Brrr

I'm glad I held off on transplanting the tomatoes, as the other night the temps dropped into the 30's. Not very springlike and definitely not tomato weather. This weekend looks hopeful, though.

Meanwhile, some things prefer the cool weather, like lettuce. I have tried growing it in containers before, but this year is the first time it has done well. I made "lettuce bowls" for those near and dear to me, using hanging planters so the yummies can be kept out of reach of wascally wabbits.

Peas also like cool weather, and for some reason, sparrows like pea plants. Last year they pretty much ruined the pea crop, so this year, when I noticed the damage, I dragged out some netting I bought 15+ years ago and had never used. This bit of ugliness is doing the trick, but it will also probably cause problems when the growing plants become entwined in it.

Infrastructure-wise, my SO and I finished putting up the movable fence, and we hope we won't have to move it again. The new panels are a result of shifting some beds to widen paths, plus adding another "column" of beds. I consider this array to be complete (famous last words).

The first set of fledglings are flying the nest. These robins seemed to be a single parent and an only child - no other family members appeared. If the battery in my camera had not chosen to poop out, I might have caught a shot of mom/dad feeding the youngster a worm.

The orchard is off to a good start, with one exception. There are even a few blossoms. Planting something new is always an experiment subject to gross error, but so far, so good.

The south side of the house has gone through a few permutations. Currently, there is a motley assortment of perennials, including catmint, which seems bent on taking over the world. I may just let it duke it out with the hysop, bee balm, coneflower, and whatever else is there.

Not so world-dominating are the rhododendron in front of the house. Of the original three plants, only one and a half remain. I hope this year's display is not its swan song.

The sidewalk bed looks very full this year, mostly due to the volunteer violets and columbine. I added calendula and alyssum to help out. And now that it is full, I've seen some new (to me) sedum I would like to add.

Too many plants, not enough room.

Plans, I has 'em

All year round, I find myself thinking about what I want to do next in the yard and garden, but never more than at the end of the season. With successes and failures fresh in my mind, I contemplate what to repeat, what to do better, what to abandon, what new thing to try. These daydreams always chase away any gardener blues I may succumb to now and then.

Before fall cleanup

Something I would really like to improve is weed control in the vegetable garden, especially between beds. I've tried mulching with this, that, and the other, with minimal success. For my next method, I will try mowing. Toward that end, my SO helped me shift the raised beds to make the paths wide enough to accommodate the Toro.

After fall cleanup (more or less)

Next year's big "something new" will be the mini orchard, starting with apples and cherries. I think. I get a little overwhelmed with the choices of fruit trees available, but am narrowing my first choices to varieties that are naturally resistant to pests and diseases, the better to ensure some success.

It's not just the backyard that receives my scrutiny. The bed by the front walk is filling in nicely, but I am discovering the arrangement of the plants is not the best. Specifically, some taller things need to switch places with shorter ones, and some varieties would benefit from clustering together rather than standing in isolation.

This summer I filled in a few blanks with marigolds, simply because I started more seedlings than the vegetable garden could accommodate. Next year I would like to use its cousin calendula instead, which should self seed. I hope that does not turn out to be a mistake.

I'm done with the old fashioned (i.e. mildewed) lilac by the driveway, so whacked it down; an almond tree may grow in its place. The burning bush will get a severe pruning, to give the gold mop a chance to fill in all around.

I'm also done with most of the ornamental grasses in front of the house - just too floppy - and plan to move them to the backyard. I think a maple leaf viburnum would be a nice replacement by the front porch.

This 'Hameln', however, gets prettier every day in the autumn. I think I'll keep it.

I visited a tree nursery several years ago in search of a tulip poplar. The owner shamelessly flirted while extolling the virtues of the sugar maple over a tulip tree. Yes, sugar maples are striking this time of year, but I like the tulip poplar I eventually planted. So much so, I want to plant another, to someday shade the deck.

The observant will notice some big blue stem in the photo above. It and its neighbors, a little blue stem and two varieties of asters, are destined to move to the back corner where they can spread out to their natural size. The plants I moved to the south side of the house this past summer will probably join them. Then I get to decide what to do with the newly vacated location. I get excited just considering the possibilities!