OK, so last night I got things square with the waterfall. Hopefully, it will hold for the rest of the week. Time to clean out all the leaves that have accumulated at the bottom before they clog up the works!

Anyway, since my gardening is slowing down for the season, I thought I'd share some regional gardening tips for our area from the National Home Gardening Club.

With shorter days and cooler temperatures, September is a transitional period in the garden. Many annuals are on their last legs, and perennials need some care before the thermometer drops.
*Add ornamental grasses to the fall perennial garden. They add texture, color, and sound to the landscape and provide winter shelter for wildlife.

*Fall is the perfect time to plant new perennials. The warm soil and cooler temperatures let them establish strong roots before winter and get a head start on spring growth.
*Stop fertilizing perennials, roses, and shrubs. It will stimulate delicate new growth that will be damaged by winter's cold. Wait until next spring.

*Buy spring bulbs early for planting in October. Garden centers and mailorder catalogs have the best selections now.
*Keep gardens tidy. When veggies have finished, remove the plants and other debris. Unkempt gardens are favorite winter hiding places for disease and pests.
*Watch the weather. Know your first frost date, but remember it's only an average. Mother Nature loves to surprise us. Harvest produce and protect tender plants before the first frost hits. Don't forget your houseplants this time of year; prepare them for returning indoors by gradually moving them into outdoor shade for a bit longer each day. Carefully inspect the foliage and soil for gnats, thrips, and spider mites before bringing plants in for the winter.

For more information or to join the National Home Gardening Club visit http://www.gardeningclub.com/Main/default.aspx

What a beautiful weekend it was! Just perfect for working in the garden. However, that's not what I did. Even though I should have gotten up to my elbows in dirt, I decided to sit back by the pond with a couple books and magazines and enjoy the last days of summer.
Yes, aside from mowing the lawn, I ignored all the little chores waiting for me, and just enjoyed the sounds of the waterfall, the warmth of the sun and nature, in general.
And now I'm going to have to pay for it.

This morning started out OK, until I let the dogs out and saw that the waterfall (which looked fine all weekend) was now weakly trickling into the pond. Guess I should have cleaned the filter over the weekend. Of course, I barely leave myself enough time in the morning to get ready and get out the door on time for work, so there was absolutely no time to deal with this!

So I plugged in the bubbler, unplugged the waterfall pump and figured the fish would just have to fend for themselves until later. Yet another thing for my "to do" list. All summer long I was going to get around to buying a piece of pond liner to put underneath the waterfall to catch any backflow of water that might develop if the pump and/or filter got too clogged. Of course, I never got around to it. And every time this happens, I think, why do I keep putting this off?
My latest excuse is, "Well, it's coming to the end of the season and I'll be turning off the waterfall soon, so why bother this year. Let it go until next spring and deal with it then."
I also didn't get around to any fall decorating or planting. But I did manage to get some new bulbs last night. We trekked out to Lowe's before dinner yesterday for some household items and I was pleasantly surprised to find a great selection of bulbs just inside the main entrance.

As you may know, I've been eager to get some Allium bulbs and they had two kinds on hand. I opted for two Gladiator Alliums, at a price of $6.97 each! But hey, they get four feet tall and have 7-inch globe blooms. Then there was a smaller variety where 8 bulbs were offered for the same price. These only get to be about 2-ft. tall with smaller globes. Now, of course, I have to decide where to put them!
Oh well, I guess I have my work cut out for me tonight. And on top of all that, it'll be getting dark right after 7 p.m., so time's limited.
So while we still have a couple hours of light after work, time to think about dividing those perennials. It's the perfect time of year for that. More on this later ...

OK kiddies, if you haven't done it yet, it's time to go thru all those fall planting catalogs that have piling up next to the couch. If you're like me, when my fall catalogs arrive around about mid-June, the last thing I want to think about is MORE planting! Afterall, I just sweated thru planting and mulching my spring-summer crop.
And, if you're really smart, you'll wait till the catalog companies get desperate and send out their late fall planting catalogs with all the great deals in them!

