Not a bad start to September! For many of us this month will be a bit of a blur.
Don’t forget to sit back and take a good look around enjoy the beauty around you. The sun is still shining, the evenings are nice and cool and the air smells like a cross between BBQ and crunchy leaves.
I think September is my favorite month. The only think that I don’t really love are the spiderwebs I get in the face when I am the first through the dog walking trail. Is it just me or do they really crawl out of the woodwork in the fall? Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate what they do but I always seem to catch their lovely webs right at face level!
Here is the list.
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Veggie GardeningHarvest, harvest, harvest. If you don’t have a garden of your own, now is a fantastic time to visit your local farmers market or farm. Remember to check out your BC Farm Fresh guide online.
If you’re not too busy harvesting, you can sow lettuce, herbs and carrots for your protected winter garden. Its also a good time to expand your area using lasagna gardening techniques. |
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LawnsIf you need to renovate your lawn, wait a bit until we get a bit of moisture and the lawns start growing again unless you have irrigation or are a bright eyed morning person not a surly ogre like me and have remembered to water your lawn during the allowed times.
At any rate if your lawn is green and lush you can areate, topdress and overseed. A good fall fertilizer is also handy as well. But if your lawn is a lovely beige wait until it gets a few good rains and comes out of dormancy. Thaaat’s right…its just sleeping. |
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Garden BedsContinue to trim back and deadhead spent perennials…you probably have heard the drill by now…don’t be too tidy. Native pollinators overwinter in the hollow stems of spent perennials so a tidy garden isn’t necessarily a healthy garden.
Your late season grasses such as Pennisetum and Miscanthus are coming in to their absolute glory right about now, not to mention the Japanese Blood Grass.
I’m thinking of doing a whole area in just grasses…they look absolutely amazing and do well with my kind of maintenance…very little. You can always add to your garden beds so long as you water and as long as the ground is not frozen, but I’d wait to do any shuffling until the ground is wetter. Yes. I said it. The W word. |
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PlantersNow is the tough part. Your summer planters are looking glorious but the fall pansies and mums and planters and looking fresh.
What to do, what to do. To quote Kenny Rogers on tough times like these: “You’ve got to know when to hold em’ and you’ve got to know when to fold em”. A good bet this year might be mid-month though.
Start to phase your house plants back indoors and think about moving your patio tropicals to a more covered area on their migration to a freeze free well lit garage or cool sunroom. |
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Bulbs Bulbs BulbsYay!!! New and fresh!!! My squirrels like only the best. Seriously though think drifts and blending rather than straight soldier rows.
If squirrels are a problem you can plant in large plastic pots with the bottoms cut out and sunk level with the ground. Place mesh on top which you can remove when you see green tips or even better, add a frittilaria to your grouping. Squirrels hate the smell.
I usually pick up the packs in September and then store them in a cool dry place and plant mid October. |
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PondsKeep cleaning and skimming for fallen leaves. Feed up your fish so they are fat and healthy for the long winter ahead. |
That should be enough for now with all of the other September business. If you are so inclined, try something new this year, you don’t have to go crazy maybe it’s just a new plant or maybe even a new sport or hobby…have an adventure and be kind to yourself!
Cheers,
Laurelle