Some cleanup in the veggie garden also. Trimming perennial vines to keep them in check; still mowing grass. It keeps on growing. I was going to pull up the annuals in the crescent bed but it started to rain.

I need to do something with my hybrid tea roses before it gets too cold. Hopefully, they make it through the winter, if we don't have another winter like the last two years :) Any good ideas for winter protection? Last year, I put dirt around them, then some hay. No problems with mice, but they still froze. These roses are new this year, but if they don't make it, I might switch to rugosas.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out all the things I did right and wrong this year, so I can change things where needed, for next year. One thing I have to do is put in some edging along my beds and get rid of the grass!

I like your idea, CMK, of just planting things that I know will do well in my zone and not worry about protecting them. If I could just resist those hybrid tea rose sales at Fred Meyers :)

I've been doing a bit of planning for next year, actually - way ahead of schedule! Finally putting in my stepping stones in the side yard prompted a lot of brainstorming about the front and side yards, and that is planned to be next year's big project. Plus dd's border, of course - she was happy with her flowers, but she wants lots of other stuff. And since it was all annuals, we have to replace everything.

Out in the garden, I've been doing some cutting back. The cosmos is taking a ton of time to deadhead - I'm hoping next year not to have nearly as much. I also want to spread some finished compost this weekend so I can open up that bin for new stuff, because my area where I store leaves has become sort of an extra compost area.

We are forecast for a real frost Saturday night, but I think the only thing I need to harvest is my basil. The kale and swiss chard should be happy. Then, Sunday, I'll clean up whatever didn't make it - mainly annuals, probably. I've already pulled the sunflowers and a lot of the cosmos, but dd's nasturtiums and zinnias are still going strong.

I don't winter protect anything - if it won't survive without protection, it doesn't belong in my garden. ;) I don't have any pots, either.

I spent the day moving perennials, cutting some back, constructively staring at my backyard, scattering seeds, laying out next year's potager, and hoping I'm doing it all right. I lost some plants last year because I moved them too late. I was hoping to rake/shred some leaves, but the wind blew them all out of the yard yesterday. That's okay, there's plenty more to come.

My patio flower bed is so overgrown & jungle-y, it was hard to make my way through it to the back yard.

Last weekend I pruned a Copper Canyon daisy hard and moved it around front (where I expect it will die) and moved a feather grass back into the bed a little. Now I can make it down the pathway without having to push things aside.

Last night I cut a lot of branches off the plumbago in the back of that bed, so I can get behind things. I still have my eye on another CC daisy that's way too big for its location, but I might wait till after it blooms to move it.

Just got a Sikes hydrangea from Sooner Plant Farm. Getting that in the ground is next on my to-do list.

Have a little side yard behind a chain link fence that is really a utility right of way. It usually gets pretty weedy and is hard to mow. So am laying cardboard, newspaper and heavy layer of grass clippings. Plan to keep it laid down like that and possibly put watermelon in next year. Always hard to find a place for the watermelon vines to run. Also put up eyehooks and wire on a brick wall, training a New Dawn rose on the wall and connecting fence. It already looks awesome! Also dug holes for a circular rose garden with just red KO roses, but it rained and has rained so much last 4 wks, didn't plant the roses yet. Saving seeds, moved a peony that never did bloom, and etc.
Should get our first frost around Halloween.

Welllll, since you asked, i am officially crazy and decided a 8 ft hedge of forcynthia needs to be dug up asap! It is in front of my side patio. It does provide privacy but is so boring! I already have a large hydrangea to plant and a white dawn climbing rose to help screen the porch when they are out. Oh, im going to be sorry once i make the first cut, but once its out, itll be a pretty bed near our front door!!!
Feels inspiring to post it, like if i chicken out i have to tell ya'll i didnt do it! Lol

Today...

I dug a big hole and moved a big crepe myrtle.

I divided Japanese irises and planted the divisions.

I continued to add amended soil to areas where I've been pulling out plants to make room for fall seed sowing.

Planted some bulbs that I accidentally dug up in all of my gardening. I "think" they are allium, but they may be Dutch irises! LOL

Yesterday...

I worked in the rain to clean out annuals on the right bank of the stream.

I dug out daylilies and divided those and planted the divisions.

I weeded around the roses.

Added compost to a lot of the beds.

Transplanted nepeta from a holding bed to a new location.

I am thinking of converting our gravel guest parking space into a lavender-lined path out to the driveway. Our guests all drive onto the concrete parking pad at the garage instead of using the gravel space. Why not, right? It's time to plant lavender (and trim) here and it would only take me a few hours.