Anyway, now is about the time you'd better get any orders in, or you'll be stuck on a wait list and may end up not getting what you want. But before you order, be sure you have the time to plant those shipments of bulbs and bare roots when they arrive, or they won't have enough time to establish themselves before the ground freezes!
Here's a rundown of some of the catalogs I get. Fortunately they all have web sites, so you can look online or just go there to order your own catalog. And then take the time to get some iced tea or other cool beverage, find a comfortable seat in your oasis, and peruse the catalogs dreaming of next year's garden ...
Michigan Bulb, www.mibulb.com -- has almost everything you could want, affordable prices. I've ordered from them before with a 50-50 rate of success.
Spring Hill Nurseries, www.SpringHillNursery.com -- currently offering $25 off shipments of $50 or more. I have no personal experience ordering from them, but I'm thinking of ordering Allium this year.
Breck's, www.brecks.com -- slashing prices on fall favorites.Also offering a $25 gift coupon in their catalog for orders of $25 or more, that can be upgraded another $10 if your purchase is more than $75.
Van Engelen Inc., www.vanengelen.com -- the "Best Dutch flower bulbs at the best prices!" Anything you could imagine, check them out.
John Scheepers Inc., www.johnscheepers.com -- "serving America's finest gardens for 100 years!" Their Beauty From Bulbs Fall 2008 catalog is very impressive.
New Holland Bulb Company, www.newhollandbulb.com -- Tulips, Daffodils and Lillies, oh my! I never knew there were so many varieties, it's hard to choose!
Netherland Bulb Company, www.netherlandbulb.com -- "The Catalog for Landscape Professionals," probably the same quality as New Holland, seems to be produced in the same place.
And don't forget www.bloomingbulb.com , they have a great supply of fall bulbs as well.
Also many of these companies offer complete garden packages and combination and/or variety packages of fall bulbs/bare roots. Take advantage now and save. Just think how great it will look next spring!

Allium

Frittillaria (Crown Imperial)
Personally, I'm hoping to add some Allium and Frittillaria (Crown Imperial), pictured above, to my collection this Fall. But I classically wait too long and they're usually sold out. But, hopefully, not this year ... I just heard from a little bird that some of our local big box home improvement stores have some of the bulbs I'm looking for. Hope I get there before you do!

Well, after spending the weekend knee-deep in the pond, things seem to have gotten back to normal in my underwater kingdom.

All it took was a thorough vacuuming, restructuring of the waterfall, plant rinsing, a multi-gallon water change, adding some new microbes to break down leaves, flushing the hosing from pump to filter and trimming back the waterlillies so I can actually see the fish again.
Sounds like a bit much, huh? Fortunately the weather was warm -- a little too warm on Sunday. August usually wreaks havoc on my pond's eco system, but my being away for two whole weeks was the primary reason for such a sludge build-up. Pond maintenance is usually a lot easier when there's a little done every other day.
Despite all the work, I even had a little leftover time on Sunday to sit by the tinkling waters for some reading and watching the dogs trying to catch the frogs (they never do, the frogs are too fast). So once again, the water is crystal clear, the fish are swimming thru the bubbler with glee and the frogs are sunning themselves on lillypads. Tranquility has been restored in my backyard oasis.

While sitting by the pond, I noticed that the zebra grasses are tufting, a sure sign that fall's around the corner. My zebra grasses are having a great season, most of them are over seven feet tall (without the tufts). The tufts are the closest thing to blooming the grass does. Feather-like fronds protrude from the tall blades standing usually at least a foot taller than the grass. It's a beautiful sight, further signalling the end of my favorite season.
My Ravena grasses have been tufting since about mid-August. Their fronds are different from the zebra's. Long, strong stems emerge from the soft grass and stand anywhere from 3 to 8 feet above the blades, with feathery puffs at the top. My Ravenas are easily over 10-ft. tall this season as you can see here with the lighthouse in the foreground for comparison.

It's a sharp contrast to the fountain grass, which has much softer cattail-like tufts that hover atop the mounds of grass. Now's a good time to buy some grasses for your garden. Many varieties are available at your local nurseries and a lot of them are discounted this late in the season. There's plenty of time to get them in the ground and established before the weather turns cold!

Soon it'll be time to get out those grass trimmings from last spring, which will adorn the front of my house for autumn decoration. I can't bring myself to do it yet, that's the final nail in the coffin of summer and I'm just not ready. Especially with the weather still so nice.Enjoy!
Next up: Fall garden planning

It's Friday morning and I'm sitting here contemplating a huge garden work weekend. Well, I guess it won't be THAT big, but all my chores are going thru my head, especially regarding an overhauling of the pond. I can't believe how many fallen leaves have found their way to the bottom! At least that will give me more to blog about next week.

For now, I'd like to comment on the Cutting Garden I planted last Spring. Back in May or maybe April, I went thru the motions in this blog of creating a new flower bed from scratch. It was outside my backyard, next to the shed. I figured if nothing else, it would give my next door neighbors something nice to look at. I planned to plant cucumbers in the background, so they could climb up the side of the shed, with various cutting garden plants in front.



A Cutting Garden is just what it sounds like. You plant specific flowering plants that will produce blooms suitable to cut and arrange to bring inside your house, give to friends or for on the patio.

