We came back from a two-week tropical in the land of mangos, papayas and tropical fish to falling leaves, colder temperatures and a lower, less intense sun. While the warmth of the past week or so has been welcome, it is but a last gasp tease of what we had will no longer be. A dampness has captured our back yard and patio leading to falls on slippery tiles as the sun never raises above the tree line whose leaves block any drying light.
The redbud has streaks of yellow through its canopy as if my granddaughter took swipes with a giant paint brush on it of her favorite color. In a few areas I have already raked twice making small piles of leaves that Charlotte takes great joy in spreading around. A few straggler blackberries are ripening and will be gone by the end of the week. Last week we took up the tomatoes and put in the garlic as well as the last of the greens, which I hope to harvest in November.
But it is not only us preparing for the fall. As I moved the cover one day off our barbeque grill, a large toad peered out between the cracks of two large slates. It had dug a home in the relative safety of our patio. It sat, staring at us wondering no doubt wondering why we had removed its roofing. It didn’t move, sitting there Buddha-like in a serene manner.
After staring at it for 10 minutes I decided that there were better things to do that day.
One of my recent classes at Ann’s Place dealt with winter gardening. While many people believe that gardening and growth stops in the fall, they are only half right. It doesn’t take much to continue growing and harvesting greens, carrots and radishes from a Northeast garden well into December and beyond (with some luck).
My flats of seedlings were not in top shape as my two week absence left them at the mercies of the elements and caterpillars. Full plants became somewhat skeletal in design but still able to grow this fall. Some old fencing was transformed into planters, which my clients loved. Rustic appears to be just another word for old and weathered. Not good anymore for fencing but more than sufficient for planting a small winter garden.
Besides the plants, I had some seeds for experimentation: kale, mustard, claytonia and others to be germinated. They should be germinated by now and perhaps will grow enough to enjoy in late November or early December.