There's a lot more that I'm working on. Seeds to sow! We may have a low of 39 degrees on Tuesday.

Cameron

-lavender lass, I have done burlap bags wrapped around roses before (did it last year with one moved in the fall). Worked okay. You should look into Canadian Explorer roses. I don't grow them myself, but have read they do wonderful in the colder zones. Pretty too. ;-) Link below.

-lilyfinch, Lol! If I had to give a nickel for every time I changed my mind someone out there would be a millionaire!
CMK

Here is a link that might be useful: Canadian Explorer Roses

I've got a thundercloud plum that needs to be moved, and agastache surrounding it that needs to be moved somewhere for the winter. I moved a crape myrtle last week. It struggled all summer and I can keep an eye on it where it is now. It's doing better. I'll be happy when it loses its leaves and I can take cuttings. :)

Today when I got off work, I planted a small McKana Giants columbine.
Since I'm off tommorrow I will clear all my old vegetables and put them
in a pile for compost.Mow the lawn. Admire the flowers that are still
blooming, Pineapple Sage, Cosmos, Marigolds, Butterfly Ginger, and a few
zinnia's.

My biggest project for Fall has been getting the pool wall re-stuccoed. I finished patching last weekend and started painting. We have had so much rain that progress has been slow on finishing plus I can only work on it about 3 hrs and then I get a) tired of it b) tired c) realize I have a dozen other things to do LOL. It is looking fantastic and I will post pics soon. I still have the trellis and arbors and one pergola to do. Probably should have finished them 1st but the wall was really deteriorating on the top .

Today ( Thursday) I spread winterizer fertilizer/weed killer on the lawn.I then removed all of the old mulch that had paint scrapings in it from the wall work in front and painted the area at the ground that I had skipped. Put new mulch around all of the Sweet Olive that are in that bed. Boy the fragrance !! I painted the wall for 3 hrs. Next I got on the back roof and cleared all the leaves from around the skylights and used DirtX to clean the glass on all the skylights but 1 that I am afraid to climb up to. Then I scooted to the edge of the roof and started pruning the overhanging limbs of the Banana shrub TREE..this is not a shrub ! I couldn't hold on to anything so climbed down and got the ladder and finished from below, It looks great. I saved all the branches and they are going to be added to the limbs from the huge crepe myrtle that I am going to prune when the leaves fall. All of them are going to become a wattle fence and also I am going to make a surprise from the big limbs...stay tuned on that. Washed and hung out a load of clothes and then swam a mile in the pool. It is pretty cool but still great. I always use the pool till Oct 15 at least.

That was it for today. We are due for rain the next 4-5 days...sigh. I want it but sure wish it had been this summer. The roses have so many funky looking yellow and spotted leaves from all this rain. But everything else loves it. I have tons to plant from orders months ago that I still haven't figured out. And lots of beds to still dig. At least the ground is easy to work in the rain. I am like cameron in that...I get out and dig in the rain.

Everyones projects sound so great. I really enjoy this kind of thread...thank you CMK for asking !! c

Wow! you all have been a very busy group.

They were predicting heavy rains (and they were right) and a cold front coming with a possible freeze, so I harvested the rest of the winter squash and got the pot ghetto planted asap.
The squash are not resting snugly on the new shelves in the milk parlor.

I tilled up a small bed behind the cellar bed and planted a patch of garlic, columbine, chives, hyssop, sweet william and a mystery plant that I hope isn't a weed.

I have left a clematis and a couple of others that I will winter over under leaves piled up next to the old chicken house....haven't done that yet.

I have yet to drain all the hoses and put them away.

I want to pull all the squash vines from the garden so the squash bugs won't winter over under them but will have to wait a while.

We are at 6 inches of rain and counting. It has rained non-stop since yesterday morning around 8:00 AM.

I'm in full end-of-season mode here at ThinMan Acres. In my cut flower and veggie gardens I've drained and rolled up about 3500 feet of irrigation tubing, mowed all the annual plants, tilled the residue under, and planted winter rye for a cover crop. I took a lot of pleasure in tilling under the squash and pumpkin vines this year, imagining the hundreds of squash bugs that were being destroyed as I went. I could almost hear them screaming. I smiled.

