Are you Ready for the Winter??

I have been working on my flower beds as it is that time of the year to get them ready for the cold winter.  I usually start with the flowers.  Cut the dead flowers and stems out.  I save some of the flowers to dry and then in the winter I harvest the seeds for planting indoors.  Make sure you put names on the flowers, as when they dry they do not always look the same.

I do take some of the dead flowers and throw them around in the flower bed, and if possible I try to get the seeds out before I throw them around.  Be careful if you are throwing the marigolds or bachelor buttons around, as they will come back next year like gangbusters.

After you have cut out the dead plants ( perennials can be cut anywhere from 1/4-1/2 inch from the ground), you will want to loosen the soil.



I use a neat little tool called the CobraHead, it runs around 25 dollars but it is so worth is to tear up the   ground.  I would not recommend this if you have a large area to loosen up, but for smaller areas this is great.  You can find this on line , or any gardening store.  I found it on Amazon, but did not see free shipping for it.The Cobra on Amazon. 

Come back soon as we will talk about what to do with the soil once you have it loosened up.

See you soon!!

Veronica

VERONICA- "She who brings Victory!  Also a great song by Elvis Costello- great line is the song- "you can call me anything you like but my name is Veronica"

You Tube- Veronica- By Elvis Costello

Here is a plant that will make you feel Victory as a gardener- Veronica.  With as many as 500 species of the plant, you surely can't go wrong.  Veronica comes in a variety of colors, I went with purple as I am a Viking Fan- okay I grew up in Stanton, Iowa and we were the home of the Vikings/Viqueens, school colors Purple and White!! The picture shows a lighter purple as the summer sun bleaches the vibrant spring color.

Colors
1. Pink
2. Purple
3. White
4. Yellow

Veronica is very easy going perennial to care for:
1.  It will grow from 1-3 feet tall, give it space.
2. Sun lover (will also do well in partial sun)
3. Well draining soil.
4.  Magic potion (Fertilizer)- about every 2 weeks

When planting:
1. I would suggest in the high mountains of Utah to purchase from a nursery, you may not see the beauty of the plant if you sow seeds directly in the ground.
2. If you have a green house or a place to plant the seeds inside during the winter, it would be ready for the spring planting.
3. Do not plant the roots too deep, I would have the base of the plant level with the soil.

Care:
1. Good soil.
2. Sun.
3. Magic Potion
4. Dead Head- cutting the old flowers back will help the plant generate more flowers.
5. After a harsh frost- which we are getting close to in the Mountains of Utah, cut the plant back to about an inch from the ground. 
6. I put grass clippings around the plant for the winter- gives a little insulation.

Nepeta (Blue Catmint)

How about some CatMint?

Nepeta (Blue Catmint)

Here is a great perennial for almost anywhere.  This little number grows great in Full and Partial Sun.  The great thing with this little plants, rather I should say Large plant is it requires less watering than most plants.  With saying that, if you water it daily in the summer months, the thing will grow crazy.  Every year I see my plant getting larger, and I know I should cut it back but when the flowers come on it is so pretty.  It has lavender flowers and will keep producing if you cut back the dead flowers. 

Plant experts say cats like this one, however I have yet to see any of the neighborhood cats enjoying it, the cats just use our horseshoe pits for a litter pan, HEHE!

After a year or so, the adult plant will start to generate baby plants, if you want, dig them up and plant them somewhere else, great way to grow the garden, or even swap with a neighbor. 

Catmint really requires low maintenance, in the late fall, I cut it back to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch to the ground and bid it a happy winter nap.

I started mine from a neighbor who had some off shoots, but you can find this in any nursery or Home Depot/Lowes/Wally World, etc...  Enjoy

Nepeta- Blue Catmint

 

 

Holly Hocks

Let's talk Holly Hocks.  Holly Hocks are a pretty easy flowers to grow, meaning requiring minimal care.  This is a perennial (they come back year after year), but they are a short lived perennial, probably 2-3 years and you may have to replace them.  Now that is not always the case, they will last longer if you ensure they have good soil and the flowers are are cut once they start to look sad.  In the late fall I usually cut the stalk to about 1/2 inch from the ground.  I like to keep a bit of stalk showing in the fall so I don't accidentally dig it up.

Starting Holly Hocks- well as you know living in the Kamas Valley of Utah, we can't plant much until after the last frost, which I mentioned before is usually around Father's Day.  I would suggest growing them inside and plant after the last frost. 

The Holly Hock plant kind of looks like a Zucchini Squash plant at first with big green leaves.  They really kick in the growth spurt around mid August.  Now while the Holly Hock enjoys sun bathing, it does not fair well in HOT weather, such as we experienced this summer.

Miss Holly also enjoys moist soil and to be watered from the base up.  I like to give her some, what I call Magic Potion- (Fertilizer), about every 2-3 weeks. 

When Fertilizing there are many varieties to choose from in any store you visit that has a garden section.  I have found the Miracle Gro Liquiafeed is one of the easiest to use and really not too expensive.  I bought the handy applicator which hooks onto your hose, and the refill bottle hooks onto the applicator.  No mixing, just turn the water on and go.  Check out this web site for pictures.   Scott's Miracle Gro and Hose Feeder

(the refill bottles can be recycled but not refilled)

If you are thinking of Miracle Gro  next year, as the season for us is about to come to an end, watch your sales, the average price for the refill pack of 4, runs around 11-12 dollars.  Home Depot and Wal-mart both carry it.  If you frequent Costco, Stock up on it, the have good prices, but only carry it until the stock runs out.

Home Depot

When you trim the Holly Hock flowers, keep the seeds, let them dry through the winter, and then around February-March start them inside, and by June they will be nice green plants ready for your flower garden.

