The Fall Dilema

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 One would think that after 20 plus years in the same garden , the fall regimen would be, if not carved in stone, at least proceeduraly consistant. And yet , every single year as mid-Sept comes around I stare at the gardens indeciseively, as if I'd never considered or performed a 'fall clean-up.'
 There are plenty of overgrown, bloomed out and floppy plants here but I've come to appreciate seed heads and brown stuff more than I ever did in the past , and find it harder to bring myself to start wantonly chopping and slashing away. So here is the balance: No frost for another month , maybe two, so the tender stuff still prevails, yet I still need to find space for all the cool plants bought at the fall sales , also leaving room to dig holes for the bulbs before it starts to rain every other day and the garden turns into a gigantic water feature.Still have several mature shrubs that I want to remove --mature enough to require (yet unscheduled) hired hands . Grasses must remain unmolested. I must predict the first frost so I can have the pop-up greenhouse ready to go for the Echeverias , fuchsias, kalanchoes .Can't put them in ahead of time as they will burn up in our early fall daytime temps. Birch tree has to go, but I'll enjoy the fall foliage first. Hate my entry garden, but the Birch has to go before I can fix it.Dug up Clematis armandii today, to be replaced with Passifora edulis. Passiflora will have too much shade until the Birch tree goes. Passiflora edulis will have to be watered every 5 minutes until the Birch tree goes. I have my pansies for winter, but it's too damn hot to plant them and I have to hide them in the garage. I have Clematis tangutica but I have to move Betty Corning which is in it's spot. It's too damn hot to dig up and move Betty Corning, and I can't plant C. tangutica til I finish painting the arbor where it will live. It's too damn hot to paint the arbor.

Waiting..

Comments

  1. danger gardenSeptember 30, 2012 at 9:41 PM

    You know every single person reading this post is smiling and nodding their head while thinking to themselves, "it's not just me!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ksOctober 1, 2012 at 8:55 PM

      Definitely not just you Loree..It seems so unkempt this year !

      Delete
  2. Mark and GazOctober 1, 2012 at 12:47 AM

    Each year is unique and can be unpredictable indeed. Who says gardening is routine? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ksOctober 1, 2012 at 8:57 PM

      Not routine at all... especially for a 'serial' renovator.

      Delete
  3. UnknownOctober 1, 2012 at 9:49 AM

    Head nodding, nodding, .....Move the darn Birch to get going, LOL. (And I'll remove those 2 diseased roses standing in my progress path) - now if only Mother Nature would cooperate about the rest of the stuff.....Cindy H.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ksOctober 1, 2012 at 9:01 PM

      2 roses going here too Cindy, both have been in the ground at least 15 years..still working on 'Bunny Tails' , lol.

      Delete
  4. SueOctober 1, 2012 at 10:39 AM

    Sounds like my house. At least I finally got around to digging out the remains of a ratty old variegated dogwood shrub yesterday so I could move the Rheum palmatum var. tanguticum, then the Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford', then I lose track and have to go wander aimlessly around til I remember. While wandering aimlessly I suppose I should repot the Agaves and start treating the soon to be houseplants...sheesh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ksOctober 1, 2012 at 9:03 PM

      Lets wee , wandering aimlessly with wine..WAWI , the wine is essential to aimlessness.

      Delete
  5. GardenbugOctober 1, 2012 at 8:10 PM

    I much prefer reading this and nodding along to starting any of my tasks...

    ReplyDelete
  6. SueOctober 2, 2012 at 4:40 AM

    Not so sure we want to wee while wandering aimlessly. Unless perhaps we've had too much wine and find ourselves miles from the nearest restroom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ksOctober 2, 2012 at 5:19 PM

      uh-oh, not quite up to the standards of the famous hot tub typo but damn close !

      Delete
  7. GardenbugOctober 2, 2012 at 3:20 PM

    But Sue, aimlessly?

    ReplyDelete
  8. DeniseOctober 3, 2012 at 9:14 AM

    I so much prefer this honest admission of the chaos and confusion of fall then musings on the gentle end to summer, etc. My garden looks like an intensive care ward, with sheets draped over plants with 3rd-degree burns from the high 90s we've been having. And maybe if that birch tree gets a lot of wee it will hasten its demise...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ksOctober 3, 2012 at 5:22 PM

      chaos indeed ! you might have something there Denise, particularly if the wee is directed into the numerous birch bark beetle exit holes...though I would need a guy to pull that off.Our heat wave left today. Hope yours did too !

      Delete
  9. MichelleOctober 7, 2012 at 9:05 PM

    On the Idylls I believe this was called "plants on wheels" I'm a firm believer in keeping the garden changing to keep it interesting. With all your planned changes, it sounds like a whole new garden in the works.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Deanne FortnamOctober 10, 2012 at 5:28 AM

    Ah yes, the never ending dilemma. When to do what task as every one involves something else. I've again procrastinated with bringing in my tender stuff so will be running about like an insane person for the next two days... Ugh.. How on earth DID id get so MANY bromeliads? LOL

    ReplyDelete

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