Starting a Thanksgiving Tradition

The way I see it, global warming is becoming a boon to those of us who don’t want to say goodbye to the growing season just yet. And I have never been one to turndown a gift. What with Winter being pushed back a little more each year it seems Mother Nature is giving us a bit of a treat: time to grow more cold-weather crops.

So, I planted some Sugar Snap Peas a few days ago. It was such a beautiful Fall day that I just had to do something in the garden. And besides, those seeds were left over from Spring planting and just lying there doing nothing. A bit of left over netting came in handy to help keep neighborhood cats from using the patch for something other than my pleasure. With the number of birds that come around I can’t keep the cats away but I can at least keep them out of this patch.

After planting all of the Fall bulbs, I planted some garlic under my rose bushes. Last Fall I did this and when Spring arrived the roses had a few aphids on them early in the year and then there were none after that, for the rest of the year! So, I am now a big believer in the power of garlic as an aphid deterrent.

One of the dangers of this gift of an extended season is that it has been warm enough to coax the Lilac buds to swell and to draw out the Iris shoots. Hopefully the cold snap that is sure to come won’t be too harsh on these confused plants.

As you can see, the Parsley doesn’t want to give up either.








Too bad all the Zinnias and Cosmos couldn’t hang around a bit longer to enjoy these warm days.

We have been eating fresh carrots for awhile now and they can stay in the ground over winter. As long as the ground doesn’t freeze too hard for me to pull them out when needed we should be alright. The Thyme and Basil are giving up though.
Photo: Carrot Danvers Half Long 08-11-21 BB7M

Also, as part of the Fall clean-up ritual, I rubbed Linseed oil on all wood handles of tools and the wheel barrow. So, I guess we are pretty well set for the snows to arrive.

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Signs of Spring

With the temperatures reaching the 50’s, okay only twice, but I’m optimistic it will be a regular thing soon, I found signs that the garden is awakening.

One tiny sprout from a daylily Stella De Oro has awakened and is poking through the mulch.

Veronica Sunny Border Blue is beginning to take off.

Crocus have been blooming for a couple of weeks.

One lonely Early Stardrift.

The Woodstock Hyacinth are beginning to fade after blooming for about two weeks now.

Lilac Fragrant Purple, Syringa vulgaris, an old-fashioned common lilac, purchased from Stark Bros in spring 2005, are increasing in size each spring and this year are showing more buds. I have three surviving plants out of a package of ten (the only way are sold) and they are growing at different rates. The one planted in a raised bed is fairly scrawny compared to the other two, perhaps the soil is too rich for it. The other two are planted a little too close together so will need to be transplanted soon, probably next spring. My plan is to replace a few other lilacs that were growing here when we moved in and were not very well kept. But since I began pruning them out the last two years they are starting to show improvement. I don’t know what the cultivar is but I might keep those and give these to my daughter.

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First bulbs of the year

I planted a bunch of bulbs in a temporary spot last Fall, because their permanent spot has not been worked yet. This would be Allium 'Sunny Twinkle', Allium 'Alpine Rosy Bells', Iris 'Beauty Dutch Mix', some Daffodils, Grape Hyacinth, and Crocus. One of the Allium ‘Sunny Twinkles’ has sent up shoots.

Tulips and Daffodils are coming up as well.

The larger of the three Lilac bushes is blooming! Flower buds are about ½”. This is especially exciting because this is the first year it has bloomed, the other two were purchased and planted at the same time and they have not yet bloomed. It is from Stark Brothers Nursery and called 'Fragrant Purple' which is a bit peculiar because I cannot find anything about it anywhere online except for Stark Brothers and then only in the catalog I first ordered it from two years ago. I can only guess that it is a hybrid that only they have. The flower color is dark purple.

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