We are a tiny bit behind here at May Dreams Gardens.
There are houseplants shivering on the back patio. I hope they didn’t mind temps in the high 40s, though I think I heard some talk amongst them. It was a mixture of complaints, angry statements, and a few fearful laments. They might even have cussed a little.
I should have brought them inside already, but this week’s forecast is along the lines of:
“Sorry about that nasty cold day on Saturday. The upcoming week should be pretty nice with lows in the 50s and highs in the upper 70s and lower 80s. Gardeners should continue to procrastinate on preparations for late fall and winter and act like it is still summertime.”
I like that forecast. And I think the asters do, too. They are late in blooming this year. I thought they would be in full bloom by now, but they aren’t. We had a talk today, and I ended up apologizing for leaving the garden for 14 of the 30 days of September. But I didn’t promise never to do it again. I did encourage them to bloom their heads off this coming week, and I promised I would come out to admire them and take pictures, too. The pollinators however, scolded them, for not blooming.
Many of those pollinators, mostly big fat bees, were all over the Heuchera villosa ‘Autumn Bride’ earlier today. Though, I think I overheard them talking amongst themselves, too, like the houseplants. They were all a-buzz anticipating the asters being fully in bloom this week. I think they are getting tired of Heuchera pollen.
My goodness, there is a lot of chatter around this garden. Dr. Hortfreud, my psychoanalyst, or rather gardenalyst, as she sometimes likes to call herself, sat outside with me today and discussed the amount of chatter. She said it is not unusual.
She and I also discussed how I’ve decided to not plant more crocuses and glory-of-the-snow in the lawn this fall. She agrees we should see how the 1,000s planted in falls past do this spring. She is also happy to know 100 snowdrop bulbs are on their way to my garden.
After our talk, I peeked into the vegetable garden. Ol’ Granny Gus McGarden is not too happy with me since I haven’t pulled out spent plants. I’ll do that soon, but didn’t she see the weather forecast? Besides, she’ll be happy with me after I move the compost bins to the other side of the garden this fall.
Of course, I’m not moving the compost bins until after a hard freeze. Who knows what wasps and bees are living deep in those bins? I sure don’t know what all is living in that compost, but figure if I wait until a hard freeze, they’ll all be dead, except for the queens, and a lonesome queen or two won’t bother me.
Yes, we are a tiny bit behind here at May Dreams Gardens, but there is a lot going on, the weather is again trending warm, so no one is panicking.
Except maybe an uptight garden fairy or two, but we’ll talk about that some other day.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one behind. But it seems to be a pretty typical gardener's complaint for this time of year.
There is always 'tomorrow'.
Most of our tropicals are sitting on the patio pouting about the procrastination going on here. They will be happier this week. You will have to explain to your plants that collections accolades is a tough job and takes lots of time away from the garden.
Because I (unfortunately) have gardens in two places right now, and because of predicted possible freezes, I did bring the houseplants indoors – except for the rosemary. Have to repot the rosemary.
We are behind here in Oklahoma too. A lot of my asters aren't blooming yet. A lot are. It's nice to have things to anticipate. All of my mums are just sitting there waiting to bloom. You just never know. Happy October Carol.~~Dee
I, too, procrastinate. We were gone for a week, and I am in no hurry to pull the spent plants. By the way, my asters are blooming.
Luckily, that cold spell last weekend was brief, because there is still so much to do out there!