The inspiration for this garden came from a packet of seeds a friend had given me. It was called an "Instant Bouquet Garden." It featured Calendula, Dwarf Sunflower, Cosmos, Lewis Flax, Sulphur Cosmos, Baby Snapdragon, Lupine, Cornflower, African Daisy, Phlox, Chinese Forget-Me-Not, Baby's Breath, Zinnia, Delphinium, Coreopsis and Black Eyed Susan. Quite a showing, huh?

So I scattered the seeds, covered them with a thin layer of dirt and hoped for the best.

Well, as you can see here, I wasn't disappointed! I haven't taken the time to take stock of what exactly came up, but it was well worth the effort. Some of the plants are supposed to be perennial, so I can't wait to see what might come back next year!



As with the rest of my garden, however, I enjoy looking at them too much to cut them! I only cut one flower and placed it in a vase indoors. Maybe next year, when things are more established, I'll be able to create some beautiful arrangements.

Sorry to have left you all hanging for a few days, but I'm having a hard time finding uplifting garden topics to write about. Unlike my sister, whose favorite season is Fall, I tend to spend the beginning of the season mourning the loss of yet another summer (my fave).
And I'm still trying to recoup things after my extended vacation. (And to be honest, I'm still a little absorbed by that darn Twilight Saga. I read thru it the second time while I was away.) I think the only thing that might get the pond straightened out is a partial changing of water along with a vacuuming. Definitely a job that'll have to wait for the weekend.

In the meantime, a bright light has shown on me in the form of an email from my favorite greenhouse, Glick's in Oley (www.glicksgreenhouse.com) .
Along with tips on gathering and storing seeds from summer, there's lots going on at the greenhouse in the form of Fall colors.
Chrysanthemums are now available, 9-inch for $4.25 each/10 for $40 and 5-inch for $2.95 each. The .99 cent perennial sale is still on for what's left, and flowering cabbage and kale (9-inch) are $4.25 each/10 for $40.
Purple fountain grass, which looks great through November, is on sale for $7.95, while Icicle Pansies, which bloom now and again in late winter are $4.50 per 6-pack. They're also offering pumpkins, cornstalks and more for all your fall decorating needs.
And besides Glick's, I'm sure all of our local nurseries and greenhouses are gearing up for a great Fall season, so take the time to check them out. Also, now's the time to start looking thru all those Fall catalogs that clogged your mailbox last month. Ordering now is best to ensure you get what you want ... more on that later.
PS -- And with the nights getting longer and gardening time getting shorter, why not check out my new blog "On the Set"? You can access it thru this blog or thru The Mercury's website www.pottsmerc.com for information, updates, reviews, previews and my general musings on what's happening on television.

Two weeks vacation at the Delaware Shore, what could be better? Unbelievable how fast the time goes ... now I'm back, bringing a Tropical Storm with me!

Oh well, Hanna really wasn't that bad afterall, and we really needed the rain, but it did delay my assessment of the garden for another day. After a week's vacation, I always look forward to seeing what's new in the garden ... however two weeks can wreak havoc!



Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful to my family for helping in my absence to take care of things. But as all you garden enthusiasts know, it's just not the same as when the primary caretaker does the job.

Afterall, we gardeners do things on a daily basis without giving it much thought like weeding, pruning, feeding, etc. When you're gone for any extended length of time, things always fall thru the cracks.

Since it was really dry while I was away, even with regularly watering, things have dried up. It is almost the end of the season, so I don't mind that my annuals look like death warmed over. The vegetables are slowly giving up as well. Even the grasses were starting to droop without any significant rain.

But the biggest difference is in the pond. My dad is the primary caretaker of the pond and fish while I'm away. And please don't get me wrong, he does a great job, and I couldn't go away for as long without his help. However, he just can't keep his hands off that darn waterfall!


I don't know what it is (because I haven't had the time to fully check it out yet), but the pump doesn't seem to be doing as great a job as it did when we first hooked everything up. The water began to backflow again, under the waterfall and out of the pond. So dad did his best and tilted the waterfall forward to give the pump a little help. Thus shifting the decorative stones around it and tearing a few of the elephant ears in the process.

The giant papyrus doesn't want to hold its own anymore. It just leans against the side of the pond. The Canna have once again become too top-heavy for their pots and are leaning against the sides as well. (This happens every year, I really should learn my lesson.) And due to the winds yesterday, the black Taro Elephant Ears have fallen over and can't get up. They're completely knocked off balance, so I'm hoping if I trim the biggest leaves I'll be able to right it again.



The pond needs vacuuming, my parrot boat sank yesterday (I was able to bale it out), the filter needs cleaning and the smaller water feature we have on the other side of the patio needs tending to as well.

But in the midst of it all, there's hope. While assessing the work ahead, I saw one of the frogs sunning himself among the Canna, see it you can spot him.

It'll take another week before I get things right again. Oh well, such is life!