A clever weekly state of the garden memo is current on what is scheduled to be grown, what’s been planted and its progress, what is close to prime time and eventually…what will be in short supply.
Pineapple sage is the prime blooming plant in the garden after more than two inches of rain this past week. Currently, the forecast is for another wet week. The flower harvest will decrease as we wait for the new viola plantings to catch up.
Our daylight hours have dropped below ten per day. The plants will still grow for the next three months but will be slow.
We will start harvesting delicata and acorn squashes as needed. This photo showcases our “twin” squashes of 2024. We will harvest the butternut squash this coming week. They will harden for a few weeks and then be ready for use.
This alien-looking object is from our gourd collection, which we grew this year. I think it is from the Crown of Thorns mix. Look for them throughout the hotel this fall. That’s just the gardeners’ way of embracing the changing seasons.
Fall is here, and change is in the air. Currently, we have plenty of edible flowers. However, we are heading into a week of cooler rainy weather, which will be challenging for the marigolds. On the other hand, the violas should enjoy the cool rain.
Autumn is upon us. The mornings are cool, we’ve broken out the jackets, and the blackberry lilies (Iris domestica) are finally showing their seed arrangement. These plants are scattered throughout various flowerbeds because we love the flowers, followed by the interesting seed heads.
A sure sign that fall is around the corner is that the winter squashes are looking almost ready. They are called winter squashes not because they grow in the winter, which is a common mis-conception, but rather because they have a hard outer shell which allows them a longer shelf life so we can use them in the winter.
Mornings in the Garden in September are always interesting. We heard the first flock of Canadian geese since last spring when they headed north. It’s a time of transition. The Garden continues to produce abundantly.
We have sunflowers scattered randomly throughout the garden to provide late-season food for honey bees, bumble bees, and the many tiny native bees.
The garden and the gardeners have been enjoying the cooler weather. The dahlias, in particular, are much happier if it is not blistering hot.