Changes
By Joanna Dunlap Kirby
Contributing gardening columnist,
Owner and operator of a cut flower farm in Garrard County
As I look around my gardens and landscape, I see slight changes in the color of the grass, blooms of zinnias are now more vibrant and several of my summer blooming annuals have started to go to seed.
As I am out early cutting flowers, I see that the sun is just a little bit later popping up over the horizon. The mornings have been a little cooler, which is a pleasant relief for me. Ah, fall is just around the corner, and there is still much to do outside.
I now have four hummingbird feeders hanging in the shade, and they are empty in two to three days. Keep these clean and filled now through October, as these busy little birds need all the extra nutrition they can get. Our flowers have the much-needed nectar they depend on, but their human friends give them an extra boost. Some of their favorite flowers are cardinal flowers, blazing stars and trumpet creepers, which are blooming profusely now.
I also keep my goldfinch feeders full of thistle all year long, and they have been eating away. In my kitchen garden there are five sunflower “trees” that are over 15 feet tall. The seeds were dropped by the winter birds, and germinated last spring. I tie them to my cattle panels where I grow peas, beans and tomatoes and let them grow—hence the name sunflower tree. This time of year, they are also covered with the finches as they chatter and eat the drying seed heads. It’s a lovely sound as they dart from “tree to tree.”
If time permits, take a few notes in your garden and make a year-end evaluation. You will see what needs improvement, what you need to purchase for next year and what worked or did not work. Take a soil sample and drop it off at your county Extension office; the UK Woodford County Extension Service does this and is located at the Ag Services Building on Beasley Road. They have the bags you will need to place the soil in, and they offer this service for free. Soil amendments can be added once you get the test results back.
Go ahead and cut back your summer crops that are finished.
Today, I pulled out most of my blooming celosia to make room for my cool season sowing. Cut off any dead blooms on zinnias so they will keep blooming for a few more weeks. Divide and water well any perennials that you want to move around. Add mulch around them to keep the weeds at bay, hold in moisture and keep them from heaving out of the ground this winter.
Be on the lookout at garden centers and nurseries for fall bulbs (tulips, daffodils, alliums, crocus, etc.) and make your purchase before the best ones are sold out. Wait until late October to plant them, as the ground needs to be a little cooler.
Wash and sanitize pots and seed trays with equal parts of vinegar and water. Let them sit with this mixture on for ten minutes or so, rinse and let them dry in the sun before storing them. You may need to use a soft brush on any that have calcium or salt deposits on the outside. Sometimes these cannot be removed, but I think it just gives them character—and who doesn’t need that! Here is a short list of some of my favorite perennials for cut flowers: baptisia (false indigo), Aruncus (goatsbeard), Achillea (yarrow), Veronica and Rudbeckia (brown-eyed Susan). They should all be readily available at your garden centers.
Here are a few little-known facts to share: a brown bat can eat up to 1,000 insects an hour. Cicadas chorus by day, katydids and crickets at night—and what soothing sounds of summer to enjoy. I spend as much time outside as I possibly can watching nature move through the seasons. As we begin the transition into fall, let’s look around at the changes and embrace a new season with all its glory, color and splendor.
I share one of my favorite quotes by Gertrude Jekyll, “The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies…”