Seasonal Shift

For us one of the advantages of living here in zone 4 is the distinct difference in the seasons.  Almost without notice summer is drawing to a close and fall is beginning to peek out.  Nights are getting longer.  Wake up time now finds darkness outside where the rising sun used to give us our call.  Finding orange on the pumpkin is a clear sign that we are moving into fall.  Cool nights will help this pumpkin set its sugars.  We are looking forward to a huge harvest as both the pumpkins and the butternut squash have put on a real growth spurt with the now abundant rainfall.

These Clara Curtis chrysanthemums have been with us for years.  Not only have they survived, they have multiplied into several clumps planted throughout the gardens.  I have a childhood connection with a great grandfather and mums.  Many years here have included attempts to winter over chrysanthemums.  Success is usually marginal but for us Clara Curtis is a proven survivor.

This bed is seasonally correct.  The onions that grew here are in braids hanging in the basement.  The multitude of weeds that also grew here are forming compost.  Buckwheat has been thickly sown to crowd out the new weeds.  Autumn Joy sedums are beginning to show some color as are the spring planted day neutral strawberries.  We may be moving toward fall but we are still planting seeds.
 

This spring the Starburst chrysanthemums looked dead.  Not willing to accept their apparent loss, four tiny green pieces were placed in pots and tended carefully.  All four pots produced plants large enough to be set out in the garden.  The plants are small but they are alive with flowers.  We find these flowers quite pretty and we will try to help the plants through the coming winter with a protective cover of coarse loose mulch.  One season gives way to another and we are already looking two seasons out hoping to find dark green signs of life when the winter snows disappear.