Hello My Dear Gardening Friends,

It is almost Thanksgiving, time to put away the summer “toys” those wonderful swings, boats, canoes and docks that we have enjoyed for the past few months. This is such a sad time of year, I know that the trees have put on a display of colour that takes your breath away, but I am truly a spring person.

One night last week, the sky was bright pink, not only the sky but the whole garden – there was even a pink haze inside the house. I ran outside and the lake appeared to be on fire, naturally I took lots of pictures. Romantic?? Not really. I understand that it is the sun’s rays as it is disappearing in the west, shining on the pollution in the atmosphere!

My daughter and her daughter came to visit last weekend and my big containers are now in the basement, seems only last week that I was planting them for the summer. What a summer it was too, although it started late, once the heat came, it went on and on – we all got more than our dose of vitamins – we should be well set for the long winter months ahead of us. Have you been for your flu shots?

I have a few chores for you, from the October calendar:

-Plant the rest of your bulbs.
-Transplant your shrubs and trees – time to move them into a more advantageous spot.
-Time to dig your dahlia, gladiolus and tuberous begonia bulbs, and corms and store them away for the winter.
-Plant your Amaryllis to bloom in time for Christmas.
-Gather up your leaves and add them to the compost pile, do not take them all. More about this later.
-Rake the heavy piles off the lawn for your grass needs the sunlight tat this time of year to give you strong root growth in the spring
-Continue to water if the weather is dry, perennials and woody types – especially newly planted ones
-Evergreens, broadleaf plants such as euonymus need moisture to get through the winter.
-Use winter mulch to help soil keep a more even temperature. Helping plants survive the upheaval of freezing and thawing where there isn’t a good snow cover
-Do not forget to put the Christmas tree boughs on the flowerbeds once the holiday season has passed
-Time to cut the grass one last time then winterize your lawnmower
-Plough under your vegetable garden.
-Cut back your finished annuals, any diseased plants, or any that can/will take over your garden
-Or any that may take over if allowed to self–seed
-Cut back peony, iris and hosta foliage, for they harbour pests and disease

-Cut back the perennials, leave some standing for winter interest in your garden
-The birds will appreciate the rose hips and seed heads
-Forget to fill the bird feeders
-Leave your flower beds bare, mulch with leaves; shred them with the lawn mower first - any bare spots are an invitation for the weeds to move in and spread.

It is a good time to put down grass seed, in fact over seed, and then cover with leaves, so that the birds do not find them too quickly.

I thought that a few tid-bits about the fall crocus and colchicums might be of interest:

A big difference between crocus that bloom in the spring and these fall bloomers is that the crocus corm is not toxic but the corn of the colchicum, if it is eaten can be deadly. They can be grown in peat moss inside for they bloom profusely, but plant them outside in the garden and they will spread and bring you joy for many years. One day you will have a bare patch in the border and then the next you will have a display of beautiful flowers. They will continue to bloom for many weeks; even light frosts do not seem to deter them. Again do not fail to mark where you plant the bulbs, for the foliage you see in the spring dies for the summer. Often people confuse Colchicum and fall crocus, because they are both called fall blooming – but the best way to identify the difference is by the cost - you can purchase 8 fall crocus for around $8.95 - $10 but the Colchicum costs around $2 each!!!! They are truly well worth it.

I grow most of my glads, dahlias and begonias in containers, which I just bring in, place in the basement and keeping an eye on them, sprinkle them with water around Christmas time; then again in say, February, and by March they are throwing up green shoots. I then bring them into the light and they are quite advanced by the time they can go outside once again.

If you have had your Amaryllis outside all summer – let the frost kill off the leaves, bring the bulbs inside and trim them back, I like to plant mine after a brief stint in the basement without soil, so that the old roots can dry and fall off. You may find that the new leaves are trying to grow now. Feed them with a fertilizer with a high middle number. The ones that are still in their pots, I just pop in the basement and wait until I see new growth before bringing them back into the light, as you all know the bulbs should get larger year by year.

Leaves, oh dear we go through this every fall. What to do with them?? I like to have the lawn mower run over the dry ones, by spring the worms have taken them down into the lawn, best and cheapest fertilizer. Some of them can be gathered and either placed in the compost, or spread on the garden. Especially on the roses that you have hilled and now the ground is frozen solid, you can add the leaves (not before freeze up). In the spring, they can be removed and placed in the compost!!!

“One more time around the garden, before I close the garden gate” I love this song. “One more time” to cut the grass, then get that lawn mower in to be sharpened and winterized, do it soon before the snow mobiles need their machines serviced, ready to ”play” in the snow. My dear friends, Cody and his wife have gone to live in Calgary, I will miss their visits this winter. I had just written this “story” when the phone rang and there was my friend Cody calling from just outside Calgary on their way to visit my grandson John - mobile phones are wonderful – I will have to replace mine!!!

