Hi everybody, sorry to leave you all hanging for so long, but I've been recuperating from all the cuts I received a week ago, while tying up my ornamental grasses!

Not really, but I did manage to get quite a few cuts, doing this and other weekend chores. You see, I remembered to wear protective gloves while tying up the grasses. However, I did not remember to wear long sleeves! So I must stress to the rest of you, if you're planning to tie up your grasses, rather than cutting them back for the winter, make sure you wear proper protection. The fine blades of the grass can wreak havoc on your skin. And while it doesn't sound that bad, imagine 20-30 little paper cuts all up and down your arms!
Anyway, I choose to tie up my grasses rather than cut them back. Either option will not harm the grasses in any way (it's pretty difficult to kill grass). I like the way they look throughout the fall and into the winter. And as I've stated before, in the spring when I do cut them back, I save the cuttings, tie them together, store them in the shed and viola, come fall I have unique decorations for the front of my house.

As pictured here, they are a economical/ecological way to decorate, instead of buying corn husks.

Over this past weekend, I managed to get a few things on my To Do list done. Like cleaning up the leaves on the patio - this has become a regular chore over the last month. It seems like the dynamics of my patio make for a perfect gathering place for leaves ... so every weekend I go out with my handy-dandy Black & Decker leaf machine and suck them up. With three dogs, I get plenty of leaves inside the house as well, and it all goes into the compost pile with grass clippings from the lawn. The combination of green matter and brown matter makes for a good base for next year's compost. (Of course, I'm still hoping for a good yield of compost, after failing miserably the last two seasons.)
And the leaves don't just end up on the patio ... the pond is full of them too. So Saturday it was time to get the net out! I hate getting the net out, it's my last admission of defeat (that the summer's really over), but it had to be done or the fish wouldn't have any room to swim! Anyway, in preparation for covering the pond, the summer pond plants had to be removed as well. So that means the canna and black taro got taken out to die back from the cold nights, and then placed in the basement to hibernate till next year. The net tends to confuse the frogs too.

Black Taro
And since my neighbors have left for their winter home in Florida and covered their pond already, I have more frogs to tend to. So I can't completely cover my pond, or the frogs wouldn't be able to get in or out. It usually takes a couple of days to figure out exactly where they are comfortable jumping in/out, so I can leave that end a little open. Every now and then over the years, I find a frog early in the morning sitting in the middle of the net, confused, cold and in need of rescue!
Still have to plant the dward rhododendrons my previous neighbors left me when they moved a couple months ago ... time's running out. And I still haven't planted my precious Allium bulbs yet. If you still have any perennials, bulbs or shrubs left to plant, get them in the ground ASAP. Especially since last night we actually had frost.
And most important (because I've been forgetting this one too) WATER! This month's lack of rain has not been kind to our plant life. Especially for any new plantings, get out and water! Just because summer flowering season is over, don't forget your plants still need water ... I can't stress this enough. Water early in the day, if possible, since the temperature has been dipping at night, it's not a good idea to wait until near dusk to water. You wouldn't want to be out there at night all wet ...

Well, I'm a little late this year, but better late than never.
I'm referring to my Giant Elephant Ear bulbs. I just put them in the ground yesterday. They're supposed to be planted after threat of frost has passed, so with the way things were this past week, I don't think I'm too far off the mark.
Pictured here from last summer (with Lexie), Elephant Ear plants are a big, leafy member of the Caladium family. And I'm talking BIG, leaves as big as an elephant's ear, hence the name. And the colorful leaves have a shape resembling an elephant's ear, too.
Gardeners are fascinated by this big-leaved plant that grows 3-5 ft. tall. Originating in tropical and sub-tropical areas, they love sunshine, heat and high humidity. They are easy to grow and will grow in sun or shade. However, I found out last year that they don't grow nearly as well or as high in shaded areas. I primarily bought them for shade, because that's what the ticket on them said they liked, only to find the one single bulb that got sun was absolutely spectacular, as seen here.
Elephant Ears are grown from tuberous bulbs, resembling some kind of prehistoric egg. In our Zone (6), after the plants have died back in the fall, the bulbs must be dug up. Clean and store them in a cool, dark area until planting the following spring.
They can also be grown in large, heavy pots for ease in storing. Pots must be heavy to shoulder the weight of the huge leaves. I absolutely love them! I got my bulbs at Home Depot last spring. They cost $5 per bulb, but they were worth it!

Also don't overlook their close cousin the Black Taro bulb. I like to grow it every year in the pond. This is the first year that I was actually able to winter-over the bulb indoors. Good thing too, because as you can see here, it was awesome last year!

Note: These plants can be poisonous to children and pets. However, the Black Taro doesn't harm the fish.

Up next, our good friend, the Clematis!