I usually give them 18-24 inches apart, as they will fan out and grow really tall.  If you can, plant them in a place that will be protected somewhat from the wind.  Sometimes the July winds can be vicious to our Holly Girl.

This one is my favorite, they are great container plants to spruce up your house or deck in the summer.
 

Start thinking about Fall

The weather is starting to cool down and I think you know what that means, Fall is around the corner.  We did experience a slight frost last week, but checking out the neighborhood it does not appear to have caused harm to our precious vegetables and flowers.
As I worked in the yard this weekend I had allot of thoughts of what to do with the flowers that are starting to show their tired side.  When flowers start to dry, I cut the flowers and lay them in a place where they can dry.  Around December, January depending on the flower, they will be dry enough to separate seeds from them, for next years planting.
One thing to note in our short growing season it is best to start seeds in the house, garage, greenhouse or any other place that you may have space.  I will go into growing indoors in another post.
Keep in mind that annuals such as tomatoes or petunias, will keep growing, on and on and on.  Last year I was given a nice basket of petunias and was sad when the first frost came as I thought they were finished.  I took them inside and Bam the crazy things kept growing.  I kept them inside all winter and this spring planted them in a bigger planter and they look better than last year.

These are pretty easy to start as seeds inside and then plant outside in the spring, okay in Francis, Utah it is usually safe after Father's Day, unless you want to bring them in and out everyday.

If you bring these inside for the winter, I would give them a good haircut, they will grow back with some water, sunlight and someone to sing to them, just kidding I turn on the radio for them, they would die if I sang.

For tomatoes throughout the winter, I also pick a couple of my outdoors tomatoes and re pot them for indoors.  For a tomato plant give them a HUGE pot and you should get bigger tomatoes also a bit of magic potion (fertilizer) helps also.  The key is to experiment and watch the weather channel.

Marigolds

I added this in because they are beautiful in the fall, they are smelly but the colors are great.  If you want to experiment with growing plants inside, a marigold is a great start.  You can dry these and use the seed and have some fun with them.

Next we should think about transplanting!!

MUMS- Autumn Colors

With the temperatures starting to decrease, I am seeing the flowers and grass, starting to come alive again.  This was a wicked summer for plants, it was brutally hot, there were high winds and to top it off, little precipitation.  I am sure many of us experienced water bills that made your head spin.  But in the last couple of weeks, we are experiencing great temperatures, the downside, fall and winter is on its way.  I know I live in snow country and we have the "Greatest Snow on Earth" at least that is what our license plates say, HAHA!  Don't get me wrong I enjoy the snow as it is a time to organize the house since I don't bother with it during the summer, I would rather be outside.
So as I look at the flowers outside, I notice my Mums starting to come alive, they are a fall plant and look forward to this time of year.  The nice thing about Mums is they have nice green foliage throughout the summer and now they are starting to bud flowers.  They are really easy plants to tend to, little maintenance.

Mum with buds ready to burst

The buds are starting to open

1. The Mum comes in beautiful Autumn colors such as yellow, maroons and orange, there are other colors but these are my favorites which add to your flower beds. 
2. Mums are perennials so they will come back year after year.  Usually after a couple frosts if they are still standing I cut them back about a 1/2 inch above the ground, and they are ready for the next season.
3. Where can you find Mums in the Francis, Utah area?  Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/, Wal-Mart http://www.walmart.com/,  Kamas Valley Nursery http://actionsnowplow.com/nursery.html, or any other local nursery.  If you travel to Salt Lake, Lowes http://www.lowes.com/ may have them as well. 
4.  When you plant Mums, they like to be planted in the morning so they can have the whole day of sun.
5. Mums do not require a large quantity of water, rather watering them every other day is fine, and in cooler temps you could go to every third day.  Check your soil and ensure you have good drainage.
6.  I would fertilize them at least once a month.
7.  Mums also make great plants for the pots, next to your front door or patio.

Easy, colorful plant that comes back year after year.

The Mum is full color

ABOUT ME

Let me tell you a bit about me. 
         I grew up in the Midwest, Stanton, Iowa to be exact, I was raised on a large farm with the works, crops, livestock and of course a large garden to boot.  I can recall when I was young, I was sent out to pick the green beans at the hottest part of the day, and hated every moment of it, funny now I love yard and garden work- but I do not like Green Beans from the garden.  What I do recall, we did not have water systems, or irrigation and the plants would grow like mad, as well as the weeds- another chore I was tasked with.
         Moving along, I lived in Arizona, where water was like GOLD, and cost probably the same, so I grew Cactus and sun loving plants.  There was not allot of grass mostly rock landscaping.
         I lived in Mississippi, where again like the Iowa, the humidity made your garden grow.  I could put out a plant and within a week the crazy thing would take over the yard if I let it.
        Now in Utah, we have a short growing season, which means we are always in fear of frost up to Father's Day.  Then we can pretty much bank on late September to early October another frost will occur.  We have water systems as well as irrigation.  I only have the water system, and unfortunately the water rates continue to escalate.  I focus on plants that do not need allot of water and can tolerate the sun.  Since I have lived here for 10+ years I am having a great time experimenting to see what works and what does not.

My back yard around June time frame

My Garden in Mid August

While yard work is hard, I look forward for the first opportunity to get outside and dig in.

WELCOME

Thank you for joining my Garden Blog.  I am creating this with the help of friends and neighbors to share with others.  I want to share some tips, ideas and etc that I have learned about gardening and landscaping.  I live in a area of the country that has a short growing season, and have found different flowers and vegetables that are suitable for the area.  I hope you will enjoy following along as I add pictures and information.  While gardening can be arduous it is also a great stress reliever and calorie burner, not to mention the beautiful flowers and vegetables you can produce as a reward.