Time to Burn

Yesterday was cold and rainy and an easy day to stay inside. Today is a beautiful day and perfect for working outside. Since everything is wet it is a perfect time to build a fire, but since everything is wet it's a smoky business. This particular fire is not a happy bonfire but a final farewell to our thrip infested gladiola bulbs. Having read the soak in disinfectant, spread out to dry, and repeat in the spring treatment for thrip infested bulbs, we decided to do the more final but perhaps more sensible thing and burn them. We will have a glad free garden next year.

I never had thrips before and I don't know where they came from. One has to wonder if it was the weather or if they came in on a new bulb purchase? Three of the most infested varieties came from one nursery. I'm sad about the bulbs, but for the thrips I say "Burn baby burn"!

Falling Temperatures, Falling Leaves

We've dropped through the thirties and into the twenties at night. Now it's freeze not frost! The trees are dropping their leaves. The temperature went up today, but now is dropping like a stone. I think it will be even colder tonight. Most of the fall color is gone, (Sigh...) but so are the bugs. (Yea...) It's time to dig up the browned glads, get the garlic planted and begin plans for next year.

Glad and Garden

This yellow gladiola is beautiful! I wish I could say they all are that way. This year some of the flowers look horrible. I need to go around and snip them off. I hope it was bugs or the Orioles or the weather that caused the damage. With luck the bulbs are fine, and the leaves will feed the plants till frost.

I suppose according to the " Truth in Gardening Blogs Act" ( Nonexistent of course) I should show you the ugly, pathetic looking specimens. Sorry, No can do. They are just too horrible. I prefer to focus on the beautiful ones.