Hoeing the Garden

These cooler September days are the best.  This week has been mostly cloudy days, cooler temps,  threatening rain (but no rain).  The a/c is off and the windows are open.  I've been trying to get outside in the garden for an hour or two every day tidying up,  pulling weeds, deadheading,  and cutting back all things overgrown.

If I had to pick my favorite thing to do in the garden, it would have to be hoeing. I love to hoe. I most often use a scuffle hoe, which seems to work well for me.  Love to rough up the surface of the soil, getting in between plants, scraping off weeds and getting some air around the plants. In my mind, the plants love it. I don't mulch in my flower gardens, so I hoe.  Between pretty tight planting and regular hoeing, I don't have a big problem with weeds.

Scuffle hoe

Walt did some edging of the garden the other day and I'm always amazed what a difference that makes in how the garden looks. I'm also doing a lot of walking around, assessing what needs to be moved, what needs something new, where I can fit in some bulbs... My big plan for the fall is to plant some bulbs amidst the anemones this fall. The daffodils would come up before the anemones and then their foliage would hide the daffy foliage. The challenge will be to buy the bulbs early this fall and actually plant them. I have thrown away way too many dried up bulbs in March.

A lot of my hostas have browned and crispy leaves, so I have been gradually cutting those off and they look much better. Same with the hellebores.  A lot of my hostas and hellebores used to be under a big goldenrain tree, but since cutting it down a few years ago, the hostas and hellebores have not been their happiest.  I'm trying to be patient waiting for a redbud seedling to mature in that area. It's now about 8 feet tall and it just needs to spread its branches a few more feet to shade the hostas.

Asters and anemones

I love how the garden seems to relax in the fall. Plants are lush and full. Colors are softer.  Asters and anemones are the main bloomers right now, with zinnias still putting on a show and waiting to be picked. I did plant a few too many yellow zinnias for my taste this year, though.

Sedum

Hellebores and anemones

Anemones

Autumn clematis