Fall is bountiful. As the sun begins to retreat, the colors of the landscape become intensely warm, as if the garden is sending a last kiss goodbye before winter.

Hello Flower Friend!

I thought I would treat myself this Sunday morning by sleeping in until 5. I spent yesterday diving into building a new herb themed garden, and there were a lot of heavy stones, pavers, and stepping stones to move along with soil amending, and weed removal. When I came downstairs this morning and looked at an old clock, I realized I had actually slept until 6 although Apple had very conveniently reset everything else to “Fall back” to 5 . I guess Apple knew I needed that extra hour.

Although I am always curious about historical gardening, how people planted, and what and why they grew it, I am creating the medicinal herb garden primarily for the cut flowers of course. My main curiosity when it comes to historical gardening is to go back before people had access to pesticides and chemicals to learn how their old methods were successful. I am always looking for very old garden books to help my search for answers.

As the Fall season moves on I feel the internal tug to slow down after a long growing season, but the opposite is usually true. I enjoy all of the season’s colors, and the last of the garden’s blooms , but in truth feel a little clock ticking down inside as frost approaches with so much left to do. Old beds need to be torn down, amended, planted, and covered for the winter. Dividing perennials , sprouting ranunculus , pulling up dahlias for winter storage, planting out 3000+ tulips, daffodils, and alliums for next Spring. The tulips are treated as annuals here but the heirloom daffodils and alliums have naturalized and come back every season. I set a goal to plant 3-4ooo bulbs each Fall since we moved to the property in 2021 which actually works out perfectly as I create the new areas each year and then fill them with bulbs in the Fall. The bulbs are saved for last, usually when it is quite cold out, and 3-4000 is about what I am capable of getting done on my own. My family usually cheers me on from inside where it is warm and comfortable although my husband is great about helping with shredded leaf mulch around the hydrangeas and rose beds.

In the Spring all of the planting with freezing fingers are forgotten as the sun begins to gently warm the soil and the first heirloom daffodils begin to emerge. The exciting signs of renewal and rebirth for the garden begin again.

Happy Planting!

Xo

Shari

Falling Back In The Garden

Sunday Notes From the Garden