In the Garden - September

It’s August 23, and I’m gazing out my window at a cool, drizzly day. My eyes can’t tell if it’s early spring or late autumn, but my mind knows we’re on the downward side of summer. It’s June-uary in August, and I’d rather be outdoors enjoying the warm weather we had last week. We need the rain, so I’m thankful I don’t need to water for a bit.

August has been good in the garden, and everything is at its prime. We picked our first artichoke yesterday, and we’ve been feasting on tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers for weeks. There’s been lots of sweet rhubarb and blueberry desserts, and we’ll soon be baking blackberry muffins and putting up berry jam. In September and October, I’ll be canning fresh tomatoes and balsamic roasted tomato sauce and freezing enough homemade pesto for an entire year.

A gardener always has their hands in today’s garden and their mind focused on the coming days, weeks, and year. We’re doing today’s chores, keeping up with the bounty from the veggie garden, and always dreaming about next year’s garden.

There will be flowers for another two months: dahlias in all shapes and sizes, ruby red rudbeckias, colorful coneflowers, bright zinnias, fluttering cosmos, fluffy chrysanthemums, purple asters, and others. Everyone smiles when you give them flowers.

My gardening budget is small, so I’m already taking cuttings of my favorite tender perennials and herbs to root for next year: salvias, veronica, coneflower, geum, scabiosa, geraniums, lemon balm, sage, rosemary, and lavender. After they’re rooted and potted up, they’ll winter in our unheated greenhouse and go into the ground next spring.

I’m collecting and saving seeds from cutting flowers: some will be started in trays indoors and others loosely scattered in the garden before Thanksgiving. Sharing seeds and cuttings with gardening friends is a great way to add plants for free, and in early spring, our local gardeners host a seed exchange for the community.

In September, I’ll pick blue and lavender hydrangeas and hang them to dry, to display in a vase, decorate a wreath, or give as a gift. In late October, I’ll stop cutting most flowers and let the plants mature and die, leaving the stems and foliage to protect the soil and shelter insects, and the seedheads to feed the birds over the winter. Between now and early November, I’ll be digging and dividing perennial plants like daylilies and agapanthus, then planting the divisions to fill available spaces in the beds we added this year.

How about your garden? What vegetables do you want to grow next year? Would you like to add a cutting garden or some new flower varieties? How about spring flowering bulbs, new perennials, or a tree for shade or fruit? Many trees and shrubs do best when planted in early autumn, giving them time to develop a strong root system before the ground grows too cold.

Though it may seem early, now is the time to make plans and think about what you’ll need. I’ve already ordered most of next year’s flower and veggie seeds and the supplies to get them started over winter: potting soil, organic plant food, plastic pots, and labels. I’ve also ordered my perennial spring bulbs to plant in October through early December: daffodils, grape hyacinth, Darwin variety tulips, and crocus come back year after year, and happily multiply to produce extra plants.

Many spring bulbs are deer-resistant, especially daffodils and paperwhite narcissus. Deer love to eat tulips, so I usually grow those in pots to keep them away from the munchers. Plant your bulbs in pots in October and November, water them well, then store them indoors in a cool dark area – garage or shed – and they’ll pop up when they’re ready in spring. You can also layer bulbs – lasagna style – with successive bloom times in a large pot for a mixed display that will last a month or longer. There are good sources for spring bulbs: local garden centers and building stores, big box stores, and even grocery stores.

For gardening inspiration and how-to information, look online at Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. Visit the websites of seed companies (they’ll send you a free catalog filled with fabulous photos and growing tips), or Google whatever plant or activity interests you. The library has thousands of gardening books and magazines. Give yourself something to dream about and make some gardening plans for next year. You’ll be glad you did.