Overwintering Time

 I always vow I’m not bringing in plants from outside in the fall. Then I see some of the plants are still gorgeous and green and blooming. Next year, the heck with it, I’m bringing in anything that looks good and is a tender perennial, herb, or annual with a bit more time in its cycle.

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DOA In The Virtual Garden

Not my own, so much,  (until the garden catalogs start coming in) but Thursdays seem like a good day to share what I've seen lately that's garden related.



Via the Impatient Gardener, did you know there were are Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter cactus?  I thought there were only Christmas Cactus.

Via the Old Moss Woman's Secret Garden,  there have been some clever new ways to decorate with pumpkins lately, but a pumpkin pirate ship!  That's quite a sight.

Via Two Women and a Hoe, I can identify with this big time!

From John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds, I love these beautiful nasturtiums. 

I am also becoming enamored of all sorts of begonias.   Isn't this pretty from the Houseplant Guru?

From Avantgardens, a wonderful path, in form, though I'd illustrate it a bit differently.

Sold Out if you follow the link to their page, but this Sorbet Peony From Jackson and Perkins is stunning.

Jung Seed shows what a real pumpkin grower can do with a few seeds.

Territorial Seed Company : Your Guide for Autumn, Winter, and Overwinter Gardening

A new Territorial Seed Company catalog came this week.  I like it's take on the idea of doing a second planting for fall, something which may or may not be practical here in the frozen north.

If you actually can successfully plant new seed batches in June and July, and harvest them before the snow flies, that would be excellent.  It not only gives a second crop, but if you had a rough start to your season (everything eaten by rabbits, cough cough), you can feel as if you had a successful season after all.   Gardening is all about hope, renewal and reinvention, right?

Of interest to me are:

Merlot Lettuce which I found I had noted in a long ago garden tour as something to find.  I must have thought it stunning to note a vegetable in my garden tour notes.  I don't think this picture  from the Territorial site likely does it justice.

Greenhouse Replacement Cover   No matter how careful you are, the zipper on your mini-greenhouse is going to break with a certainty by at least season three.  Grr, so annoying.  You can use the mini-greenhouse as a great season extender in spring, but if you can't close that zipper, you can't get the best protection for your plants.  As they sit in the greenhouse in the sunlight daytime, it gets pleasantly warm and you can have the "door" open. At night, when you zip it up, there are what I think must be greenhouse gases(?) that create a nice steamy situation for your plants and seedlings.  I really need a working cover.

A Nursery Label Pen that lasts the season and doesn't have the lettering gone on your plastic plant labels by mid-season would be so welcome.  This Sharpie variant actually says "industrial" on it. Maybe it is The One.

Putting the Garden to Bed Zzzzzzzz

I thought I would have time to do a really good job putting my garden to bed this year.  If the Big Snow holds off,  I might get there yet. Well, except for the September date which has passed me by big time.

Ideally I would have done these things:

Planted all those perennials I potted up in preparation for moving them to the east side of the yard.

Brought my houseplants into the house in early September.

Cut back perennials and toss any leaves which look spotty or diseased in any way.

Cover everything with a nice blanket of leaves.

Brought in all garden ornaments including the smaller birdbaths.

I finally finished up on number one today, just beating forecasts of snow which luckily have not fallen yet.   I'm out shopping for potting soil which hasn't been sitting outside all summer because I'm pretty sure that is how I brought in so many annoying little bugs last year. Grr pesky things.  My houseplants including two trees await their fate in the garage.  They look happy enough.