So
October is almost upon us & I think it’s the most colorful month of the
year for me. I am always sad to see summer go & alas my annuals will
inevitably get frostbit here east coast zone 7a. I especially hate to see my
hummingbirds go. I purchased a new camera this summer & have reenergized my
love of photography especially flowers, butterflies & hummingbirds! (I hope
you enjoy these photos in this blog) But there is so much to enjoy these next
months the least of which are pumpkins, peppers from the garden, apple cider
& mums!
The Chrysanthemum, the most popular plant of
the daisy family & is the quintessential plant of the fall garden. But will
this mum come back next year? Well the bad news is ‘no’ but the good news is
the low cost of these plants shouldn’t deter the gardener one bit. Who isn’t
drawn to decorating with corn stalks, hay bales, pumpkins, gourds & mums! The
reason these won’t survive is that if planted in the ground, they will not have
enough time to establish a root system strong enough for them to survive the
winter. (We also leave them in their containers for decorating purposes – so
not a chance there). To complicate things more, there are two kinds of mums:
Hardy (Garden) & florist mums. Florist mums are produced from cuttings
mainly & will never develop a stolen that would help produce those
necessary roots. The hardy mums when
planted in the spring, however, do stand a chance at coming back for years
to come. These contain the stolen for developing roots. These need at least 6
hours of sun a day, need a well-drained soil, water them well & provide
plenty of mulch for over-wintering. They need to be pinched in spring/summer to
encourage that round shape & not the leggy look. They may produce blooms in
spring but can be pinched off until summer to produce a fall-fabulous set of
blooms. Use beautiful grasses as a backdrop for your hardy mums. The sky is the
limit when it comes to color. My suggestion is to buy what you are blown away
by & not worry about next year!
We don't want to forget the annuals we still
have going either. That includes for me autumn joy sedum, obedient plant, black-eyed susan, phlox paniculata & hyacinth
bean vine to name a few. My beautyberry bush's berries are turning purple &
I may get to enjoy the wonderful color before the birds gobble them up! Now
don't forget the fall cleanup
~
Outside cleanup is underway with leaves galore! Instead of bagging or using the
curbside pickup, think about using as many as possible as mulch in your beds
& mowed into your lawn .
~
Leave seed headed perennials alone in your garden to feed the birds this
winter. (Goldfinches do not migrate so the coneflower seeds are a treat for
them.) The exceptions being any that showed signs of powdery mildew or other
diseases at the end of summer. Dispose of these in the trash, not even with the
garden waste.
Most
of all enjoy the time outdoors whether in your garden or beer garden, whether
pumpkin picking or pie eating, whether leaf raking or leaf peeping!!
