It happens in increments: the little browning tips of the iris leaves, a confetti of seven-sons blossoms scattered across the patio, the nondescript leaves beginning to obscure the garden path. Add to that the chirp of crickets and the heady aroma of grapes draping the balcony — hopefully going unnoticed by the pesky raccoons — and the signs are unmistakable.
Summer is beginning to pack its bags.
There’s a certain kind of magic to this time of year, when the morning air turns crisp and the garden seems to exhale after months of exuberance. The transition is gradual, almost imperceptible. One day we’re surrounded by the riot of summer; the next, we’re noticing the first whispers of autumn.
I suppose I’m not quite ready to let summer go. Fortunately, the garden doesn’t require me to make that decision just yet.
For my rowing team, however, the end of the season wasn’t about winding down. It was about leaving everything we had out on the lake. This past weekend, we traveled to Vermont for a regatta on Lake Champlain. After only a few weeks of serious practice, we pulled it off, crossing the finish line to place third in a field of eight boats. Not bad for a few weeks of hard work.
It was the perfect way to finish the season: tired, exhilarated and knowing we had given it everything we had. There is something satisfying about ending a season on a high note, and perhaps that’s what I like about this particular moment in the garden, too. Nothing is really over. Things are simply changing.
And so, while I may not be ready to say goodbye to summer, I am ready to make my list.
If you know me by now, you’ll understand my annual ritual of the garden work list. Each year it’s much the same, although I have a tendency to shift my focus depending on my priorities — and, occasionally, on what I’ve neglected.
Take advantage of the T-shirt-and-shorts weather while you can and tackle those end-of-the-gardening-season tasks now. There is plenty to do in the fall, especially if you didn’t quite catch up with your summer work list. (I certainly won’t ask.)
I suggest taking a leisurely walk around the garden and making a checklist. There is something immensely satisfying about crossing off a task once it’s accomplished. And while the weather remains pleasant, you can get a surprising amount done.
Here are a few things to consider:
-Refresh your window boxes and planters with a fall theme. Experiment with textures and colors using the palette of cold-hardy plants available now. Consider purple fountain grass paired with creeping Jenny and sedum “Autumn Joy,” along with the weeping strands of pineapple sage, ornamental peppers, flowering kale or even Swiss chard.
-Fill bare spots in the garden border with fall-blooming perennials and grasses. They can revive areas that have finished blooming for the season. Be sure to deadhead and cut back spent plants and blooms where appropriate.
-Move shrubs and plants. Fall is an excellent time for transplanting, when the soil retains some warmth and cooler temperatures place less stress on newly moved plants.
-Purchase bulbs for planting in October. I am especially attracted to unusual tulips, particularly those in shades of purple. More about that later.
-Divide perennials and dig up tender plants, including herbs you’d like to bring indoors.
-Harvest the compost pile and spread it throughout the garden. This will nourish the plants and improve the soil. Put the garden to bed with a covering of manure and seaweed. I love seaweed as a mulch: it’s free, mineral-rich, and I love the silvery tinge it takes on when dry.
-Collect seeds from annuals and garden favorites such as hollyhocks, zinnias, marigolds, columbine and coneflowers. Share them as gifts, label the name and date of collection and store them in airtight containers.
-Take cuttings of shrubs. Use half-ripe wood in early autumn and hardwood later in the season. An excellent reference is Plant Propagation by Alan Toogood for the American Horticultural Society.
-When leaves begin to fall, rake often enough that they never completely cover the lawn. Alternatively, mow leaves into fine pieces and let them decompose where they fall. Keep thick layers of leaves cleared from herbaceous plants — particularly hostas, asters and euphorbias — to help minimize slug damage.
-Apply lawn fertilizer as appropriate for your lawn and local conditions.
-Scratch bone meal into the peony and iris beds.
-Check and clean tools, machinery and watering systems. A little maintenance now can save considerable frustration next spring.
-Lastly, clean the shed. This may be the least glamorous task on the list, but you’ll be grateful when spring arrives.
As with any task, try to find an element of fun in the work and it will be more satisfying. There’s pleasure in these autumn chores if you allow yourself to notice it: the smell of freshly turned earth, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the satisfaction of a neatly finished bed.
And perhaps that is the real appeal of a garden work list. It gives us permission to slow down and pay attention. We make preparations for the season ahead while still enjoying the season we’re in.
“Go, sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them –
The summer flowers depart –
Sit still – as all transform’d to stone,
Except your musing heart…” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The Seaside Gardener
By Laura McLean