I am sorry but it is time to get out and weed, yes that is right, weed as much as you can – it will help you in the spring for then, there will not be so many weeds to contend with. Do not rush to put away your hoe. Remove any grass that is growing around your clematis, roses and bushes. They will do so much better when they do not have to compete with weeds and grass – pull the weeds etc by hand then you will not disturb or destroy the plants that you desire to grow.

Do not prune anything now, wait until the spring, other than spring flowering bushes, do this on one of these wonderfully warm days that we are still enjoying – no sense in freezing your hands.

Do not wrap your rhododendrons, azaleas or evergreens. If they are growing in a particularly windy or a spot that gets sprayed with salt – I suggest that you build a burlap screen around to protect them. Just insert stakes around the plant and weave burlap around and through them, odd numbers of pea sticks or stakes work best, leave the top of the screen open so that your plants can breathe.

It is a little past the time to bring in your herbs, nevertheless cut and wash them well. Place in Ziploc bags and pop in the freezer, they will be just as flavourful in February as they are now. Keep your Rosemary plant growing in a pot, being careful not to let it dry out, for if you do it will die!

I have just picked a pile of Basil and ground it in the blender with a good olive oil, when I need it in the wintertime – I will take some out of the freezer and add a few pine nuts and there is a wonderful pesto, to brighten the cold days.

I have been asked for a soil recipe for bulbs that are grown indoors so here goes…

Thoroughly mix the following:

When potting a bulb, fill the pot with soil to about an inch from the top. Be sure to leave enough room for watering.

It is important to be precise when you water indoor plants. Overwatering prevents good root growth, causing weak plants that easily pick up diseases. A tough plant such as an amaryllis can stand some neglect, but it too will never recover if it dries out too much.

Check the soil frequently to decide on your watering schedule, and adjust it according to the amount of sunlight and temperature. During short winter days, plants need less fertilizer and water. The fertilizer mix in your potting soil should keep the bulbs going for the winter, but during its budding periods give it a shot of liquid fertilizer to help it bloom better and build up the nutrients in the bulb before it becomes dormant. Don’t fertilize after the flowers fade, unless the directions on the bulb package say otherwise.

Do not throw the bulbs out after forcing – as we are sometimes told to do – instead put them in the garden as soon as the ground warms up – it may take a couple of years for them to bloom again but they will recover. Even the ones that we purchase at the supermarket in the early spring – will be fine if you fertilize them and keep them watered after they have bloomed.

I have been asked about collecting seeds.

Sooo:

-Only collect seeds from healthy and vigorous plants
-Collect after lunch when the plants are dry, this will avoid any chance of mould forming
-Keep your eye on the plants for the seeds ripen slowly, they are ready when they are brown or black
-Some of the pods will split, so you can use either nylon bags (old pantyhose work well) to catch any seeds that may be dispersed and taken by the wind as they ripen
-Cut off any mature seed heads and collect them in brown paper bags – label and date them right there in the garden (you will not know which is which once inside your house!)
-Open the bags, give them a good shake and let stand in a cool dry spot to dry
-When the seeds are dry, store them in small manila envelopes with the name and date clearly marked
-Store them in a cool dry place over the winter. Either in a cool dry basement or even the refrigerator
-Never store seeds in polyethylene baggies; they trap moisture causing the seeds to rot.
-Do not put them in the freezer, for taking them from the freezer to room temperature will kill the embryo in the seed
-Remember your garden soil heats up slowly in the spring. Some of you like to use old film canisters; if you do then you must add one of those silica gel packets. I think that you might be able to purchase some from your local druggist failing this try your local hardware store for some calcium chloride, the same stuff that is sold for dehumidifiers

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and with it the summer, the lake water has been turned off, most of the summer furniture put away, a lot of the annuals are finished, but although I heard that we can have a few snow showers this coming week, I am sure that we still have a number of really warm and delightful days still to come.

I read a lovely little piece of folklore the other day, which says that if the summer has been dry, it may still be dry in October. Springs that have gone dry, or nearly dry will start running again just before a rain. It is hard to find an explanation for this, but keep your eyes open and see if this happens where you live. It has been mentioned in different parts of the country so is not a phenomenon in just one place. Funnily enough toadstools often appear before a rain rather than the reverse as one would think likely to happen.

So with that admonition, I think it is time to say goodbye for now and good gardening! I have left you with lots to do, but do not forget your hat, gloves, sunglasses and sunscreen. Yes I am afraid that you still need insect repellent.

Lovingly,
Beryl