Dodged an Early Frost

 There was a wide spread Frost Advisory this morning and at 8 am it was 34F.  The frost touched the roofs and the large areas of the lawn but wasn't cold enough to get down into the landscape or anywhere near all of the stone and pavers of the gardens.

In preparation for the frost I picked a lot of my dahlia blooms leaving mostly the common Cafe' Au Lait.  I have a whole row of those, and while they are pretty, I am getting tired of them,  I won't be saving all of the tubers for next year.   There are currently no cold nights in the long range forecast so perhaps some of the many buds left behind will get a chance to open.  I didn't cover anything because, while it would be sad to see it all go in an early frost, I need it to be over sometime so I don't fuss over it anymore.

Some of the more unique varieties waited until late to bloom.  This lovely little 3" collarette is called Bumble Rumble.

With the cooler temperatures and less intense sun, the colors of the flowers have been so vibrant.  Not long ago I tried to capture the rosiness of the Strawberry Blonde Marigolds to show you.  I tried again today with my phone camera.  They are such an unusual color for a Marigold.

This Fireball is also an incredible red, but more brick than rose.  I pulled all of the Marigolds along the driveway except this one on the corner.  I just couldn't do it.

We got all of the evergreen shrubs protected from deer with wire fence today.  I also cut the hosta and dug the border height dahlias that would have been in the way.  It is still a little early to store tubers so I just stuck them in the ground in an out of the way corner that I weeded and tilled up yesterday.

Yesterday I cut the horseradish back and weeded the area well.  Below are the collarette dahlias freed of their pushy neighbor and along the strawberry cage there is a beautiful row of parsnips.

Below are the sweet potatoes who had been sneaking up on the giant horseradish that was taking up about ten square feet.

Because of the cooler temps I am also rounding up all of my freezable garden products.  I take these into the basement every winter.

I used up all of the ready compost and dumped the shorter tube.  

The tall tube is filled to the top and will still take more as it composts and drops.  I'm thinking it might be fun to try all shredded leaves in the short tube.

That little pile there represents all kitchen scraps and garden waste from April through the peas at the end of July.  It cooked all through August and September.  Each summer I try to get the peas all in the first tube then start on the second tube.  There are a lot of worms in there but I need to turn it a couple of times before winter.  It should be ready to use next spring.

All of my vegetable garden supports and covers get stored in the temporary building.  Every post, pot, pole and hoop.  

We do have a lot of mice and chipmunks that try to invade each year.  I've found that just going in there and rattling things around every couple weeks is the biggest deterrent to nesting.  Anything chewable has to go in a sealed container.  These tubs hold all of my frost covers, burlap, insect netting and shade clothes.

As things get cut out of the landscape, the remaining plants become that much more special.

Three different kinds of Heuchera and a Vinca Vine.

Southern Charm Verbascum which was a tiny little mail order plant a year ago.
These bloomed beautifully all summer and are still putting out a few blooms.

When we first edged this natural area between the big garage and the vegetable garden, I kept the native plants pushed back about three feet.  I planted ground cover and each year I carefully weeded and mulched.  Then I gave up.  It is a losing battle to try to plant anything along a natural area.  The native roots just cannot resist moving into well cared for soil.

 

This year it is full of several varieties of native Asters.

Today we began cutting the ornamental grasses out of the creek bed.  The recent rain had started to knock them over.  One year I left them standing all winter.  That was a mistake.  Not only was the damp, dead grass nearly impossible to cut in the spring, field mice made nests in many of them, feasting on the green shoots and killing several completely.

Removing the huge grasses reveals plenty of weeds in and around each clump.

Cleaning those details up will keep me busy tomorrow....