Fall is here. Even I have to acknowledge it after a couple of frosts.
Last Tuesday, we did the update at the nursing home garden by clearing the beds and planting 70 perennials that came from my garden and another Master Gardener’s. Yesterday, I cleaned the entry tank planters, trimmed perennials and mulched at the Mounted Patrol, and the last MG project I work on hopefully will finish up this week.
In between, I’ve been working on closing down my own beds. I’m always looking for opportunities to downsize so last week I decided to take out a Hosta bed. That doesn’t sound like much except those plants had been in the ground about ten years, and they weren’t coming out easily. I broke a metal shovel. I didn’t even know that was possible, but the truck load of plants is gone, some donated and some composted. This morning I’m putting the grass seed and the seeding mulch down, and now I have about three dozen less Hosta to maintain.
We also were able to get down about 50′ of flexible edging on Saturday. Come spring, we’ll have another 75′ to put down which will help with the task of edging annually.
In between, I read a couple of good books including Craig Johnson’s “Land of Wolves” which is #15 for his Walt Longmire character. Good read, and it had several highly enjoyable chuckles. I also read Robert B. Parker’s “The Bitterest Pill” by Reed Farrel Coleman. This is #18 for the Jesse Stone character. It was also a very good read, but it wasn’t light. It truly could pass for a primer on how the opioid business works.
I also went to a local adult education computer course on Canva. I’ve been using Canva for a year or two to design various social media notices for the Master Gardeners but thought I’d be able to pick up some pointers, and I did. If you’re looking for a free, basic, easy to use design program, you might want to check it out.
We also got in a visit to a local farm to 
check out their field of sunflowers and visiting pollinators while picking up some apples and tomatoes along with a few maple bourbon donuts and a pumpkin whoopie pie.
When you garden hardy, you definitely need some sweets to celebrate your accomplishments, or so I tell myself. 🙂
This was all very interesting and then I got to “maple bourbon donuts” and all other thoughts left my mind!! That sounds like the world’s most perfect donut! Yow.
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Oh my goodness, but it was quite tasty. I may have to go back before they close for the season just to help the local economy. 🙂
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You earned those sweets! I’m sure those plants you planted at the nursing home will bring smiles to the residents there. That was such a generous thing for you to do.
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It was a pleasure to do it, and I was so grateful to be ‘able’ to do it. 🙂
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I definitely want some of those maple bourbon donuts!!! You’ve been a very busy bee, just like the one in the beautiful sunflower!! Removing three dozen well-established Hosta plants was no easy task. Good grief, I know you love anything that involves gardening, but do any of the other MG’s ever pitch in? 😳
Hope your gardens are “winterized’ soon so you can relax with your sewing machine and a new quilt project.
I read both those books and I agree with your comment on The Bitterest Pill…..very heavy, but I couldn’t put it down!
🐾Ginger 🐾
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I think some of fellow MGs are on hiatus. 🙂 That book was heavy. There were times, I had to walk away for a little while before I could go back to it. But, it truly was an eye opening issue for this woman.
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I think places that are the beneficiaries of your volunteer labor must be so grateful. I see gardeners working outside our church sometimes and they look so happy and satisfied. If it were not for them, flower beds would be empty because that’s just not a budgeted item. What a difference the beautiful, well kept blooms make, though, especially in spring when they first pop their pretty heads!
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It is an interesting volunteer opportunity to provide plants that I have grown and taken care of so they can then provide enjoyment to others. To imagine nursing home residents looking out their windows or walking outside to enjoy those plants is truly a thrill to this humble gardener.
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No one gardens hardier than you, Judy! Heartfelt thanks for all that you give as a Master Gardener and all that you share with us here. I’m taking notes on all that you are doing to downsize your garden beds. Easier sounds better!! I downloaded the Canva app just last week. I’m really looking forward to playing with it!
No frost in my Midwest garden yet. The past week, my rain gauge overflowed several times! I can tell Autumn is here because now I wait until the temperatures warm up mid-day to play in the garden rather than going out bright and early to beat the heat.
You definitely deserved those sweet treats after all of your hard work, Judy!
Have a great week!💗
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Dawn, you and I could have had such a good time digging out those Hosta. I was thinking about you the entire time. Every time I drove that shovel in, I kept saying to myself – ‘these are not my children’ and then I’d laugh, dig a little deeper, and think I wish I could tell Dawn. 🙂 I spread that grass seed and straw cover this morning, and felt such satisfaction that I had closed out one bed. Wahoo! Now, if I could figure out how to downsize some more, I’d buy two new shovels. 🙂
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Oh, Judy! I thought the very same thing as I read about digging up all of those Hosta! So proud of you, my friend! Wish we were neighbors, Judy. I would try my very best to keep up with you as I learned all of your tricks and tips.♥
I *think* I have another big downsizing project in the planning stages for next year. (I even have a ‘guest’ shovel. 🙂 ) However, I think I will need the help of a team of strong landscapers! 🙂 Cheering you on, Judy!
