Fall Cleanup Begins

Summer is over and it's time to begin putting the garden to bed. I've been getting an early start, taking advantage of the fine weather for early October. We've had some nights in the 40s and upper 30s, but no hard freeze yet. Still, it won't be long ... end of October or early November usually. Fall cleanup is depressing enough without getting out there in the cold drizzle, pulling up slimy, frost-bitten plants.

Epic Fail Zucchini

Cindy, my lone reader, had suggested hand-pollinating my zucchini and asked whether we'd been enjoying any. Well, Cindy, I'm sorry to say I haven't had any success with the pollinating. Maybe next year, eh? Maybe I'll start with two or three plants as well, in case that is an issue. If we have great success, there is always the Joseph's Table at church to get rid of the excess.

Decisions, Decisions

So the fall cleanup has already given me a couple of decisions to mull over. It looks like the irises are due for dividing. Not a job I especially relish ... but (to be brutally honest) those areas of the flower bed could use a little tidying. Putting the irises in order would also give me some extra space for my other decision --- transplanting a peony that has never bloomed because it never got enough sun. Finding the right sunny spot for the peony is important because next year I'm going to have to find a sunnier spot for the tomatoes; this year they got too much shade from the west-side neighbor's Rose of Sharon bushes. Like I said back in the spring, one thing leads to another.

Assessment

I'm still pleased with the result of cleaning up the adopted flower bed. Although I didn't add much to it, the weeding and mulching allowed the existing hostas to come into their own. Next year, I expect them to thrive even more.

Comments

[Adam]

Not quite your lone reader - you're still there in my RSS reader, as you have been for many years. :)

[cindy]

i envy your weather down there ! we've had many freezes up here and i need to get my garden cleaned up soon. it's funny .... i was in marquette two weeks ago and they had no freezes at all.