My Fall Flower Garden to do list

There’s a taste of Autumn in the air; Starting Treasure Island; the Games inside the Story.

The kids are all back in school. The air is crisper. The mornings are a bit chilly. Do you feel a bit of extra energy? A bit of gardening (as well as walking, paddling or biking) is a good way to put that energy to work while still enjoying the beauty of nature.

I thought I would just make a list of things to do in the flower garden this fall. The first thing to do is figure out your first frost date. I have a feeling it might be about 2 weeks early this year.

The first frost date for our area, both at the Indiana cottage and in Michigan, is October 11-20th, according to the National Weather Service. One year we were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it frosted on Labor Day, which would be the first few days of September! So it really can vary. Here’s a really easy page to find your predicted First Frost date if you live in the U.S.

My list of to do’s this Fall

• Trim back the suckers on the Lilac Tree. (Done)

  

  Before and After trimming out the suckers of the lilacs

  I really neglected this poor lilac tree over the past ten years or so. It’s about 35 years old, because we planted it shortly after we got the cottage.

  

  My neighbor kindly loaned me some longer handled shears which made the rest of the job a lot easier. Cut the suckers off right at ground level if you can.

• Plant Spring Flower bulbs when:

  • Crickets stop chirping

  • Autumn leaves are past peak color

  • The hostas lie down

  • The Turkey Vultures have migrated south

  • The ground temperature is 55F. (I have no idea how to measure ground temperature! I would guess that once the average daytime temperature drops below 65F. for a high the ground will start to cool down to about 55F.)

  • You have a nice sunny day and you feel like it. Yeah I have already planted some that I had dug up earlier in May and June when working up the Memory Garden. I dried them out well in the garage. We’ll see if anything comes up!

• Plant trees and shrubs in early Fall, and at least six weeks before the ground freezes. Be sure to keep them watered for a while.

• Plant and divide perennials six weeks before first frost. (That’s now around here). We will keep them watered. It can still get hot sometimes. Once the ground starts to freeze mulch them.

• Make plans for next year. Draw up a chart of what you have and what you might like to change next year.

• Prune trees once the leaves are off and the first freeze has hit.

• If you have tender plants that you try to overwinter in a greenhouse or inside be sure to dig them up before that first freeze.

What’s on your list?

Don’t work too hard! Enjoy the moment!

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I’m reading Treasure Island from the free version on the internet, Archive.org:

Just google “Read Treasure Island free” to find it.

Now I’m trying to decide which version of the audio book to read from the Library. Two choices:

The two audio versions available from the Library

Based on the free introduction, I’m leaning towards the version read by Alfred Molina, but I might alternate at first. Let me know if you have a favorite.

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Do you follow Junot Diaz? He has a very interesting series on the Game Within. Basically he explains how every good piece of fiction involves multiple games. For example, in Treasure Island, there is the big game of FIND the TREASURE! A very simple game. But there are other games within this one as well. It is the tension in these games that keeps the reader involved.

Are there any “games” in the book(s) you’re reading? I’m going to try to pay more attention to the hidden games within the larger narrative.

Thanks for tagging along. Looks like we may have nice conditions for the first race of the Rum Series tonight. East wind at 10-15 which means an upwind start and a downwind finish. Perfect!