Sunday Notes Frost and farewells to the Garden

Hello Flower Friend,

As I write this in early November, the temperatures today will continue to steadily drop until we hit a frosty 26 degrees tomorrow morning. This hard frost will be nature’s ending seal on the 2025 season.

I had thought that the last 3 arrangements I made may be the last flowers of the season, but when I went out to harvest this morning I knew for sure this would be the last for 2025 . The brilliant colors of the Fall foliage this time of year are so beautiful that the arrangement would have still been lovely with no flowers at all. My favorite Fall foliage for color and texture include Itea Virginia Little Henry Sweetspire, caryopteris seed heads, physocarpus, blueberry, raspberry, Viburnums, scented geraniums, and you can never go wrong by pairing all of that gorgeous rich color with some frosty silver dusty miller and eucalyptus. The annual beds have long been torn down and replanted again on the day of the last market way back at the first of October. Now they house the seedlings for next Spring and yesterday got their final blanket of row covers just in time for the hard frost tonight. The flowers harvested today were from out in the main border that I just didn’t have the heart to cut down earlier. There are mostly perennials and flowering shrubs in the borders, but I tuck in extra annual seedlings that are my favorites here and there just for me (and guests) to enjoy, as the annual beds are so routinely harvested for market and customer events and arrangements.

In all the hustle and bustle the last few days to get the hoops and covers up, stakes and supports put away, and general end of the season cleanup, I almost missed cutting these last beauties and bringing them inside as I was enjoying the view every time I brushed passed them growing almost wild now in the garden. Tomorrow morning as the frost descends with possibly some snow, and the garden is finally at rest for the year, I will be admiring this precious last harvest and dreaming of next years blooms.