Fall garden projects
Our world gets yellow/brown so early (middle of the summer drought), that it would seem the transition to fall would feel very gradual. But that’s actually not the case at all. When fall arrives, everything changes completely and almost immediately. Not so much the trees, which has previously been the “official” harbinger of autumn. I guess because we do not have that many trees, and most of the ones that surround us are evergreen. Like I said, the ground has already been brown for quite awhile. It’s partially the temperature, but we have such temperate weather anyway, that is a subtle change during the days. At night, we feel it - I am still waiting for my annual electric blanket to be installed!
It’s more that fall is in the air, it’s in the light. And it’s definitely in the garden, as I am ready to winterize some beds, but those last colors are still hanging in there, giving me an excuse to wait. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other garden projects needing our attention.
The front potato bed has been repurposed for bulbs and relocated perennials.
Just a few trellis plants hanging on; the herb circle will need to be cut down soon, but the bees are still loving it.
The bees are also consumed with the cosmos. Almost every plant I looked at had bees on it this time of year, when there aren’t a whole lot of other choices!
I still have at least one perennial in the middle of this tangle of cosmos to move over to the perennial bed. Digging out plans is a job I save for Steve, because he just steps on that shovel and gets nice, deep cuts of earth.
Pulling and wheel barreling away spent plants is a way of life this time of year. Because most of the sunflower plants have HUGE root balls, I have Steve cut them above the fabric, and then we pull the fabric away and dig out the roots. It’s a messy process, but totally worth it for these beautiful giants. Montana saves and dries out the large stalks and uses them for trellises and stakes in her garden on the side/back of the house.
Zinnias still get some bee love, though most have already gone to seed.
The cover cropped beds are doing great.
This trellis is mostly just beans at this point, the morning glories are gone. We will be adding another set of cattle panel trellises to the right of the split rail fence (where the grapes are planted) for a veggies-only walk-through trellis next summer.
After a few early replacements, the baby lavender plants are all doing well. The secret is to ignore them completely and don’t even think about watering them. If they make it through the winter, I think they will like it here!
Our red maple trees are in their full glory.
