Winter

Sing on sweet thrush, upon the leafless bough,

Sing on sweet bird, I listen to thy strain, 

And aged winter, mid his early reign,

At thy blythe carol, clears his furrowed brow.

  -  Robert Burns

Garden Notes November 2025

Early November.  While I worked in the Orchard, I cut the tops off of all the goldenrod, fuzzy with seeds, and blew them through the air into the Meadow and shook lots down on the ground.  If any goldenrod shows up in the Meadow next year, I will know it's from my efforts!

I cut most of the ripe seedheads off a big Cowpen daisy growing in the Orchard and threw the seeds in the Meadow.

I got about 20 Bur Oak seeds at the NPSOT plant swap (they came from Connie), so I kicked up dirt here and there and partially buried them.  I put some in the Star Garden and some in the Shade Garden and a few in the Greenhouse Gardens.  I plant them in groups of 3 so I will know what they are when they pop up.  If it's three seedlings in a row, they are Bur.

I also got a dozen or so Red Buckeye seeds at the swap that came from the Lammers.  I planted them all in the Star Garden along the fence edge.

Jane brought a couple varieties of asters to the swap, and I chose them on every one of my turns.  One of them is patens, don't know what the other is, I'll have to ask her.  I planted them in the Long Border with the rest of my beautiful aster show.  The aster in the Long Border that was always such a pest to me - for years I pulled it up, this season and last season, I let it grow.  It's the best garden decision I've made in a long time.  It's gorgeous!  I don't know what the variety is unfortunately, but I can find out.  

Heath Aster.  Mystery solved.

11.14 Nighttime.  I strolled the Star Garden in the moonlight looking at everything in the most minute way.  The hummingbird moths were busy on the yellow Anacanthus.

Fall is that time when the Rose Garden is so amazing.  Not for what's happening right now, but for what is beginning for spring.  There are millions of seedlings starting to appear, and I find all the tiny little darlings endlessly fascinating to watch.

11.15  I Cut some little plantlets off of my Pringle Asters, put a little rooting hormone on the sticks, and potted them up.  I had excellent results from this last year, and every one that I planted in the gardens is doing great.  I put 3 in Mom's Garden, 3 in the Star Garden, and two in the Rose Garden.  They all bloomed beautifully, and they are forming their winter rosettes.  I planted one or maybe 2 in the Orchard, but I'm not sure they are fairing as well simply because that garden gets irrigation pretty steadily.

In the Rose Garden, I dug out 4 big clumps of Duelberg growing right at the edge of a bed and moved two of them to the middle of the bed next to the Cramoisier rose.  Then I prepped my new, empty area and sowed Ox Eye Daisies.

Spent some time in the Meadow cutting down yaupon and Sumac.  I don't want all that tall stuff in my meadow.

Spread more goldenrod in the Meadow.

I checked on the 6 Coralbean that I planted last week or so.  They are doing fine, they don't seem to be suffering from lack of irrigation.  

Planted 4 cutleaf coneflower in the Meadow (also known as green top coneflower).   This is new for me, I have never planted plants in the Meadow.  I normally only sow seed or allow the existing natives to develop.  The last couple of weeks I have planted in there.  But, it's fall and about to be winter, so they can get well established before hot weather sets in.  I will not try and keep plants alive out there by pouring water on them once a week.  

I have a half dozen or so roughleaf coneflower seedlings that have popped up in the 5 inch pots, and several of the short goldenrod.  My babies!

I am busy at work cutting all the spent blooms off my Giant Mistflower.  I don't need anymore of that stuff setting seed in my gardens!

I pulled up a bunch of crabgrass underneath my grape vines.  It has all gone to seed, so it will be a nightmare in the spring.  I raked up pine straw and spread a thick layer of it in the place where I weeded.

Week before Thanksgiving.  The craziest thing happened after 15 years.  The bee hive collapsed.  When I opened it up, it was crawling with wax moth larva. Well, we had a good run.  We were actually wondering what we were going to do with the hive when we began construction on our lake.  The lake will be sited right beyond the Orchard, very near the hive.  We were going to have to move the hive.  And bee hives are very, very heavy and full of bees!  I had already called someone about moving it for us, and he was concerned about how old the hive was because it could fall apart when moving it.  Problem solved- they are dead (or gone).  Perhaps we will get another hive some day.  But, it's a lot of work harvesting the honey.  Bert and I have gotten to the point that we will only do it with help from some family. 

I spread fragrant white mistflower seeds over to the bed that runs along the path to the pool.  

I spent several hours potting up more Pringle Aster, a flat of hyssopleaf thoroughwort, a flat of Ox Eye daisy and half a dozen Oakleaf Hydrangea.  For the Oakleaf Hydrangeas, I cut some branches that had no blooms on them, that is important because you won't have success if you use a branch that bloomed in the spring.  Next I scraped along the lower part of the branch to expose the cambium, dipped it in rooting hormone powder and stuck it in very wet soil.  I also put little hoods over them to try and keep in some evaporation moisture.  I used bamboo stakes and plastic grocery bags for the hoods.  Now, they sit in a cool shady spot through the winter.  

