Daily Notes- September 20

Dahlias are the flower blooming right now in many gardens.  They are sturdy stemmed so good in a vase, also.  Grown from a tuber that, here in zone 4-5,  must be dug up and stored freeze free for the winter and then planted in late spring.  My favorite was Park Princess.  But we forgot the tubers on the front porch last winter and they froze.

We are having cooler nights and sunny days this month.  But you can feel the cold creeping in, ever so slowly.  And Hallmark is offering their Christmas Countdown Movies starting October 28th.

My calendar is filling up with doctor, dentist and eye exam appointments.  Next week is one a day almost.

G and I pruned the weeping crab tree up near the house and porch.  Too many branches and too many leaves--couldn't see the weeping, curved branches.  Tree is very old and it cracked at the wide crotch early in our ownership.  We wrapped the two sides of the crack together with rope.  It held and a few years after we removed the rope.  I have been pruning it to drift out,  away from the main stem in a very old Japanese way.  This time I wanted to remove branches and leaves--yet again.  Too close to the house and too dense to see the many lovely Hosta underneath the tree.  We also pruned another shrub (I knew the name when I thought to type this but now it's gone) that was crowding my Maidenhair Ferns.  We have two new hosta to plant and some low growing pink azaleas.

Then we'll move on to the Witch Hazel Tree bed.  Adding two new creeping phlox in baby blue and some Heather I purchased in the Spring.  The two things that actually "grow" in that bed.  I have given up on everything else I planted that died either a quick or long tormented death there.

And I think that will be it, unless we transplant something out of the raised 'training" bed out back. There are still a few Bee balm and Boneset.  Thinking about where to put them is more work than planting them.

The tomato plants have just about finished.  The leaves are turning gold and brown.  Still have plenty of tomatoes out there getting ripe and lots of peppers.  And parsley.  Need to start cutting that and freezing for Winter meals.  And more green beans.  I told you all there was plenty of time.

Well, that's the garden report.  Full Moon next week so probably a freeze.  The first one. So any plants still productive will need to be covered overnight.  Bulbs also need to be planted now.  And I need to dig up the Amaryllis bulbs that have been summering in the vegetable beds.  Work. Work.