What I’m Doing Now in My Garden

September has arrived yet again.  And while many of you are sighing and wishing it was June again, I say to keep your chin up and focus on the future. The garden needs you now and unless your Delorean is all ready to go, time travel is out of the question.

Birds

This week has been extremely hot so far and it’s not looking to cool down for another few days.  Do your backyard birds a favour:

• Clean out and refill bird baths
• Clean out the bird feeders and replenish seed
• Clean out hummingbird feeders (the hummers will be gone soon so take full advantage of them while they’re still here)
• Keep cats indoors. As much as we love our cats, they can wreak havoc on the bird population (and indeed they have).

Annuals

Annual plants that performed well during the summer and are starting to finish can be removed from the garden.  No sense leaving them there if their leaves are brown and flowers are spent.

Consider some fall mums placed into the garden still in their pots.  It’ll provide some colour and no one will be the wiser.

Perennials

Any perennials I have in the garden will stay the way they are for the next month or so.  Many are still in bloom and the ones that aren’t are going to seed and providing my bird population with a free meal. In the fall, I will pick and choose which to leave standing and which to cut down.  Hosta, for example, I tend to lob off at the base to avoid the mushy mess come spring; my perennial grasses, I leave standing for winter and give them a snip in the spring.

Veggies

My vegetable garden is coming to a close, as I would imagine yours is as well. The blighty tomatoes (yes, even my tomatoes get the occasional blight) have been removed from the garden and I’ve been picking the ripe ones off the healthy plants.  Carrots and onions still have some growing to do and peppers will soon be finished.  Over the next month or so I’ll be out there every few days doing a bit of clean up at a time to keep it from being too overwhelming as the cooler weather sets in.

Relax

Above all, though, I’m taking some time every day to actually enjoy the garden; to sit there with a cup of coffee as the sun is rising over the barn and observe the changes that have happened over the last seven months and, actually, over the last seven years.  It’s been an incredible journey for my garden and, in turn, for me.