There are always a few signs that one season is ending and a new one beginning: the eager honking of geese as they soar through the crisp, clear, autumn sky; the golden hues of the leaves which seem to burnish almost overnight; and the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society Fall Plant and Bulb Sale! In the past, it always seemed that once we had our sale, the downward spiral towards cooler fall weather wasn't far behind. But this year, what glorious temperatures we've been enjoying, wow!
Thank you to everyone who helped to make the Fall Plant Sale such a success yet again: thank you to everyone who brought plants; to everyone who helped set up and work at the sale, and of course, thank you to everyone who came out and bought some new addition for their gardens! There is still lots of time for new plants to get settled in, so plant without fear!
You and I have talked before about what to do to prepare our garden for winter. I was thinking that we should talk about what not to do! I was glancing through Marjorie Harris' book "Favorite Gardening Tips", and I came across some very helpful hints. Marjorie says, and I love this quote, "There's a fine line between being a good steward and a fussy housekeeper. A real gardener knows when to call it quits.
Treating the garden as though it's your living room is fine from a designer point of view but not great when it comes to responsible gardening." So some of the things that Marjorie suggests that we don't do in the fall is remove every seed head and cut everything down to the ground. I was thinking of this the other day when we were working outside, and every time I disturbed some dried stems, I also disturbed a host of ladybugs. I was thrilled to see so many of them, and decided that we should leave their new dwellings to rest quietly and provide shelter for the winter. Keep that in mind when you are doing your own yard cleanup. Many stems and branches provide food and shelter for many friends of the garden, so leave them be for the winter. We learned from John Senkiw, who spoke to us at our last meeting about backyard birding, that some birds love dill heads in the winter. So why not leave them in your garden? Not only do they provide a treat for the birds, but they are so beautiful against the snow.
Another "don't" for the garden is not to leave any leaves or stems that look diseased. Cut them back, and throw them in the garbage, not in your compost bin, and not just laying around your garden. They will just harbor disease for next year. And of course, don't leave piles of fallen fruit, vegetables trimmings, or anything else laying around that might look like a buffet to furry visitors that you might not want in your garden! Clean up that kind of thing!
The next meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be on October 19 at the Sunshine Room, SIGN. Our guest will be Anna Schaab from The Garlic Farm, talking to us about how to plant and care for garlic. Hort members, please remember to bring your garden photos for the group photo album, and if you have your own photo album of garden pictures, please bring it along to show us!
Have a great week in your garden: the fall garden can be just as delightful as the summer garden!