In my corner cottage garden, I need to move some rudbeckia and plant a few lilies and an aster that I picked up at Lowe's on sale a few weeks ago. That will happen today, I think. My hollyhocks are putting out their last flowers at the top of their bare-looking seven-foot stalks. I probably should cut them down soon, if I can remember where I left my chain saw. :-)

We have been getting lots of rain this month too, but nothing like six inches in one day like Glenda. Zowie!

ThinMan

We had less than a week of fall. Record highs two weeks ago, cold miserable weather last week, and below freezing this week.

I have plants I want to move but I think it is too late. Too hot to transplant to ground frozen in three weeks.

I still have things to mulch; but, the leaves haven't fallen off the trees that are still living after the drought. I did get potatoes in from the ground (forgot about the bins). I'm hoping the ground won't be too hard to dig carrots, parsnips, and leeks. I heard they would be better after a little frost. Is a week below freezing a little frost? :(

Tomorrow is our fall plant swap.
I have potted things and am getting them in boxes to take in the morning.
Then I will have more plants to plant.

We have gotten about 2" of rain this morning.

k

Well, I was wrong about the frost - it came last night, before I was ready! I lost the basil - oops. The chard didn't seem that happy, and neither did the scallions, so I harvested most of them. The food pantry will be getting a lot this week!

I did spread the compost from the ready bin, and moved most of the other area into the bin proper - which is now mostly full again. I had just enough compost to lightly sprinkle the areas I want to plant in the spring. Every little bit helps...

Our school had asked for plant donations to plant a new area, but I have a feeling they didn't get organized in time and we may be waiting for spring. I was planning to donate some iris and stachys - but they don't *need* to be divided, so it's ok.

Just tidying up. I gave a couple plants a good talking to.
Maybe first frost tonight. We've had the most beautiful June, July, August, September and up to now this year. Walking along the seaside in short sleeves while the rest of Canada gets snow. You just can't beat Victoria BC.

Libby

Ditto here Libby, I can't remember when we've had such a nice summer. Still picking tomatoes, especially cherries. I just said to DH today it's about time to pull them before we have a killing frost and they turn to mush. As far as the garden goes I'm still dragging hoses around but it looks like rain is in the forecast, I'm actually looking forward to it.

I still have a couple of varieties of tulips to plant and several plants in pots to get in the ground. Then it's just wacking back some tall plants like monkshood, joe pye and the like.

Annette

Just cut back the mandevillas and the vigna caracalla and got them into the milk parlor last evening. Sure hope I can carry them over.

In my second life, I want to live in BC. I think it may be the perfect weather.

Darn, Irene, I forgot my basil....I wanted to harvest it.

Thinman, I laughed at your killing the squash bugs; I plan today to drag all the frost killed vines out of my garden for the same reason. I hate those things and they multiply by the thousands.

Last night we got our real killing frost - it got almost everything in dd's garden - just a few snapdragons are still hanging on. I took her out to say goodbye - but then I cleaned it up. Only one dahlia (from seed) had survived, although never bloomed. When I pulled it up, it had fairly big tubers, so I decided to try and save it for next year and see what happens. Right now, it is drying out on a paper towel on the kitchen counter, and then I plan to hang it in a paper bag in the basement. Hopefully it will survive...but at least I'm experimenting with one from seed, not an expensive one.

Glenda - sorry you lost your basil, too. Oops!

I forgot to mention - dd did a family portrait for kindergarten sharing time, and drew a couple of trees. Because, y'know, the trees are part of the family, didn't you know? ;)

Over the past two weeks I have:

-Planted 3 trees
-Cleaned out the perennial beds and planted dozens of perennials.
-Made a lily bed, which I haven't gotten finished planting yet.
-Planted over 500 bulbs.
-Put up my greenhouse.

Needless to say I'm exhausted. I still have several hundred more bulbs on the way, and over the next several weeks I have to:

-Seed perennials and winter/early spring annuals in the greenhouse.
-Finish planting all the bulbs I'm getting in.
-Round out my greenhouse planning/sowing schedule for Spring and Summer of 2010.
-Get my greenhouse ready for winter.
-Clean out and mulch my rock bed. This usually doesn't get done until spring though.

I may get a short lull in February since it's really our coldest month, but it's highly doubtful.

Did I mention I'm tired? It's dark out, so time for me to snooze.

It is nice to see what you are all up to, especially in seasons of transition.

