I hope you had a lovely Labor Day weekend and didn’t labor too much in the garden.
For me, it was a time of preparation. I am trying to get ahead before being out of town on days when I normally garden. I tried to attack the edges of flower beds that had given way to tall grass laying flat and out of the mower’s reach. More weeding will be necessary when days are cooler, but doing a little bit now makes it easier later.
I gathered the garlic that had been curing in a dry, drafty place. I brushed off the remaining soil and trimmed the necks and roots. I then looked at each bulb carefully to find any soft sections or dark spots under the papery layers. I put those to the side, and I will use them first. The dark areas can indicate moisture, and these sections may rot in storage. If you like, choose the largest bulbs with the biggest cloves as your seed garlic for next year. Bag these up separately to plant in October. I plan to purchase more seed garlic this year because I didn’t plant enough for our use through next summer. Next year, I should have plenty for seed and eating.
The recent string of warm dry days—unfamiliar this summer—sent me out watering more recently, but it is always worth it. Gardens that receive enough water always grow better. When I water, I also scout for problems and fun discoveries. I discovered some Iris leaves were mowed short since they were disguised by too-tall grass along edges of the flower borders. They will survive, but I really need to come up with a buffer of stones, bricks, or other edging to try and keep the mowing help from getting too close. Even extra space that is for mulch only would help my assistant and keep the grass away from valuable plantings.
I have a planting section under a spruce that I am reclaiming from weeds—an overly healthy collection of nightshade, bittersweet, thistle, and dandelions. Hosta, Iris, black cohosh (Actaea), columbine, Epimedium, and Geranium have held their own against these weedy pests, but they struggle. So, I was a bit offended by the grasshopper on the Hosta that has pushed back thistle and scoffed at the slug holes puncturing its pretty leaves. The grasshopper has a massive lawn and meadow available to him. He might have been taking down sections of leaves, but I didn’t catch him chewing so I let him carry on.
Grasshoppers will devour leaves, one big bite at a time, and there are sprays you can use to protect plantings, but I will leave it for the birds to catch.
Another flower bed has really taken off where spruce trees were removed. It might be the flower ‘brutes’ that I recruited for the task. Brutish or not, my uncomplicated flower bed looked pretty to me this weekend even without unique specimens. I am a fan of goldenrod. It grows. It grows everywhere, of course, but when I manage its growth, it puts on a very pretty show and makes a good unifier. Don’t dismiss the common!
This bed has shrubs of winterberry and Fothergilla; peony for late spring; Monarda, Phlox, and daylily for summer; and Joe Pye weed, Eupatorium, and blue Lobelia siphilitica for now. The flowers aren’t that unique, but they have shown up in sequence. By far, my favorite look is now with the unifying goldenrod tying everything together. I can’t seem to catch them on camera this year, but the goldfinches lining up on the birdbath in the middle of this bed also adds to the appeal.
Not to be outdone by flighty birds, a viceroy butterfly stopped by to enjoy the Eupatorium purpureum’s fluffy white flowers while bees flitted in and out of the blue Lobelia. A viceroy butterfly is a bit smaller than a monarch, but the tell-tale distinction is the black band fanning across the hind wings. This viceroy was also more cooperative than a monarch that stopped by the Joe Pye weed at dusk later in the day when a photo was too dark to show much. Again, to catch a glimpse of butterflies, grow a variety of flowers and have blooms available all season long.
While many perennials will still bloom in the cooler days ahead, remember houseplants only have consistent warm weather for another week or so. It’s time for the second spraying of insecticidal soap before bringing houseplants and tropical plants back inside for good.
Annual salvia, zinnia, geranium, and cosmos will keep blooming. I noticed hummingbirds sampling the bright zinnias that I have everywhere. This surprised me. Salvia with its tubular flowers, sure; but zinnia? On closer inspection, I saw that, as the zinnia flower ages, the petals fall lower along the disk and the disk stretches into a cone with mini yellow florets around the center. Zinnias produce nectar in these shallow surfaces to attract butterflies, bees, and, yes, hummingbirds!
One annual that I prefer not to bloom would be my coleus. These plants will send up buds, but I like them for their colorful foliage. I pinch back the buds as they form, usually back to two opposite pairs of leaves. These pairs will send up new stems. By pinching, I keep the plant growing more leaves and taking on a nice bushy shape.
What about mushroom blooms? I wouldn’t taste them coming from the lawn. If you have an outbreak of mushrooms popping up in the yard, rake or mow them down for insects and other creatures to remove.
Annual weeds that might have competed with your grass will be dying back soon. You can fertilize lawns now and know that the food is benefiting the grass mix not the weeds. Just use blends that release nitrogen slowly.
I think I mentioned before, but save yourself future grief: Don’t put diseased plant material (I see you, fungus) in the compost pile. Best to bag it up and put the material in the trash, or you can bury it away from your ornamental and vegetable gardens. Diseased leaves left in a garden can carry disease through the winter to next spring. For more tips on composting, here is your reminder that I will be demonstrating composting dos and don’ts at Springside Park in Pittsfield with the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association (WMMGA) on Saturday, September 16 at 10 a.m. For more information, visit WMMGA’s website. No registration required, but I do hope someone shows up…
I call myself the Lazy Berkshire Gardener because I don’t want to work too hard in my gardens. I want to enjoy them. I find it easier to observe my landscape and let the compost happen, the water pool up, or daisies to self-sow. I look for ways to do the minimum task for the biggest impact. For example, mulching is better than spraying and much better than weeding all season. I look for beautiful, low-maintenance plants that thrive in or at least tolerate my garden conditions. Plus, I’m willing to live with the consequences if I miss something.
