44 this morning, windy and cloudy, then sun, then showers. Warmed to lower 60's.
Lavender plants came in the mail yesterday, so you know what I had to do today. The tiller came out--again--and new ground was worked up to plant them. My flowerbeds are so full there's no room for more plants. And since I seem to keep ordering them, I had to find a place to start a new bed.
This is not the perfect way to start a new flower garden, I know, but I seem to have put the cart before the horse. Last week I tilled ground for new peony plants, today for the lavender and for several other plants now on their way. I have to admit I'm excited about this. It's been years since I established a new garden. I kept thinking it was time to scale back since I'm getting older, but this year I've decided what the heck, plant while I can and enjoy it, and when I'm finally unable to care for them, we can just let them go. In the meantime, we'll have lovely flowers. I hope.
Since the day warmed up nicely, we spent most of it outside, cleaning up and putting away. It always surprises me how much must be done--garden tools that had accumulated on the cellar house porch, garden chemicals, flower pots, hand tools, garden ornaments, etc, all needed to be put away for winter. There were wheelbarrows--count them, we have at least 6, most destined eventually for our booths--to be put up, a garden bench to be moved to a better location, some tomato stakes to put away, and on and on. It took several hours, and there's still a bit to do, but we made a really deep hole in the list.
It's fun to be out in the gardens at this time of year, although sobering to see how the vine-y weeds have run amuck while I was so busy canning. Even so, some plants that struggled through the summer are blooming like crazy and growing well. The dill re-seeded itself and now we have some lovely young dill I can harvest and freeze. A few squash plants are still hanging on and have a few blooms, and the calendula has seeded and spread all over a part of the walled garden and blooming nicely. The cannas I started from seed have a few blooms, and I must remember to dig the roots this year. There are green onions because the potato onions I planted have sprouted, and beets and kale and of course turnips.
And flowers. Flowers everywhere. Roses, zinnias, those ones I call stevia, Victoria salvia, the calendula, a few marigolds, chrysanthemums, all are loving this cool, damp weather. There are chives in abundance, basil still growing, and the perennial herbs have tender new growth. It does my heart good to see all this, and I feel grateful because the plants have managed quite well without me. Even some small lavender plants, some that I started from seed and others that I bought, are looking strong and healthy and I am hopeful they will survive the winter.
I will have to get back out there soon and do some cutting back and cleaning up, but for right now it's all good. Now I'm looking forward to the arrival of seed catalogs, when the whole cycle will begin again. I have to admit, it's exciting. Because next year, in the gardener's mind, will always be better, there will be more time, less weeds, and fantastic results.
It all sounds lovely Sue! I have never gotten lavender started. I should keep trying I guess. What are potato onions?
ReplyDeleteThey are also called multiplier onions, Nance. They grow sets on top which can be planted. So you can have fresh green onions almost year round, and grow your own sets too. I am still learning how to manage them. These might have to be dug up in the spring and spread out to grow bigger onions.
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