They’s somethin kindo’ harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer’s over and the coolin’ fall is here –
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees
And the mumble of the hummin’-birds and buzzin’ of the bees;
But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airy autumn days
Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock –
When the frost is on the punkin and fodder’s in the shock. -excerpt from When Frost is on the Punkin’ by James Whitcomb Riley
The poem by Riley was written in 1883, although I admit there are verses I barely understand, this one is my favorites because it paints such a delightful picture of the season.
If you left a carved pumpkin on your doorstep after Halloween, you probably saw some frost on the punkin this week. As chilly as it’s been in the mornings, we can still look forward to some mild, sunny afternoons ahead. I relish those days to get out and work in my flower beds and container gardens before it becomes so cold that I can’t. There are the perfect times and temperatures to prepare for what lies ahead.
So here’s a checklist of gardening ‘to do’s’ now.
Mulch
I don’t know about you but I’ve got plenty of mulch on the 
ground, mostly pine straw. Most of the trees in our yard are pines, although I have neighbors on either side that have cherry and maple trees. The winds of Delta blew enough that there is a mulch supply on the ground. While I’m not a fan of pine straw as a mulch, it’s free and I always rake it into my flower beds and around my roses to ‘tuck them in’ before winter. If you have hardwoods, then you probably have plenty of leaves to serve the same purpose.
Tool Time
This is also a great time to clean garden tools including pruners, shears, trowels, hand cultivators and soil scoops. After cleaning, it’s a good idea to oil them and prevent rust. The bigger stuff like mowers, tillers, and hedge trimmers could be serviced now to avoid the rush at repair shops in the spring.
Bulb Planting for Spring Blooms
If you are thinking of adding early spring or other perennial blooms for next year, now is the perfect time. Tulips, hyacinth, crocus, daffodils, and lilies will benefit immensely from getting a ‘good footing’ before bloom time in early spring and beyond. Plant the bulbs in beds or even buried beneath pansies in containers and mulch heavily for a splendiferous display in the spring.
Water Feature Care
I LOVE water features, fountains and bird baths. They are exceptionally soothing, beautiful, and the birds love them too! Sometime late this month I will dump the water from my concrete birdbath and clean it. I hate to do that to the birds in my backyard flower beds because they love to bathe and drink from it but I have a cast iron birdbath that is closer to my patio that I keep filled year round. The concrete can crack during a hard freeze but I’ve never had an issue with the cast iron birdbath. I also have a fountain that I keep running year round as long as low temperatures don’t drop much below 20 degrees. Years ago, I read an article about keeping a tennis ball in the bottom bin of the fountain and they won’t freeze over. It works!
Bring ’em Indoors
I used to have a pop-up greenhouse but it finally the bit the dust after many years. Now I only keep two plants outside in the spring and summer, a kalachoe and a coral succulent. I bring them inside before the first freeze to a window that gets bright light most of the day.
Any other plants you have on a porch or patio may be somewhat protected but eventually will croak as the temperatures get colder. So bring them inside if you can.
Precious Peonies
I have a peony that I dug up and brought home from Tennessee many years ago. This time of year I cut it back to about 3″ above the base of the plant. This helps remove any foliar diseases and reduces infection when growth starts in the early spring, resulting in stunning spring blooms.
Ashes to Flowers
We have a wood burning fireplace in our living room. I call it the “Jetson’s” fireplace.
These are huge sellers on the west coast and apparently they were a “thing” when our house was built in 1960. The metal casing does a great job of keeping the room toasty when we build a roaring fire. This is most welcome on cold winter nights! The bonus is the ashes which I save and spread around my flower beds, perennial containers, and roses. They greatly benefit from the lime and potassium.
Please let me know if you have any questions about getting your garden space prepped for winter. If you have any tips to share, please let me know. You never finish learning about gardening tips!
mitzi@now habersham.com or follow Green Thumb Gardening on www.nowhabersham.com.
