The Month is October, the Year is 2022, and I Believe That Fall is Just Around the Corner
The author’s garden in early October with Impatiens and Caladiums among a coral bark Japanese maple and Deutzia
Of course, who knows what the weather will be doing these days. It has been a hot summer, not only in beautiful Athens, Georgia but almost everywhere in the country. We were teased with cooler days and nights a week ago but, then it got hot again – but that’s what October does. However, I know that fall is coming because the box stores and garden centers are overflowing with fall mums. Like the Internet, if the box store tells me it is fall, then it must be so.
Speaking of fall mums:
I have no problem with those cookie cutter mums; they are usually well grown, colorful and functional. I will buy a couple of small ones to replace tired plants in my window boxes and may even buy a large one for the front door. “Real gardeners” tend to complain a little about being overrun with them, but they provide a solution for people who want instant color. And that is most of us. I have no problem with the fact they are treated as throw-away plants; so are poinsettias at Christmas.
However, fall flowering hardy mums are something I look forward to every fall. They are planted like any other perennial, and flower every year in late autumn. Unfortunately, hardy mums are almost impossible to find locally in the spring because they are not flowering in that season. If you do find some now, enjoy them this year and then for many years to come. There are many choices out there, but I love 'Apricot Single', aka ‘Sheffield Pink’, and those under the “Ryan” name, such as ‘Ryan Pink, named for the outstanding designer Ryan Gainey.
And what about my favorite fall-flowering Salvia:
Oh my, ‘Phyllis Fancy’, named for Phyllis Norris at the U.C. Santa Cruz Arboretum, is doing her thing. At well over five feet tall, she will flower in late September to mid-November, or when the frost comes. I apologize to my friends in Ohio, probably not hardy north of USDA 7b. But so what, if you cannot grow it as an annual, get it as a spectacular annual?
Let’s talk a little about bulbs:
I recently visited my friend Faye Beck in Knoxville, TN. She is what I would consider a Super gardener; defined by one whose thumb is so green and garden so interesting that people make pilgrimages to her home – Susan and I just did.
Not to diminish her fabulous garden design, but it was the wonderful fall-flowering bulbs she had planted that caught my eye. Naked ladies, colchicums, and cyclamen were all vying for eye-time - and when I went around the corner, I spied some wonderful oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) in flower. Not a mum in sight. To be sure, her temperatures are not as cold as Cleveland or Quebec City but don’t overlook what fall flowering bulbs can do for your garden.
Of course, since it is fall, don’t forget to order and plant your spring/summer bulbs like daffodils, alliums, lilies and blue star flowers (Ipheion). It is not too late. Dr A has great information on all bulbs in his App, Armitage’s Great Garden Plants and Brent & Becky Bulbs supports the App and is an excellent source of bulbs for your garden.
Native Plants and Nativars, again:
I recently spoke at one of my favorite venues, The Perennial Farm, in Glen Arm, Maryland. You may be familiar with their online store that I recommend for perennials (www.perennialfarmmarketplace.com). I was showing off many native plants to garden center owners, growers and large landscapers and once again, the question arose “Do nativars attract as many pollinators as the straight species?” I quoted test results from Mt Cuba Center in Delaware (www.mtcubacenter.org) that have shown few differences time and again with different genera.
And as much as I admire what Mt Cuba has done, I am every excited to share a paper recently published in a refereed scientific journal, (PeerJ) by Adam Baker (Univ of Kentucky) and his colleagues. In this study, they determined pollinator activity (butterflies, bees) on native species of milkweed as well as numerous nativars (eg. ‘Cinderella’, ‘Ice Ballet’, ‘Soulmate’ …). The bottom line - essentially, there were no significant differences in number and types pollinators between a species and any of it nativars. The paper can be found below and makes for very interesting reading.
Some more good news:
My son and family visited recently, and my granddaughter Avery loved smelling, touching and cutting flowers from the garden. One of her favorites was the tiny forget-me-not. And oh my, she made vases and filled the birdbath with all sorts of flowering goodies. The garden is a little barer, the birds are a little thirstier but granddad is smiling from ear to ear.
More Good News, The App
Be sure to open the Armitage App (Armitage’s Great Garden Plants) as it has been completely redesigned. The same in-depth information, lots more information on Solution Gardening, Deer Problems and Pollinator’s - all for a single price, and no advertisements.
I am telling short plant stories on our local NPR station. Believe it or not, the station is getting good feedback.
A Few of My Favorite Things:
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Won Gold medal for doubles and Silver medal in singles at the GA Senior Olympic Games this week, held in Warner Robbins, GA.
Qualify for Nationals next summer.
This old guy is still out there whacking away in the garden and on the court.
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