"With what a glory comes and goes the year!" It's difficult to believe that another growing season is already coming to an end. Just a few days ago we were complaining about the oppressive heat, but now the weather has changed abruptly (as it usually does in New England!) and we are expecting a killing frost this weekend. This is such a bittersweet time of year for me. While I'm sad to see the end of my gardens and dread the long winter to come, there is such a wild beauty everywhere and the brisk air is so exhilarating, I can't help but love this time of year! We are already seeing a lot of color in the trees. Even the goldenrod is fading fast, but the asters are still providing lots of color in the fields. With the expected frost, I'm bringing in the last of the peppers from the garden. We had an abundant harvest again despite my getting them out later than usual last spring. The seed garden is actually the best looking of all my gardens right now! I love the contrast between the silvery wormwood and purple basil! The balsam (Impatiens balsamina) is still providing lots of color! As are the petunias although they're looking a little beat up from the wind and rain we've had the last few days. I may cover them on the cold nights to prolong their lives a little longer. This bee was buzzing busily from flower to flower. But several others were just holding on and moving very slowly this morning. Poor things! I'm thinking about digging up my rue plants and keeping them in the house over the winter since I'm very doubtful that they'll be hardy enough outside. But then I'm awful with houseplants, so they might not survive me either! Ok, and now for the moment of truth! This garden turned out even messier than it was last year! Part of the problem was the dry weather and my neglectful watering. I'd say a good cleaning up is order after the frost! At least the little herb garden doesn't look so bad after I pulled up the spent borage plants. And now I have a special announcement to make! Last year, I started offering a small selection of seeds for sale from my garden. I had no idea what would come of it or if there would even be any interest, but it actually turned out a lot better than I even dared to hope! I am deeply grateful to those who ordered, offered encouragement, and gave me new ideas! This year, I am offering a much wider selection of historic flowers and herbs, and even a few native wildflowers! I just updated my Seeds page, so if you're interested, please do check it out! I've tried to include a little history about each plant, as well as where they originate from...something I often wish more seed catalogs would include in their descriptions!
I hope you are enjoying Autumn too, wherever you are! Have a wonderful day! 😊
8 Comments
A frost this weekend? Oh, dear, I'm just wrapping my mind around it being the Equinox! With climate change, our frost is about a month later than when I was young, so ours should be a few more weeks yet. One always wonders what to cover upon the first frost. I usually choose zinnias as the butterflies relish them. There aren't that many annuals this year, so less to worry about.
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Haha, I am still trying to comprehend that too, but the weather sure isn't waiting for me! We actually had a light frost 2 weeks ago, but not much damage to the gardens thankfully.
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JanetLee
9/21/2018 09:36:37 pm
Beautiful! Fall does start to look messy, but it gives us something to look at remember through the winter.
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Frost already?! I knew you're in the north somewhere but that still surprised me. Of course, frost here would shock me as we haven't had any of that even in the depth of what passes for winter here. It's sad to see the garden season come to an abrupt end like that but you made the best of it with your pretty vase.
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AuthorI am a passionate gardener and seed-saver, who also enjoys playing the violin and accordion, running, spending time with my 4 golden retrievers, keeping chickens, photography, and reading. Archives
March 2019
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