Can you believe it… summer is almost over! Only 9 weeks until the first frost (according to our zone 7 map ) and Halloween (one of my favorite holidays!) I'm finishing up my plans for our annual Labor day party and getting the gardens ready for fall. I like to take the last few weeks of summer and assess all my hard work in the garden and before I get the kids packed off to college or prepare for the first day of school, I walk through the yard and see what needs to be done. I like to check the overall health of the plants, see what outgrew its space and needs to be divided, what areas are bare and need soil amendments and add fresh mulch before the mums go in. Further, I check my plants for pruning, remove branches damaged in summer storms or because of disease.  (If you have diseased plants remember to disinfect between cuts and do not compost this plant material).  I also start to collect some of the seeds from my annual plants for next year’s garden (label the seed type and location of the plants, store in a paper bag) and start to select my bulb colors and varieties for my order and, of course, add kale for late color.

 I also begin my deadheading for a final color show from my annuals and as time allows in my busy day, I start to dig up my tender bulbs (gladiolus, elephant ears and cannas) and cure them (I dig them up, shake off the excess dirt, trim off the green stalks, it will not damage them, then I let them air dry for a few days before I store them in a cardboard box with peat moss for the winter months).

Over the next few weeks I will remove all the annuals from my planters and window boxes, add new potting mix to the boxes (do not add straight soil it is too heavy). Then I add some cool weather flowers like pansies, kale and mums. Then I sit back wait for my leaves to fall and get ready for fall clean up and planting for next spring.  Hope these thoughts got you thinking about all you have to do – have fun or give us a call.