I've been slower in the garden this year - simply because the men are still working on and off around the rains and around their other jobs.
We had two concrete driveways passed along to us, many of you may be thinking "thanks???" but this is my "rock". They are very large pieces and the bobcat will come back to place them as stairs, walkways, and break a few up for "stones" for raised beds.
There are 4 dumptrucks worth of nice "new" soil from a new building site - the soil is extra special as it is from a home that was burned, including all vegetation on the site. Burned soil can sometimes germinate certain seeds really well, so I've saved some soil for hard to germinate seeds to see what will happen!?! The soil will go to fill up the two new deck beds, the low retaining walls, and more low walls for raised beds to aid with drainage. Going up saves me from digging down these days!!!
Also have been amassing plants for the big dig. Hoping the fence gets built very soon as I have lovely fruit trees, some ornamental trees, a hedge of red flowering camellias,and pomegranites to plant...
And this week a brand new rare and unusual plant nursery opens just a mile from my house! A short bike ride to get some of the plants I've been wanting for another Cottage Garden style hedge!!

Finally I will be moving TONS of plants from the driveway area to the back yard (in preperation for fence building).

At times I wish this would go faster, but the snails pace is making everything accomplishable in it's own time. I just need to get these plants out of pots and in the ground for good winters growth, move my roses and get ready for even more work in the spring! Winter is such a wonderful time for Southerners to do the "heavy work".

GGG

Today is the first day of my two weeks off. After a splendid warm weekend, I awoke to temps in the 40s this morning. Still grey and cloudy. Yuck. I have so much to do in the yard and was really looking forward to nice weather, so I could enjoy being out. I have lots of poke weed that is reaching several feet high at this point, and numerous other weeds in a neglected part of the back yard. The bamboo is coming back from the other side of the fence, too, so I have to destroy that. As much as I hate to do it, chemicals are the only hope for getting rid of it. I have way too many hosta to put in the ground, along with several other natives I bought. Guess I will just have to bundle up and tough it out. Seems this happens every year. Our intersession vacations in the fall are just late enough and the spring one just early enough to miss the prime gardening weather. Oh well.

Cynthia

-trailrunner, the pleasure is all mine :-D I like hearing what everyone is doing in their garden. We are going to hold you to those pictures. I really want to see your other pergola. I LOVE pergolas.

-GGG, way to recycle! My ex-neighbor once picked up some concrete from a friends old driveway. They wern't large though. She let me use some to line strip of garden I have out in the alley. The people who use to live across from here in the alley would drive into the flowerbed. After a few times of driving over those chunks of concrete they stopped. Hey, it worked! Lol. How fun! I would love to have a nursery so near! Do you have a little cart that you can attach to your bike? You could get a lot home that way.
CMK

I'm still moving things around. All of a sudden shrubs have outgrown their original spaces. I like the full look but we're talking cramped look going on here.

WOW! This group really has a lot of get up and go!!

I had thought I was done and ready for just the usual fall cleanup. My DH was definitely done a couple weeks ago when he threw down the shovel and said "I'm NOT digging anymore holes this year! DONE!" We planted a lot in our new backyard area this past late-summer (we have many, many rocks and a pick-ax is usually required for digging).

Welllll...there was a 50% off sale at a local nursery so this past Monday we picked up 16 more shrubs and a tree! I did ask permission first knowing how many holes would be needed since my DH does most of the digging while I'm at work (he works out of the house, so of course he has time for digging!!!)
He agreed to more digging and the rest was history. Today I came home during lunch and we planted the tree and 12 of the shrubs. Only a few left to go and then I think I really am DONE! I haven't told him yet that I have a huge list from an online nursery all ready to go in the spring!

GGG-what is the name of the new nursery by you? my sister is in Atlanta and I'm sure she would be interested.

Irene, the family portrait story is hysterical!

I spent my day inside thanks to nasty weather and a bit of a cold. I collected 4 bags of recycled nursery pots. 55 gallon bags. They range in size from 4" to gallon/8" pots. I'll use them mostly for wintersowing and hardwood cuttings this winter. I intend to have a plant sale here at the house in early May. I've got lots of people asking me when, so I figured it would be a way to offset all the purchases I'm sure to make next year.

Tomorrow, depending on the sun, I'll get out and hopefully build one of my two raised beds for next year's veggie garden. I'm still waffling on where to put them, but I have a pretty good idea for the first. It'll also serve as my hoophouse base for the winter. When it comes down in the spring, I'll plant my tomatoes in that spot.

I'm still not 100% sure about the patio location. I think I'll wait until the fallen oak tree in the back yard is removed this weekend to decide. One the decision is made, it will not change...yeah, right.