I sowed a dozen or so Rudbeckia Goldsturm seeds in pots and fragrant white mistflower (Havanese) in pots.

Spread Cowpen daisy in the Meadow.  I also spread a bunch of Cowpen daisy seed and goldenrod seed in the Rose Edge Border.  

 

Garden Notes October 2025

  

Worked in the Orchard with my wheelbarrow.  I pulled up all the ageratum.  It has finished blooming, but has not started to throw off seed.  I weeded the area and sowed Ox Eye daisy seed and Coneflower seed.  Tied up some flopping goldenrod.  Yanked up Sweet Autumn clematis seedlings.  There are a few bad spots of weeds in there still, but it looks pretty good.  I dumped all the mist flower in the Meadow.  I cutoff stems of Shinners Sunflower seed heads and spread them in the Meadow.  This plant is too unruly for my gardens, but it will be perfect for the Meadow.

I pulled up the ageratum in the iris bed in the Star Garden, also before it set seed.  I dug out some giant blue mistflower and potted it up for the plant swap that will be in a couple weeks.  I don't want the tall mistflower in the iris bed.  It is an aggressive seeder.  I also dug up a clump of Southern Wood Fern for the swap.

I continued pulling up ageratum in the Star Garden.  It has an incredibly extensive root system, so I do not need that stuff to throw off seed.  I weeded as I went.  I pulled up all the Mexican sunflower plants that had fallen over.  I don't know why I love those plants so much, they are unruly.  They get 10 feet tall and topple over.  Often they will continue to look good despite that because the roots are still in the ground.  If that is the case, I will let them live because they bloom their hearts out in the fall and are much-loved by the butterflies.

I sowed seed, about 50 5 inch pots of the short goldenrod that I got from Ann Thames, coneflower, roughleaf coneflower, eupatorium rotundifolia, and Heliopsis.  Right now I have so many gallon plants in the Vegetable Garden, a dozen Passalong Pink, lots of John Fanick phlox, elderberry, native passionvine, Coral Bean, and some I can't remember as I sit here writing notes.  I will rid myself of some of them at the plant swap.

I planted a shrubby blue sage (that I got at the spring plant swap from Swee Leng) and 6 or so salvia azurea (from the fall plant sale) and Ashy Sunflower (from Buchanan's) in the Rose Garden.  

We finally got a good rain - the first half of October and September were very droughty.  I sowed Black Eyed Susans, Clasping Coneflower, Indian Grass, Prairie Parsley, and Cow Pen daisy along the trails just before the evening gully wash. Job well done.

I dug up a good-sized Giant Coneflower and potted it up for the swap.

Weeded in the Vegetable Garden, too late unfortunately, because all the weeds had dropped their seed.

I prepped beds and sowed lots of Ox Eye Daisy seed in the Rose Garden.  I also collected seed from my Hyssop Leaved Thoroughwort.

I spent quite a bit of time dividing day lily clumps that did not bloom well last summer.  Finding places for all the day lilies is a challenge. I started digging up salvia and planting the daylilies in those spots.  I have more than enough salvia. 

I prepped a bed in the Vegetable Garden with leaf mold compost and planted 6 Brussels sprouts plants.

I moved 2 mature Texas Orange Lantana in the Orchard.  I put them in the same beds, but I moved them from the edge of the beds to the middle of the beds.

I potted up a flat each of Hyssop Leaf Thoroughwort and Ivy Leaf Mistflower.

Cleaned up in the Shade Garden.  I raked the paths, all debris goes into the beds.  Cut away or pushed back plants that were leaning into the paths.  I cut some branches away.  Pulled up Snakeroot growing in paths.  The Snake root is blooming right now.  And I can see my darling, reliable little Fleabane seedlings coming up.  They make a charming stand of white flowers every spring.  And they like that shady little spot.  My toad lily is blooming.  It is not as full as it was in the past, but it still shows up every year, long may it last.

I dug up some double orange daylilies that had spread into the paths.  I stuck it in one of the rain barrels until I decide what to do with it.

 

Swamp Sunflower October 20, 2024

I planted a handful of plants in the Meadow several years ago.  And now there is a big patch of them.  The are pretty floppy, so this is the perfect spot for them.  I have them growing in 2 other places where they are not nearly so welcome - until now!  I learned that I can prune them and make a flowering plant that is only 4 feet tall at its tallest.  Game changer!  I can't wait to try it out next summer.  I won't mess with the ones in my Meadow, but in my 2 gardens, I will give it a try.  If I can keep them from leaning over, they will be soooo pretty in the fall.