Garden Diva

By Petra Cox, Edgemere Park Trustee

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Every neighborhood has a garden diva or two.

One of our Edgemere garden divas wanted to share her thoughts about getting ready for those cold months ahead when we sit by the fireplace with a blanket or a book and leave the garden to fend for itself as the cold winds blow in from the North ...

It's that time again ... when the temperatures are cooling down and the growing season has come to a stand still. Yes, it is fall. It is time to talk about winterizing your flower beds and your grass and trees.

As your trees start going dormant and the sap falls, the leaves fall too. The cooler temperatures and lack of sun, slowing down the photosynthesis process, along with just the right amount of moisture, creates the beautiful colors that we see in our park and yards. The falling leaves can create an excellent mulch for those tender plants in your flower beds. The protective layer of leaves act as a moisture barrier, much like they would on the forest floor. In the spring, you can turn the leaves into the beds with a garden fork adding to natural mulch.

Please be kind to your neighbors and keep your leaves picked up if possible. No one likes to come home and find a yard full of leaves, especially if they have no trees! With our Oklahoma winds, which blow in from every direction it seems, I have come home to find leaves that have blown in from Chandler! Keeping them picked up is no easy chore. This garden diva feels your pain! I rake and rake and still cannot stay on top of it.

Remember to water the flower beds even if you use your leaves for mulch. The plants that are going to over-winter need moisture too. If you have new trees planted, a little water here and there would be appreciated. The Farmer's Almanac predicts that our area is going to have a colder winter with more moisture. Hopefully the moisture part is true and we won't have to worry about watering too late into the season. But if our weather is dry, you should keep the garden hose out and continue using it for a little while longer.

If you are over-seeding your lawn, remember that it's essential to keep the grass seed moist until germination. This might mean sprinkling twice a day. After the seed comes up, you can water less until the seed takes hold. Leaves that have settled on the new grass can smother the tender seedlings. Those leaves again! You might keep that in mind and have a rake or blower on hand to keep them off of the lawn. You will be rewarded in the spring with a lovely carpet of green, even when everyone's Bermuda is still dormant!

The fall is an excellent time to plant Mums and Pansies. These can be found all over town and in a great variety of colors. Mums can be set into the ground and will bloom next year. Some gardeners dead-head the blooms and have a second set of blooms within the same season. Pansies will last through the winter and make a beautiful showing peeking out of the snow.

My favorite plant for fall and winter is Hellebores. It can be planted in Hosta beds and in areas where there is shade. The blooms range from white to green to a mix of pink and purples. Hellebores loves the snow and will be a lovely addition to your garden.

For those of you like myself who have had their tropical plants out this summer and are stashed in the garage waiting to come in, it is time. Please be sure to give them a quick bath with the garden hose, remembering to wash off the pot (we don't want any 8 legged surprises in the house this winter). Find a sunny window for over wintering. Tropicals normally go into a dormant period during the colder months. Their primary growth is in the root system and a heavy fertilizing is not recommended.

It is also time to think about your gutters. And you guessed it, cleaning out the leaves. My gutters have had their own eco systems in the past! The dirt and silt that accumulates causes dampness and mold. After the leaves have dropped, a weekend of this fun activity is recommended.

As the fall season takes us into winter, hopefully you will enjoy your fall gardening like this diva will ... rake in hand and warm tea on the stove.