Garden Diary - October 19

Last weekend was an unexpected blast of summer - temperatures in the low to mid twenties, bright sunshine, no rain. So things are still growing surprisingly well in the garden - today I discovered a perfect branch of big, luscious raspberries. The squash continues to grow, with two getting just about big enough to eat. I've planted the poppy and lime-green coneflower that arrived recently from Vesey's; soon I'll also plant the gaillardia, which is the other leafy plant. All of the rest are bulbs, which I'll leave for a few more weeks, when the weather is colder.

The blueberry bush in front has turned a beautiful shade of red, which looks even more fantastic against the lime-green sedum and the blue-green grass and sage bush. If I could have this electric colour combination year-round, I'd never even need flowers.

In the back I've put away the hammock frame. One of my mystery bushes is starting to turn red. The nasturtiums are finally coming into their own, all blooming. Next year I should plant them much earlier so that I'll have more time to enjoy them.

Garden Diary - October 5

There's not too much new to report in the garden, as growth is slowing down, and my work is winding up.

I harvested the last of the scarlet runner beans, and have frozen some for use later on this winter. We lost two of our small squash to a very hungry animal (Mark has it pegged as a squirrel, although raccoons could be the culprit too). Luckily another squash has taken off, is already bigger than the others ever got, and we're keeping it on the vine until this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, in the hopes that it will still get a bit bigger with the last of the warm weather.

Soon I'll be planting my new order of bulbs; raking my leaves (last year I thought I would have to beat them off the tree with the rake, they stayed on so long after the first snow); cleaning up what's left of the wasp's nest (the local kids have kept throwing rocks and knocking off bits of it); and getting my pile of dead clippings into the compost bin.

And then I'll start daydreaming about spring. Hopefully I'll finally find time to properly fill out my garden plan with the current crop of plants, before I forget what's planted where...