Tags
environment, fall garden, garden, garden chores, home, November, Virginia
My central Virginia gardens endured one of the hottest, driest summers in recent history.
Since most of the fifteen-year-old landscape is well established, only the few new installations required weekly monitoring. The basement dehumidifier supplied a consistent 2-gallon supply of free water daily, greatly reducing the labor intensive task of hose dragging.
Let me introduce you to Black Diamond crape myrtle, added to my front garden this summer. Notice the wonderful deep leaf hue and pleasant color of the flowers…this plant blooms multiple times per year and reaches 12′ high. I look forward to many years with this new variety…
I gave up raising home vegetables in 2014. Too many persistent insects prayed on tender leaves, leaving undesirable remnants. I fully support organic growing methods, yet for the effort involved, I would rather spend my time tending the heirloom daffodils, peonies, and lilies that reside here. These spring beauties bring endless joy to me and my market customers come April/May, and by the time June heat and humidity build, I am spending only minimal time outdoors.
abundant peony harvest 2015
Early spring brings abundance
dazzling organic peppers grown by young farmers. There is no need for me to fight veggie insects in my gardens…when I can support local efforts.
Gardening during cool temps from November-March soothes my soul. The tempo is slow. The air is crisp and clean. I add to my perennial collections, as fall is planting season. And above all, the dastardly biting insects are absent and I once again enjoy the outdoors.
terrace wall refurbished with Muhly grass showing off on the other side…September is mighty showy here.
This month the arborist arrives with his bucket truck and helper. He annually sheers the 135 Leyland Cypress that border my property. This year I am tasking him with drastically reducing the elevation of the rows…tough love. Over the years, they slowly crept up to twenty feet, a height I no longer desire. Soon entire row at the back will be totally eliminated by the power company, as maintaining it is now unsustainable and my splendid privacy fence doing a fine job.
photo of stained privacy fence. After a contractor’s estimate of 12 hours and $400 labor, I knew it was up to me to complete this job. Six hours over two days delivered one handsome fence to Swallowtail Cottage.
I am in love with this chipper…perfect for the job at hand…
As of today the house and shed are washed/painted/caulked where needed. The roof chimney and vents are caulked and painted. The patio furniture has a fresh coat of paint (yes that DTM paint project two years ago was a miserable failure.) The windows are washed inside and out. 23′ of deer fencing is installed in the lower corner of the garden to close a gap. Three arborvitae and a Kousa dogwood will replace an ancient dogwood (Cornus florida) and an unimpressive japanese maple. Eventually this new installation will screen the deer wire.
THEN, on the fifteenth of November, I shall have knee surgery…just a repair for a torn meniscus.
Baby 5 was my perfect companion during this gravel project. She held steadfast, despite my concerns that I would break her.
Yes, gardening does take a toll. Perhaps last November’s foundation planting did in my knee. That two tons of river rock did not seem that difficult, yet perhaps it was the eleven hours it took to prep/plant the seventeen shrubs. Ahh, November.
A time to complete chores, reflect, relax, and bask in the glow of a dreamy winter ahead.
this is the view from my back door, over the herb garden during winter 2015
Copyright ©2016 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
home, garden, life 
Thank you Raastha! Glad that I inspire you! As a vicarious gardener, you may be the wiser! Diane
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always look for your post. It does not bother me that I am not much into garden but enjoy how you do it. Love from India.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Jeanne. Chipping away at endless projects, and making progress. Painted lower patio and all patio furniture last week and wrapped up the roof caulking/painting. Still some touch up to do at carport and patio.
Why not just spill the basement water onto the turf if you have no plants to water. Surely you have a tree that would welcome the extra moisture…even the old ones.
Babe is not around unless it shed the hanging thing. There are other young cardinals feeding here, yet Babe left one day I was out of food. At least the week Babe fed here, it became strong and perky. Perhaps, since the weather is so warm here, Babe is finding other natural yummies in the area.
Thanks for asking. D.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your garden looks spectacular, as always. I love, love, love that muhly grass – it certainly is showy! Your privacy fence looks great, too. My little basement (doesn’t go under the whole house on this side.) generates over 2 gallons daily, but alas, I have next to nothing to water, but whatever’s potted on the porches. So I fill the watering can whenever needed.
Good luck with your surgery – you’ll be getting a much-needed break, like it or not, eh? Did you ever see that cardinal again to see how he/she is doing?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Muhly is tough. I never fertilize it or water it and have divided it many times, as the clumps enlarge…Muhlenbergia Capillaris (I think I have it spelled correctly, or close!) All it requires is a sheer to the ground after the color fades to blonde and the stems begin to break…I cinch a rope around the base, pull tight, then cut off with a wood saw or chain saw.
