over mushroom compost and topsoil.
I am waiting for the Brent and Becky post Thanksgiving bulb sales to finish out the bulb planting.
And I have been pouring over the seed catalogs, trying to identify annuals I can grow from seed to be fillers for our perennial patch-- cosmos, tassel flower, verbena bonarienses, cleome sparklers... while the garden still has some bloom and is fresh in my mind....
It's raining today, so I am cleaning coat closets. Getting ready for ol' man winter. Sob.
sstateham, your room sounds really nice, and I hope I can get a lot done inside once the garden goes down. I love fall... even though all my flowers are gone, I know they need the rest just as much as I do! It has been a really dry summer here. I've watered quite a bit, but I try to keep things "tough" by only watering when absolutely needed. I hope I don't lose too much this winter. DH is talking about having a well put in so we won't have such high water costs in the summer. I'm all for that! Can't afford a "system" and dragging hoses all over the place is no fun.
Gail
Goodness! How late can we plant bulbs?
It's all about the bulbs around here. Digging tender bulbs, drying, labeling, storing in peat. And that's just the really tender things (caladiums, begonias, etc.), just waiting for first frost (this weekend I think) for the cannas and colocosias. And at the same time spring bulbs and lilies are going in. So every evening is an adventure in bulbs! Get all the bulbs taken care of, and then wait for the rest of the leaves to fall before leaf blowing and final mulching. Not even half through it and I'm already tired!
Also been defining what is to hopefully become my German style garden by removing about 1/2 of the Joe Pye weed that is there. Those are some big suckers! In between I'm experimenting with some lasagna gardening techniques with cardboard first, then compost, and sowing poppies, columbine, and larkspur. When the seed is sown I think I'll mulch it with straw. But it's great to be outside in the cool, sunny days of fall and get that sun while we can.
Happy fall chores everyone! Neal.
Yeah, Neal, I'm getting in on some of those Joe Pye weed! Can't wait to see it next year, and I've got JUST the spot for it!
kbaumle, I don't know about z5, but here in z7 we plant spring blooming bulbs well up into Nov. As long as the ground isn't frozen hard. Of course, the later you plant, the later they may come up, I don't know. Anybody else got an opinion?
Gail
We're watching a great show from the Fall Asters.
The Potted Toad lily are just finishing up and ripening seed.
The planted ones are still going strong.
We've moved a lot of the Tropicals in now but still have to wait for frost on the Canna.
The semi tropicals have a bit of time yet.
This weekend the plastic goes back on the Hoop House.
This has become the Succulents home.
They are getting a nice last rain tonight.
Blooming usually starts in a month or so.
Probably next weekend we'll start moving the perennial pots to their winter area.
It's a north corner that gets no sun.
After a freeze we cover it w/ moving blankets till Spring.
Ric
Wow. I don't look for the ground to be frozen hard for several weeks yet. We've only had a light frost one time so far this fall.
Oh we have plenty of time.
Plenty of pots too.
About 4 dozen pots to move.
We just do a few at a time as they finish up.
Ric
Today it was 70 degrees and sunny! What a blessing! I was over at the neighbor's yard doing some much needed pruning, getting ready to dig her daylilies and get them divided and moved around.
I my yard, I'm keeping things cleaned up a bit, keeping the pond cleaned out as we've had winds blowing maple leaves and lots of fir needles. Plus pulling out the excess plants from the summer that are dying back in the pond. I'm still moving tender stuff into the greenhouse, but haven't had to rush since the weather has been mostly mild.
I've cleaned out the greenhouse and put up some insulation in the back end of it, getting ready for the eventual winter.
Now I'm getting ready to rearrange one of the perennial beds. It looks great in the summer, but I need some 'bones' in that bed. I spend a couple of days sticking labels in the ground for every single plant in there so i wouldn't forget what was planted.
Oh, and I've put in bulbs.
A bunch of busy bees we all are! Labors of love for sure.
With many fall bulbs, it's ok to plant up till the first of December here. I've read daffodils benifit from getting in the ground as soon as possible to start rooting, but that tulips are'nt as picky about that. I have noticed that daffs planted the previous fall always bloom a little later for me, but get on track the 2nd year. But it does'nt seem to make a difference if I plant early or late in the fall.
I have planted bulbs late into the season for years, once as late as early December.
I still have a ton of raking to do - there are pine needles all over the side yard. I also need to get my pots in. Other than all the bulbs, I think I'm in decent shape for fall. I got some of the bulbs in the ground today, and got the curtains up in the bedroom. I'll have DH help me re-hang the valance when he gets back from hunting this evening. He called a little while ago to check in, and it sounds like they've had a good day. Looking forward to duck breasts on the grill for dinner - yummy.
Pixy - jealous of your 70's. We're in the mid fifties here, and getting cooler by the day.
Yumm! What time is dinner?
kbaumle--
last year we were planting daffs, spanish bluebells, ipheion, and camassia bulbs (from the Brent and Becky sale) on New Year's Day and they came up just fine...we are in a bit warmer area than you, but...
I just ordered camassia for the first time this year - I'm looking forward to seeing them come up next spring. Dinner was great, by the way. Gotta love a man who hunts AND cooks :)
Oh, you shouldn't have told me that.... I already spent way too much!!!