“One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.”
W.E. Johns
Iplan out my gardening chores like army maneuvers, inching up, day by day, to the final battle scene: fall cleanup. Predictably, our mature trees give us a bountiful harvest of leaves and most of them, in the early stages of autumn, will end up upon the mulch mountain in the back. But suddenly, as expected, their abundance will become overwhelming and you have no choice but to resort to the “curb deposit,” unless you decide to start your own compost pile. Cutting back your perennials and raking leaves in the fall gives you a great starter material for compost. So, why is compost good for gardens? It is a natural process that converts organic matter into soil-like material that is better than synthetic fertilizers for your plants. It adds micronutrients and organisms that are critical to healthy soil and plant growth. It also improves soil texture and drainage.
There are many techniques that work, but start out with a wire bin, add chopped leaves, lawn clippings, small perennials and annuals in layers about 3 to 4 inches thick.
Cut large material into pieces so it breaks down quicker. If the weather is dry, use a garden hose to wet each layer. The contents of the bin should be moist to the touch to aid in decomposition. Dry compost will not break down. Turn your pile often. Microbes need air to do their work and use a pitchfork to turn the pile.
Do not add weeds, diseased plant material or meat scraps. Compost will be ready when it crumbles and turns dark brown in color, with an earthy smell. But be patient, this does not happen overnight. It will take several months.
The containers, filled with wonderful blue-green agave (a succulent plant with rosettes of narrow spiny leaves and tall flower spikes), suddenly seem so much heavier than when I brought them outside in the spring. The agave doubled in size, evidently enjoying the summer.
Succulents, dainty and manageable in the hypertufa trough (manmade material used to make garden containers that resemble old stone troughs) in April, matured into sunflower-like disks with a fabulous color combination of sage and burgundy. Now to find a place for them!
The papyrus “King Tut,” together with the Agapanthus, will probably be relegated to overwintering in a sunny basement window to hopefully emerge as vigorous as it was this summer. Both are impressive plants but require winter protection in our area. Houseplants, which enjoyed their summer outdoors, must now be brought indoors. Thoroughly clean the pots, remove spent foliage and check for insect infestation. Chirping crickets inside my kitchen and spiders are not my favorites.
As I sort out which planter will be emptied, which one relocated inside and which one, somehow accidentally (on purpose), will be left out for winter, I take memories away of the beauty they provided us during this year.
While I am jumping through a series of hoops trying to keep abreast of the onslaught of fall chores, it gives me also a chance to observe what has happened in the garden during the past growing season. Is it time for a delicate intervention now rather than a full-scale renovation in the spring?
Considering all the demands of fall, I probably opt for spring.
Not sure what needs pruning and when?
• Do not touch forsythia, lilac, viburnum, mock orange and spirea now, because they all flower on old wood. The time to prune them is during the growing season, immediately after flowering.
• Shrubs grown for foliage — sand cherry, sumac, smokebush, buddleia and caryopteris, should be pruned in early spring before growth begins.
• Ornamental grasses, sedum, echinacea and rudbeckia are best left to enjoy their dried flowers during the winter.
Passion, along with curiosity, drives you, without it you might not be willing to tolerate the work and occasional failures that a good garden demands. Don’t settle for less!
Gotti Kelley, past president of the Navesink Garden Club, also serves on the Board of the Garden Club of New Jersey.