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A ‘team of strong landscapers’ would sure be a help and would allow a larger downsizing project. I’ll be looking forward to hearing all about it.
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Let’s hear it for treats! Those hostas are tough cookies, that’s for sure. (See? Treats are on my mind.)
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That’s right – we New Englanders know a treat when it’s labeled with ‘maple’ or ‘whoopie.’ 🙂
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You bet!
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I need some sweets just from reading all you’ve done! I cannot believe you dug up all those hostas, but I can definitely believe they broke a shovel — those roots are nasty! Seems to me there were some deer that found your hostas good snacking this past year; maybe they’ll move on to a different vending machine now. That’s a beautiful image of flower and bee — a lovely goodbye to the summer.
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I love the visual of the ‘hosta vending machine.’ Established hosta roots aren’t deep, but they are like a compressed mat with a tenacious grip. The farm has a field of sunflowers and zinnias because they sell cut flowers. I walked all around, and there were bees everywhere. It was like visiting a bee farm.
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There is something so satisfying about getting those autumn chores one. One of my favorite tasks is adding new tulips and other spring bulbs to the garden. I know how happy I’ll be when they bloom in early spring, just when we need the color the most! Happy fall!
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Happy fall to you too! I’ve got some daffodils to put in, but I can’t plant tulips because they get snacked on by the squirrels and chipmunks. So, enjoy your tulips because they are truly beautiful in the spring that is for certain.
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Have you tried interplanting them with daffodils? Daffodil bulbs are poisonous and the critters know this. Sometimes (note: sometimes) if you plant a ring of daffodils and place the tulips inside and sprinkle the tulips with the skins from the daffodils, they are left alone. I have squirrels and chipmunks in my backyard, and it has been a problem here some years.
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I had never thought or read of that, but it sounds like it could work. I’m going to give that some thought and maybe try it in one area so I don’t lose too many. Thank you!
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Good luck! I think the secret is more about the scattering of the daffodil skins than the actual planting in a circle, but I do both as insurance!
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I’m all for the sweet treats – without the justification of working hard in the garden. You are a little energizer bunny so your treats are well earned!
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You certainly are busy! I am ready to let go the garden work now that the frosts have come. I am going back and forth about cleanup. They are saying don’t, but leaving it until spring will probably be harder with everything mushed down/soggy after snow melt. Not to mention all the self-sowers that I will have to weed out.
One thing I can agree with is the treat rewards. 😉 Yes to pumpkin whoopie pies!
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Clean now or clean later – I bet it’s comes out 50/50. The bird lovers appreciate all the plants being left, but in my case most of my beds are under snow piles from the snow blower all winter so that doesn’t work. I’m not thrilled about a back breaking fall list, but I sure do like it in April. Those pumpkin whoopie pies are the light at the end of the tunnel. 🙂
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You are the busiest woman I know! But I can just see you doing battle with the hostas and breaking a shovel! Congrats on all you have achieved! Now I think you are dues for some fall trips around New England to places with interesting doors, and donuts!!
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You are right – I’m ready to go check out some foliage a little north that is suppose to be at peak right now. Just maybe I’ll run into a really good pumpkin donut along the way. 🙂
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Robert B. Parker’s Spencer series was my second crime fiction favorite author after Agatha Christie. I haven’t gotten into the Jesse Stone series.
You’ve been busy! The sweet treats sound really yummy! Maple Bourbon donuts sound really, really good.
I’ve done a bit of weeding and we’re getting ready to shut down the watering for the winter and cutting off the water supply from the street, and disconnect hoses from the house which are new to us winterizing chores. I’m really looking forward to Fall here. To have a real 4 seasons is quite wonderful.
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I LOVE the Spencer series – the stories are good, the characters work well together, and I laugh out loud at some of the conversations between Spencer and Hawk. Hope you enjoy all four seasons in your new home. 🙂
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Spenser and Hawk! Great dialogue there, and they way he is with Susan…be still my heart.
I’m enjoying Fall it’s starting to pop with color here, but not as many reds as you get I’m sure.
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You’ve been so busy… I’m feeling a bit guilty now about our garden 🙂 I’ve never used Canva, but I’ve heard that it’s a good program. I use PicMonkey for that type of design which is also pretty intuitive. I ‘d love to go to a class like yours to learn all the ins and outs that might not be obvious at first.
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Oh, I use to be able to use PicMonkey when it was free, and I truly enjoyed every moment. It is intuitive, and it does a lot, but I used it for MGs which is non profit and they just can’t afford to pay for it. That is when I moved to Canva which does more for social media but doesn’t have as many editing tools. The class was offered through our town’s adult education. It was a good class.
