Days like today remind me that gardening, like so many ventures, is more about the ride than the results. Don’t get me wrong, I do love having a table full of dahlias to share, like these from a few weeks ago.
And I love having this view as just one part of the vista we see out our back windows at summer’s end.
Still, as Mae West would say, ‘you’re really doing it for the experience.’ Today was all about the experience. Yes, November tasks were accomplished. More importantly though, they were accomplished outside on a beautiful day. The air was crisp, the sun was shining, the ground was clothed in colorful leaves, and I was lovin’ it.
I started with a pre-emptive strike on the Rose of Sharon. Given the opportunity, the seed pods would have dropped and taken root. I would have had many tiny Rose Of Sharon plants to remove next spring. Not really a hard job, but one I prefer to avoid. Removing the seed pods should probably have been done in October to be fully effective, but there were enough seed pods left on the trees to make the task worthwhile.
Next, I discovered there was a fungus among us – black spot on a rose. Black spotted leaves on a rose must go, and go they did. Not just off the plant, not just in the compost pile. The infected leaves must be gone gone gone to avoid a reinfectation of the plant.
Then it was time to kiss the cannas goodbye. If you’ve ever wondered if cannas multiply, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Here is the largest clump that came out today. As I hosed them down, watering myself along the way, I decided to add a waterproof watch to the items I’ll be suggesting in the soon to come blogs on ‘Christmas gifts for gardeners.
The bulbs (unlike me) are now clean. They have joined the minions of dahlia tubers that Mike is prepping in the garage for winter storage. I counted 22 (yes 22) boxes of dahlia tubers that he extracted and cleaned yesterday. More on that process in a posting yet-to-come.
One thing that I did to make sure my time was enjoyable; I stopped when I was ready to stop. I could have stopped when the work was done, but that would have detracted from the experience. Now its time to relax, as we watch the autumn leaves blowing and glowing, from the comfort of the couch.
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
The Lord has given us many beautiful fall days, hasn’t He!! I was a little sad today as I put my garden to bed for the winter today also. It’s been a good summer. Ahhh.