I also need a couple of dry days to collect and shred leaves for mulching the new butterfly/bee garden I started on a sloped area of the yard. I planted asters and dwarf Joe Pye weed last week. This winter, I'll be sowing lots of plants for that spot. The perennial bed is pretty full already, so I'm concentrating on other areas this year. I also need to rearrange my shrub border at the back of the lot. I need large shrubs to hide the peeping neighbors.

Busy bees all around!

Today I buried a few plant starts I had in pots in the veggie garden. I took down the hanging baskets and dumped the soil in the garden so I might get some more volunteer petunia seedlings next year. I put the bistro set in the shed, plus the chairs of the larger patio set. I can't fit the table in, so I will just have to throw a tarp over it.

Mulched a few special things. Then I cut down the golden Hops Vine. If I leave it up over winter the cones, foliage, and stems get brittle and dry. When I take it down in spring I always start coughing from the dust, and my hands get scratched up from the prickly stems. I love the look of the dried cones, so I put some on the clothes line poles and draped some over the wine-barrel planter. The one on the line looks like garland swag, really pretty!

Next I will have to start chopping things back. And I have a couple of other things I need to mulch.
CMK

thyme2dig - the new nursery here is Gardenhood on Boulevard at 120 and it opened today. I'm hoping to get there tomorrow!!!

I'm still doing my major overhauling of all my beds. I got the first small patio bed done after removing EVERYTHING, fighting maple tree roots that wouldn't let go of my plants. Took a week to dig all those roots out and they'll be back in a year or less, sigh. But it looked great, until a group of stray/wild cats found the fluffy mulched soil a highly desirable spot for their "business". After a week of war, using vast amounts of ground pepper, thorny rose branches and other household "weapons", they have moved on. (By the way, the black pepper seemed to do a number on the slugs - many slug corpses - either that or the cat, er, stuff.)

I'm nearly done with the large side bed in the backyard that I'd neglected for a couple of years. I moved lots of really big stuff in and out and it's looking the way I'd envisioned. Many rainy, cold days are slowing things down. It's so strange - I've gone from being slowed down by the intense heat when I began all this and almost overnight this changed to cold rain - from 95's to 40's in one week! Crazy weather this year.

Pat, I'm starting to think crazy weather is the new normal weather.

Hmmmm, what am I doing attempting to do right now. Well, don't think I'm nuts but... I'm digging out about two feet of soil from a planter which is cut into a slope. This will be replaced with Sunshine mix No.4 and some compost.
Over the years this has been my tomato bed (5 plants) this is the hottest spot in my yard so the tomatoes have the best chance here. Last year the tomatoes didn't grow that well so this year they went into a new raised bed out in the open. We had the most fantastic summer for tomatoes, they grew gangbusters but most years we need to plant them in the warmest spot in the garden (the tomato bed).
Each year I have moved the soil back to front in the bed amended it with compost and steer manure but there comes a time when it needs overhauling. This bed has a fiberglas roof high enough that on the backside I hang netting for beans. When you don't have room to grow everything you want you have to get inventive. The old soil is being tossed on a bed where I pulled out the couch grass, it is also being amended with manure, wood ashes and compost, then tilled. I've planted my garlic in the front and I'll plant veggies in the rest of it next spring, hopefully the couch grass is history.
The tomatoes will go back in their usual spot next year so when it stops raining I'll be out there moving more soil. It's pouring right now YEA!!! we needed this so badly the soil is parched even with all the watering I've done. I think we've had the driest summer on record or close to it.

Annette

I gathered up my pots and put them away one day last week and haven't done a darn thing since. Should be weeding a couple of flower beds that are getting taken over, but it's just so cold and wet out there.

We just had our first big rain this week - may we have many more to end our 3-yr drought!

Big cleanup/pruning time starts now. I spent 2 hrs in the garden today pruning the cestrums (they tend to sprawl into the paths and lean heavily on their neighbors), whacking back a Tagetes lemonnii and variegated erisymum, both of which had some dead parts. I also ripped out an old 'Bowles Mauve' erysimum which had died a year ago so I can put in some new plants that I hope will survive in what is a very difficult spot.

Will have to contact my gardener, I think, to get a couple of difficult trouble spots cleaned up and the debris hauled away. And it's time to top off my trashy silver maple again - a never-ending battle but the summer shade from it is very pleasant. I just took this photo - this is as colorful as our clement weather allows. Within 2 weeks it will be all brown and brittle, with lots of clean-up needed!
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