I saw this moon on Friday morning on my way in to the workplace. I thought it was a nice photo for you all. We usually have a lot of brown and gold on the hillsides this time of year because the Gambel oak is not very colorful, unlike many of its cousins. It can be colorful if you’re up close, and you can see the oranges and reds and yellows. This year isn’t a bad year for fall colors even though we’ve been dry as a bone all year long.
I always look back at the summer gardening season about this time and think about what I will do differently next year, and what I will keep the same. I plan to keep my climbing and balcony petunias going as long as I can. I bought the seeds some years ago (and supplement from time to time), from an heirloom seed company. They always readily re-seed and this year as usual they popped up by the hundreds in the spring. So I thinned, and now have some nice reds and pinks on the porch.
I’ve also got some white and lavender popping up elsewhere, so we’ll see what we get next year.
I’ve decided to cut way back on any veggie type gardening. Too little space and too many critters. The raised bed is actually finally reaching the end of its life and I’m re-thinking that space. I want more flowers and since we’ve cut down another tree (trust me, it needed gone), we have sun in different spots. Always changing, that landscape!
I’d like to dismantle the raised bed and replace it with a small patio and large pots of herbs. I’ve found it easy to grow lettuce indoors in the early spring, and I can get a couple of plant stands for the lettuce the critters can’t reach. Besides, your winter squash should not be the size of your index finger in September. So I give up. Not wasting any more time or money. I can get zucchini from the farmers market guy.
It’s also time for the tender plants to come inside. I’ve got to think about where the large pot with the bougainvillea will go. I re-pot the sunroom plants right about now and the jade plant needs it this year. I’m letting my amaryllis dry out. I have a new hoya plant start that has finally taken off and needs a larger pot — and I plan on visiting a friend who runs a plant business soon to get a triple variegated hoya. She said she could get me one. They are green, white and blush red on the edges of their leaves.
The bougy is outside still, soaking up some nice September warmth… little fuschia jewels glowing in the afternoon sun. This picture doesn’t do them justice.
Fall is mentally difficult for me for many reasons — I get one year older, the winter season is bearing down and I need to prepare for it with accessories and mental stoicism. So I try to look forward to spring and in the meantime I cultivate the indoor plants.
It’s also time to clean up some garden debris for fall. I’ve been pulling up the failed squash in the raised bed. I did get some nice herbs this year and the lettuce was successful as always. But I also planted some coneflowers and black-eyed susans in the squash’s place because I’d like them to get a good start. They were this year’s seedlings and needed a transplant. I am sure they will do well with the lettuce next spring and it will remind me No Squash!
I haven’t done much physical recreation this year but I did manage to make it down to the annual Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show at the Denver Coliseum. Now THERE are some rocks. I couldn’t take it all in, but it is just so fabulous that you get immersed.
These photos are from the parking lot booths on our way inside. There was so much more inside the Coliseum/Arena areas I can’t even begin to describe it. I walked away with a nice opal bead necklace worth about $400. Paid much less than that. It’s beautiful. Rocks are so cool!
That’s what’s going on in my garden, what’s going on in yours?