October
11, 2000
Admiring
From Afar...
Is there a house in your neighborhood that has a spectacular
garden? One that every time you drive or walk by it you say
to yourself, "Wow, that is a beautiful place!"
There is a house just like that in my neighborhood. I have
driven by it numerous times, slowing down, admiring it and
gathering ideas. A couple of weeks ago as I was returning
from the grocery store I noticed the owner of this fine garden
was outside toiling away among her flowers. I stopped and
introduced myself (discreetly crossing my fingers in hopes that I
would receive a garden tour). Sharon was very pleasant and
introduced me to all of her plantings. She and her husband
Joe have done a great job at putting shrubs, hostas, perennials
and annuals together to make a garden come to life with lots of
interest. As if that is not enough, they have a lawn to die
for! What a great neighborly experience. I hope the
next time you are out for a walk and pass by the house you
have been admiring from afar, you will stop and introduce
yourself to the owner. Who knows, you might make a new
friend or simply learn something new!
Hopefully everyone received our frost alert in time to rescue fall
plants last weekend. We were busily covering mums and
asters trying to keep them from Jack Frost's nip. On the
other hand we just let some annuals go. I guess their time had come. The survivors are welcoming this fall-like weather
we are enjoying this week. So am I.
Before I
forget, The
Sweet Onion is giving away pumpkins to kids (12 and under) in
exchange for two cans of food to be donated to a local
charity. One pumpkin per child of course. Isn't that
great?
Hopefully we will
receive some much needed rain soon. Don't forget to water!
~
Shelly
Love Me
Tender, Dig Those Bulbs...
Last weekend's surprise frost means it's time to dig canna,
glads, dahlias and other tender bulbs for winter storage.
Be sure to dig
the bulbs carefully, retrieve any offsets that may have
developed, and leave the foliage intact.
Place the
bulbs in an airy, sheltered spot to dry for a two to three week
period. Except for begonias, foliage and stems can be cut
off with a sharp knife near, but not at the point, where
they emerge from the bulb. For begonia stems, allow them to
dry until they are brittle enough to break off from the bulbs.
Your bulbs
should overwinter in a dark, cool place (45 to 50 degrees) stored
in vermiculite, peat moss, or similar material. It is also
a good idea to dust with a fungicide and insecticide to curb
disease and insect development in storage.
Except for
daffodils, bulbs of all kinds are considered a delicacy to mice
and other rodents. Store bulbs where these critters will
not have access to them.
Source
The
Plant That Came In From The Cold...
Hopefully you brought your houseplants inside before the cold
weather hit last weekend. If you did not, and they are
still healthy, it's time to bring them in. Be sure to check
them for pests. Simply rinsing the plants' leaves, and
soaking the pots in water for 15 to 20 minutes will drown most
soil-dwelling pests. Also, clean the windows where plants
will be placed. It can dramatically increase available
sunlight and make for a much healthier plant!
We Call
It Squirrel Wire Here...
Does anyone else have squirrels that are determined to make all
gardening tasks a struggle? When planting our bulbs we know
they're watching, waiting for us to walk away so they can dig
them up again. One way to foil them when planting beds of
bulbs is to place a layer of wide mesh chicken wire over them (the bulbs not the squirrels) before covering them with soil.
The squirrels will still try to get them but will be stopped in their tiny
tracks when they reach the barrier. As the bulb grows it
will find a path through the wire and bloom normally. Take
that, varmint!
Something
Old Becomes Something New...
To help build compost humus for use in next year's garden,
fallen leaves, old vegetable plant parts and grass clippings
should be added to the compost pile. In fact these garden
items can even be tilled directly into the soil, where they will
compost through the winter.
A note
about grass clippings. Don't compost them if the grass has
been recently treated with an herbicide. Some herbicides
will remain toxic enough in the compost to do damage to plants
next year.
Who Put
The Straw In Strawberry?
Pine needles and clean straw make a particularly good mulch
for strawberries. Start collecting them now to place in
strawberry beds once the ground has frozen.
What's
Hot On the Hotline...
The fall chill has arrived with a blast bringing with it
record low temperatures and the end of another gardening
season. It's been a tough season. It started dry and
only worsened as the season unfolded. Recent rains have
renewed interest in the garden, at least for the time being, and
it has brought many lawn questions. Is it too late to seed? Find out in this
week's Hotline...
Christmas
Cacti Countdown...
If you own any Christmas cacti it's time for the special care
that will produce flowers in December. To promote bud
formation keep the cacti in a place where temperatures are
between 50 and 60 degrees. The plants should also be
exposed to at least 13 hours of complete darkness each
night. Putting them in a spare room or closet is well worth
the extra effort it may take for the spectacular display of
blooms that will follow.
Finally... "In
the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year,
bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and
toil. And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do
we get such superb colour effects as from August to November."
~
Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden, 1905 |