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You are hereby prohibited from commenting on how much I have going on. Holy moly, Judy, you are a gardening dynamo. I had a chuckle over your previous post on flying. As someone who used to love to fly and was ALWAYS glued to the window (blinds UP) entranced with the clouds and land below, I now feel like a captive in a can–germ-infested to boot–hoping a good book and the thought of my destination will get me through. Oh, also, maple bourbon anything makes me salivate.
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I’m just lagging behind you and your hubby and all the projects you juggle at the same time. I’m down to one shade bed to cut back and one MG project garden, and then I’m done! Of course, then I’ll need an indoor project or I’ll be bored out of my mind. 🙂
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Looks like our season is over before it got started! I have roses blooming, but everything else is gone and the wind and rain and blowing the leaves from the trees. OH well. i thought (briefly), we might make it all the way to Fall. Nope. Not this time.
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My Knockout Roses are looking great right now. They’re always the last blooms I have. The rain has certainly downed a lot of leaves.
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Wow! Judy, I swear your weekend projects could stand as summer goals for me. I love the title you chose.
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Fall/Autumn is not really one of my favorite seasons, and I know it shows. I can’t help it because moving leaves in the fall and then again in the spring seems like too much. Oh well, when you live on property that has gigantic oaks, chestnuts, and maples leaves are what you get in that season after summer. 🙂
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It all comes with a price, Judy. I don’t think I’d like it much. We have very little in the way of fall cleanup. I like it for a few days, but then it’s work.
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I just finished the last bed, and it is definitely ‘work,’ and it takes me longer every years. Gee, I think that may have something to do with aging. 🙂
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Nah, I’d blame global warming 😏
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You broke a metal shovel on hosta rhizomes?!? Holy crap!
And you’ve had frosts?!? SO Jealous!
You spend your time, well, and summer will come again. (Hopefully in your case, a kinder summer with fewer destructive critters!)
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I hope Mother Nature is reading this. 🙂
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I’d say sugar replenishment is a necessity when doing all this gardening! Your treats sound delicious.
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You are so industrious Judy! I met with some gardeners (Aussies) who did a tour across the US recently, and they all said how hard gardeners work during spring and fall, getting ready for your long and severe winters. How very kind to also look after nursing home gardens, my mother was briefly in a nursing home, and the flowers outside her door kept her going. I hope you have plenty of time to put your feet up and enjoy a sweet treat.
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I was so grateful to be ‘able’ to do some updating for the nursing home residents. Hope it brings a few smiles next summer. Yes, getting gardens, outside furniture and garden pieces all put away or ready to sit under 4-7′ of snow for several months. Getting ready for winter has a real long to-do-list. 🙂
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Oh the pumpkin Whoopi pie sounds delightful! How wonderful you take care of the local nursing home gardens! Hugs to you! Happy Fall!
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What is a pumpkin Whoopie pie?!
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Good question – it is two round pieces of pumpkin cake (kind of like a muffin top) with thick white icing in between. It’s not good for you, but it sure tastes good. 🙂
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Oh, of course. I should have figured that out or looked it up.
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Hostas! Wow, some lucky recipients will be very happy. You seem to make the most of every minute—a good way to live.
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I try, but I still can’t create a vase of flowers like you do!. 🙂
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Much less labor than your talents require, but thank you Judy.
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Kudos to you for that nursing home garden. – Marty
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I’d like to attend a class on Canva. I’ve used it for a couple of years, but have a basic grasp of it– nothing truly creative. No frost here yet, cooler but more summer than autumn weather. *sigh*
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First day I’ve resorted to digging out what I call a winter shirt – I’m freezing. We’re in the mid 40’s, and my body has definitely not adjusted yet.
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Good for you for using your talent to brighten the days of others Judy. Of COURSE you deserve a reward for your hard work😊😊. As for fall, not here yet but definitely coming. I love the season but hate that which follows. Sigh
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I’m curious: what makes a pie a whoopee pie? I liked the Longmire series on Netflix, I should try the books.
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Do try the books if you liked the TV series. It is a little bit different in that Walt and Vic have a personal relationship, but all the regular characters are around, and they are good reads. A whoopie pie is similar to two soft cake like cookies with a large serving of white frosting in between. It’s a good New England dessert that comes in several flavors. 🙂
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Hmm. Might not be for me. Not a big fan of frosting. Whipped cream or custard, though …
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THanks for the tip on canva ….
And that book – bitterest pill – sounds like one I will add to my TBR
Oh and maple and pumpkin….. mmm ‘it’s the season
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Sis and I are doing a see trade this year. Her zinnias for my sunflowers. And tonight I bring in the rosemary and basil. Frost is about here in MO.
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*seed
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Yep – fall has arrived and summer is a memory. Now, comes the planning for next year. 🙂
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Beautiful!
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Frost does not sound like much fun; but we have so much winter work to do that must be delayed until frost.
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We’ve got a Nor’easter blowing through on Thursday so today will be an outside day to make sure there is nothing left that has to be done.
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