Puttering About... and Peonies

 This November is nowhere near as mild and lovely as last November was.  There have been a lot fewer days of puttering about outside.  I have gone back to recaning the dining chairs, but there are still garden related activities to be done. This week I have dug and prepared horseradish and made apple butter.  The horseradish was absolute weapons grade HOT radish.  When I first opened up the chopper lid it about blinded me.  I was so impressed that I took it out the garage to share the experience with my husband.  Thankfully when the vinegar was added it tamed it down to regular fresh, home made strength.  I think the chopper may have to be isolated for radish only use from now on so it doesn't taint things like apple butter!

The apple butter (basically apple freezer jam) was made with the last of the Northern Spy apples.  They do not store well and must be used.  We are about pied out, so I made jam instead.  Recipe Link.  It turned out real well, and was very easy in the Crockpot.  I think next time I would used about half the sugar with sweet apples, then add to taste at the end.  These Spies had been sitting around and were getting quite sweet as they aged. 

There is still some green out in the garden.  The peonies are usually last to lose their leaves.  I won't cut them down early when we start clean out, but later in the fall I give them a trim.  This one, an Itoh, is looking pretty windblown and the deer have started nibbling on it.  Since I don't like to encourage that, and provide them incentive, I will either cover or cut anything they are interested in.

You can see all of the pink growth points close to the crown.

My other Itoh puts tips out along the stems pretty high up, so I trim it high.  Depending on the severity of the winter weather, these stems and buds will probably die back.  But if we get a mild winter they will form branches, so I leave them.  The leaves are dropping off the stems anyway, and don't provide any winter protection.

Below is my Sorbet herbaceous peony that I relocated the end of August.  I only saw one new growth point at the time I dug it, and that is still alive.  I expect this to be set back significantly next year because of the move, but it was getting so huge that I don't feel too bad for it.  I hope it adapts to its new location.  Its less than twenty feet from its old spot.

I make sure to monitor other things like the Heuchera.  These here against the chicken coop are still a nice little woodland garden.  I clipped a square of bird netting to the hardware cloth to protect the plants on the ends from munching.  The net is up off the ground in deference to Mr. Toad who lives under the log.

The Heuchera in the whiskey barrels are doing well.  The covers have proven secure through some pretty good winds.  The plants are fine and the soil is moist.

There is still lettuce in the garden.  I consider this "emergency lettuce" as it can be a little bitter at this age.  I buy iceberg at the store whenever they have a nice selection at a reasonable price but if we don't happen to have any good iceberg in the fridge, I can always find enough in the garden to dress a sandwich.

We have plenty of Parsley, both flat and curly in the butterfly bed.  Mr (or Mrs) Frog lives in there.

I have both Rosemary and Sage tucked under a butterfly bush by the apple tree.  Some winters sage or rosemary might actually survive even here in our 5b climate.  But even if they don't they are still usually good until Christmas.