Andrea’s Path to Plants

It is an absolutely STUNNING fall day here in YYC. The trees are changing colour but the grass is still green after a recent rain. The sky is a brilliant blue, and there is a light breeze with just a tinge of cool. Fall is fleeting for us in zone three, however. One random frost, one wind storm and poof! we are in Drabville. Leaves shed like the Whomping Willow going into winter. Grass all yellowing and brown. Annuals dead and mildewing… Man, I hate seeing it end! So I am enjoying this beautiful autumn palette and bright sunshine. 

BUT I’m also doing what I can to prep my garden for winter. We are finally out of water restrictions after a very hot summer so I am watering like a fiend. My perennials need all the love they can get now after months of neglect. I’ll be giving them a good deep watering once a week until freeze up – right until we have to shut the outdoor taps off. We really aren’t that far from a good frost so I’m also saying a (tearful) goodbye to the tender annuals and singing Boyz II Men as I fill the compost bin.

Enjoy these days of harvest! All our hard work is finally coming into our homes. Zucchini cake (and zucchini fries and salsa and stir fries) will be missed in the dead of winter. The last of the garden flowers (and bugs lol) on the dinner table will be replaced with pinecones and candles soon enough. I am always grateful this time of year for the successes and the lessons from the season.

But I do hope the neighbours forgive me as I sing Simon & Garfunkel while I harvest the herbs for the dehydrator this week…