Fall can be such a sigh of relief. If you're thrilled when the heat lets up, just think how your plants feel. There's no central air conditioning for the garden. Plants seem to put on one final hurrah in the fall, both in jubilant colors and refreshed foliage.
One of the great pleasures of summer is the abundance of fresh herbs and their fragrance as you pick them. For many of us, summer is just about over. But there is one herb that truly loves the chill of fall, rosemary.
Frost happens, even when you least expect it. Sometimes it's a relief, to finally be able to put your garden to bed. Sometimes it's a freak occurrence and you'd like to keep your plants going a little longer, or you're panicking because you just put them out and wish you hadn't.
September gardening can mean cool, crisp nights or hot, hazy, Indian summer days. Either way, there's no time to rest. Short season gardens need to be put to bed. Warmer zones are starting a whole new growing season. Even the southern hemisphere is back in the gardening groove. So here are some monthly gardening tips to get you back out in the garden this September.
It's time to pull the bird feeders out and make sure they're ready for the winter. The first thing you need to do is make sure they're clean. You don't want your best efforts to make the birds sick. According to About.com's wild bird expert, Melissa Mayntz, dirty feeders can harbor bacteria, mold and other diseases that can cause major problems.
Whether you are reviewing the overgrown jumble of you garden at its peak or just gearing up for spring, there always seems to be a plant or two that just will not behave. Either something you planted and now regret, something the birds dropped off or a thug, pushing its way in.
There's no reason your flower garden can't look as spectacular in the fall as it did at the peak of summer. Fall bloomers are often the most spectacular, having had all summer to grow to majestic heights and set tons of buds. Late bloomers, like these Heleniums, may be sleeping beauties most of the season, but they end the garden year with a bang.
The cool night weather has really revived my nasturtium plants. I'd almost forgotten they were there. Now they're the first orange and golds of fall. It's been awhile since I've had to purchase seeds of nasturtium. They're so large, it always seems a shame not to scoop some up and save them to plant next year. They don't even need to be started indoors.
Tuesday I talked about extending your vegetable garden season with cool season vegetables and succession planting. About.com's Herb Garden Guide, Amy Jeanroy, does the same in her herb garden. Amy suggests 4 popular herbs that are happy to grow into the brisk days of fall.
I can be pretty patient, when it comes to gardening, but I had pretty much thrown in the towel on bulbs. If it wasn't the deer, it was the voles or the squirrels who mistakenly thought I'd planted a spring banquet for them.
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