Yes my basement dehumidifier provides 2-gallons of water per day during the summer months. Aside from hauling it out daily, it is a good source of clean water for plants…
Most of my peonies are 60+ years and are from my home place on Long Island. They were sent to me 15 years ago when I moved here. There are a total of 24 plants here now…three varieties. Would love to add a few tree peonies, yet the cost is prohibitive.
In the last three years I have discovered a new passion for bulbs…daffs, lilies, tulips. Converted raised beds to bulb beds provide an April cash crop at the farmer’s market…and peonies are harvested in May…600 stems last season. Big job, but someone has to do it!
Cheers and a happy growing season to you.
PS If you go to my search bar on my blog page and type in Muhly, you will see more photos of my grasses. D.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks I will check out the Fling info. Never attended before…
LikeLike
I love all that muhly grass! I hope to meet you at the 2017 Capital Region Garden Bloggers Fling! One of our sponsors is giving away gorgeous peonies. :o) There’s more info on my blog and on our Garden Blogger Fling Facebook page.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your muhly grass, this year I’m going to investigate the possibility of growing in here in Canberra.
Do you use your dehumidifier to provide water for the garden? Sounds wonderful. Good luck with the gorgeous peonies!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will keep you posted…
LikeLike
Joe, Babe left the garden the day I was out of food, and I hope it is well, as it seemed much stronger the week it dined here. Perhaps in a new coat of feathers, I no longer recognize it. Overall cardinals did well in my gardens this season…many offspring. Hope that Babe is out there…
LikeLike
I’m betting you have good luck with the black diamond Crape Myrtle. I bought mine, rather small, last year and then did something I almost never do: gave it extra winter protection. We had an unbelievably mild winter for Ohio and it still froze to about an inch tall. It’s the same size now as it was last year, and I’m betting it will bounce back a little bigger and thicker each year, as if I were intentionally coppicing it.
Cheers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Diane, Good luck with your surgery & the rehab to follow. I’ve had good luck with over wintering borderline hardy crape myrtles by heavy mulching. When small i double wrapped them with burlap but they died back to the ground the 1st. year. Last winter I did’nt bother to wrap them & they did fine. Perhaps they aclimated.
The computer shop found malware & they got rid of the spammer. After 2 record years of snow in this area I hope it stays away also. Once again I want to wish you good luck with your surgery , Joe Koller
LikeLiked by 1 person
Michaele, although I do not care for pink in my landscape, I made an exception with Muhly. When the setting sun and breezes dance through the stand, I stop what I am doing and gaze at the loveliness. Also frost and dew make a splendid show too.
Thanks for your good wishes. I look forward to my dormant season. Diane
LikeLike
And that Black Diamond Crape blooms all year too! Still has a cluster as I write…hope it likes Virginia winters, as I welcome this specimen…the tag said it would grow in Michigan too. Are you sure it would die back in your zone?
That privacy is worth its weight in gold Tim. 11′ tall at one end and 8’at the other, providing necessary screening from a derelict property behind me. Now to say goodbye to those needy cypress trees which encroach from behind. Lessons learned.
Thanks for your comments. I don’t visit GPOD anymore, as I found it to be loaded with viruses.
LikeLike
Hi Joe, I think that the Black Diamond became glossier as the summer went by, especially when I kept it well hydrated. I do hope it survives its first winter here, as I so love the leaves and flowers, which continue even today.
Knee surgery is on the 15th and I will know more about the market’s numbers in January. Glad to now have a few months break…
As for the snow, I indeed hope none arrives, as my repaired knee will not approve of hand shoveling.
Did you get rid of that spammer?
LikeLike
As always, I so love the muhly. It really is such a delight to see it backlit by sun…stops me in my tracks every time. Best of luck with your knee repair…sounds like your place is prepped and ready for the gardener to take some well earned time off.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Diane, Is it possible the crape myrtle leaves got darker when it bloomed? It appears that way to me in this photo. I hope your knee has fully recovered & you had a prosperous year at the city market. Also how did Babe fare this summer ? He appeared to be struggling in your post featuring him.
The snow scenes are a gentle reminder of what’s coming. I hope things are going well for you & good luck, Joe Koller
LikeLike
Loving that Crape Myrtle. It’s a die-back shrub for me, but if it keeps on giving that gorgeous, dark foliage, I’m fine with that. Love your privacy fence, too!
LikeLiked by 1 person