The walnuts and hickory nuts are really dropping, the Naked Ladies are blooming and the Autumn Joy is turning pink. All 2 to 3 weeks early for here. I think I saw some wild Fall Asters blooming in the field behind the house. And the Weather Channel is saying a cooler than normal period from Sept. through Nov.
HUSH your mouth...I know a soap lady at my market who would be happy to introduce that terrible mouth to a cleansing!
LOL! That is so funny Caroline. Awww. It is looking like early fall here too. But we have a dry spell going, and normally the trees shed some leaves early to conserve water. I have been using my sprinkler since early June here. I have naked lady lilies, black eyed susans, day lilies, tiger lilies, petunias, a few roses, phlox, morning glories, portulacas/rock roses, vincas, zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, red sage, and a few other things blooming. The sedums are not yet in bloom, but they have buds. I just bought an impatiens plant for 60% off, and it is doing good. I have some parsley starts that I am trying to find places for where rabbits and what not cannot reach them. I have a whole tray full of them. I need to get a nice big tub and more potting soil for most of it. My garden is just putzing along, but not too bad. I planted chives this spring, and they are doing nicely. No blooms yet. The oregano is blooming. Will rabbits eat my oregano, or can I safely remove the cage from it? My thyme is going gangbusters, so I need to harvest some and dry it for winter use also. Do I need to bring it indoors --there is LOTS of it, or can it stay outdoors for winter? I hope my rosemary can stay outdoors. It is doing nicely and in with the thyme. I could cover their tub if needed.
Everyone around here is joyous about the nice summer we are having--only ONE day at 100 degrees, and enough rain for once! However, the old-timers are predicting an early fall and a hard winter. I have a sedum that is heading up for blooming which usually happens in October. Uh, oh . . . . Nightowl, when we lived in upstate NY, our thyme and rosemary over-wintered outside, but both were in the ground, and in a sheltered spot. If you can move the pots to a place against a stone wall or other heat-retaining background and keep them out of wind, they should over-winter in Missouri just fine. Rabbits will eat oregano if there is not much forage for them, so I'd keep the cage on as a precaution. My bell pepper plants are caged because rabbits seem to love the leaves--makes picking interesting, but at least I have something to pick!
Our Pecan trees have been dropping green pecans for about a month now, last fall was dry so the nuts aren't likely to mature. No sight of the Naked Ladies yet and the Autumn Joy Sedum is a variety of colors, some still green, some turning pink and some already brown from having turned pink in June This has been a milder summer for us too, only 5 days above 100 but predictions are that we will be in the 95-100+ range for the month of August as usual.
My black walnut trees are dropping nuts already, even though we have not had any frost. That is usually in October. I forgot that I also have bee balm blooming, and trumpet vines. So far, we have had NO days of 100'+. Thankfully, because I cannot tolerate such heat. It is 88' in the shade out there, so that is very hot for me. I guess I can move the tubs around so that empty ones are blocking the wind on my thyme and rosemary. I could also wrap them in bubble wrap maybe. There is no stone wall to put them against. I did not put them in the ground because I wanted to keep the rabbits out them. I want to pick up another tub and some dirt for my parsley tomorrow when I go to town. I got one 6-pack planted in a pot, and have a tray full of 6 packs to plant in containters. Maybe I will have lots of parsley come fall? Hey, I was reading online where you can make a FALL crop of potatoes too. I want to try that since I have a bin full of sprouted taters in my fridge. I hate to let sprouted taters go to waste.
Friday at work, I discovered the deer have started what I refer to as "The Hungry Time". This usually starts the last week of August, when they start fattening up for the winter. They go on a feeding frenzy and eat everything they can ... tomato plants, hot peppers, hosta's, phlox, potatoes etc They even come close to the main building and eat right out of the gardens under open windows! I told the owner that our deer were predicting an early winter!
no, no, no, no, no!!!!!! You may not say any of those things on here. now hush!.. the soap lady has lots of flavors, by the way!
oh...I can't even think about fall yet...way too many flowers and things to do around here. We need more time. Our cooler start and all of the rain we get has slowed things down...now where is that soap lady Carolyn?
First you have to determine if that really is a Wooly Bear caterpillar, if it is that coloring would predict a long, severe winter. Or is it the Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar which is always solid black, until it rolls up in self defense and shows narrow red bands.
