September is my favorite month and autumn is my favorite season. The big storm we had last weekend certainly blew in autumn a little early and quite suddenly. One day it was summer- hot and dry in the 90s and the next it was windy, wet and cool. This morning I woke to 50 degrees at 6am with a welcome chill in the air.
After several days of rain the garden has perked up green and glistening. Ground cover and ferns that have been drooping all summer under the dry heat are looking alive and lush. I am so thankful for the rain we've had this week.
7am in the garden this morning was cool and quiet. For the first time this summer I donned a sweater and scarf. A couple perennials that were flopping into the walkway under the weight of the rain needed pruning back so my husband can safely maneuver his bike through. I harvested tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, beans, and basil. My dahlias were still standing strong after the storm and so ready to be brought inside for a bouquet.
A super winning combo in dahlias is dark wine with shades of pink, peach, and orange. Yummy! Today I complimented the dahlias with zebra grass, pink & apricot agastache, licorice basil, purple sage, and purple statice.
Some of my favorite cut flowers for the home garden:
Flowers-dahlias, peonies, black-eyed susan, coneflower, sunflowers, celosia, calendula, cosmos, lilies
Fillers-sedum, purple sage, tricolor sage, agastache, beebalm, 'licorice' basil, 'red rubin' basil, scented geraniums, statice, strawflowers
Greens-zebra grass, salal, nandina, evergreen huckleberry
I like to keep flowers in every room, and especially on my desk. I enjoy working from home doing garden design and writing. Fresh flowers from the garden are super inspiring and bright! And on a practical level they balance out all my screen time with something natural to look at.
Autumn is in the air. Today I'm cooking pots of split pea soup and mashed potatoes. Earlier in the week I slow roasted tomatoes, and this weekend I am considering a casserole. This is a big shift from a summer of salads and using the stove as little as possible.
Please join me for my last fall gardening workshop of the season on September 20th. I am happy to announce I was just hired by Portland Community College Continuing Education to teach an organic gardening workshop series in the winter term 2016 at the cascade campus in NE Portland. Dates TBA, please watch my website.
Happy September and may your autumn be bountiful and joyful!
Jolie
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