In the ‘Life Before Flowers House’ of Cambridge Botanic Garden, UK, there is a display of a range of early-evolution, non-flowering land plants. These include the spore-bearing lycophytes, or clubmosses, with a basket of Huperzia squarrosa (tassel fern). This epiphytic species grows in the rainforest canopy on moss-covered branches and requires humidity.
The flowers of Aster amellus 'King George' (Italian aster) are violet-blue appearing in late summer and are then covered for winter with attractive seed-heads. This herbaceous plant thrives in moderately fertile, well-drained soil in an open sunny position.
Miss Ruby is the first of the Sars to emerge from dormancy, which isn't a surprise seeing how she is by far the oldest. I can see at least two flower buds forming. Last pic is when she arrived from California Carnivores last June.
This week's Rhombus House Garden post is a simple PSA to let you know that I fucking love Heuchera (aka Coralbells).
They're shade tolerant, perennial and hardy in zone 4, divisible every 2-3 years so that then you have twice as many heucheras. They're native from Ontario to Georgia and Nebraska to Louisiana.
They are the "oops all berries!" of garden plants with leaves as bright and colorful as the flowers of other plants.
Check this out.
Simulate an autumnal forest floor from spring through frost.
Or, go goth!
Get FANCY with variegation and coloring!
Celebrate your love for Color Theory!
You can even do pastels if that's your jam.
Anyways, please appreciate Heucheras. This barely scratches the surface of their beauty and variety!
A good start to the autumn colours is the foliage of Parrotia persica (Persian ironwood, iron tree). This wide-spreading, often multi-stemmed deciduous tree or large shrub also has attractive flaking bark. In late winter there are small red flowers on the bare twigs.
The pink flowers of wildflower Chamerion angustifolium (rosebay willowherb, fireweed) is over but the seedheads continue to provide interest, especially when backlit by low sunshine.
In a sunny, sheltered corner of a front garden these pompon dahlias or ball dahlias are providing some early autumn colour. The flowers of this Dahlia cultivar are created from tightly-placed involute petals with a honeycomb effect.
Vegetable gardening returns its greatest dividends when your plots produce food from spring throughout summer and right up until first frost. In order to plan a fall vegetable garden and make the most of the growing season, follow these steps:
Know your hardiness zone and first frost date.
Choose fall crops wisely
Cool and enrich the soil
Employ cold frames and floating row cover
Keep reading to learn how! (Full article with images on SeedSavers or read more below!)
Also check out this companion post with tips for harvesting and storing vegetables.
Know Your Hardiness Zone and First Frost Date
Knowing your plant hardiness zone helps you choose crops that will thrive in your location. It’s especially important for determining whether a particular plant can survive the winter in your region. This information is most useful when planting perennials. For vegetable gardeners and seed savers, it’s also essential when growing biennials for seed production.
The USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map divides the United States into zones according to the “average annual extreme minimal temperature”. Consulting the USDA hardiness zone map will help you determine whether a particular plant can thrive and survive in your part of the country.
Knowing the average first frost date for your region will allow you to calculate “planting deadlines” so that your young plants have time to mature before the temperatures fall and the first frost hits.
These two tools will help you determine not only which crops you should plant but also when you should have those crops in the ground.
Fall Planting for Food Consumption
Choose Crops Wisely
Two types of plants are good bets to thrive when planted in midsummer—those that mature quickly and those that tolerate frost.
Paying attention to maturation time is key because crops planted in the summer months take longer to mature than those planted in the spring. As the summer turns to fall, the days shorten and the air cools. The lessening daylight and cooler air temperatures combine to slow plant growth.
(The good news? While your fall plantings take longer to mature, they will face fewer threats from pests this time of year!)
To ensure your plants mature in time for harvest, add a few extra days to the “days to maturity” guidelines typically found on seed packets. Then count back the total number of days on your calendar to arrive at your summer planting date.
Quick-Maturing Crops
Sow these crops in late June and July to squeeze in a second harvest before the warm season ends. Radishes are quick to mature
Quick-maturing vegetables include:
Beets
Snap beans
Carrots
Cucumbers
Kohlrabi
Radishes
Spinach
Swiss chard
Zucchini
And if some of those quick-maturing crops don’t mature fast enough to elude the first frost, you can easily use row cover or garden fabric to protect them from too-cool temperatures.
Tip: Look for varieties of each crop that mature early, especially when choosing crops that prefer lots of heat, such as cucumbers and beans.
Frost-Tolerant Crops
Most brassicas, such as cabbage, are frost-tolerant
Crops that will tolerate a light frost and keep growing even when temperatures drop include:
Most brassicas
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Collard
Kale
Kohlrabi
Most Asian greens (also brassicas)
Arugula
Beets
Carrots
Loose-leaf lettuce
Parsnips
Rutabagas
Spinach
Turnips
Many herbs
Some of these cold-tolerant vegetables—particularly carrots, collards, kale, and Brussels sprouts—actually taste better when grown in cool weather as they react to cold by producing sugars which then sweeten them.
Take note, however—while spinach, turnips, and rutabagas can be direct sown, you may need to start most brassicas indoors weeks before the midsummer planting period.
Cool and Enrich the Soil
Summer, of course, brings heat, and toasty temperatures can easily roast newly sprouted seeds. The best way to prevent that from happening is to keep the soil moist, mulched, and shaded, if possible. Natural shade from a trellis or tall plant, for example, can be used to create a cool location for seeding a second crop.
Don’t forget the importance of rich soil—be sure to replenish the nutrients in the soil between plantings by mixing in compost and organic fertilizer. Learn more about soil health.
Use Cold Frames and Row Covers
Cold frames and row covers can be used to prolong the growing season by raising the soil temperatures in the cooler seasons and shielding crops from the elements, especially wind.
How to build a simple cold frame:
Construct a box using wood planks (We find that 2×8 planks work well!)
Cover with an old window
Tip: Most crops can benefit from a light row cover to act as a wind buffer. When using row cover, make sure to keep some separation between the fabric and the plant itself, especially when covering smaller greens. Half-inch metal conduit bent into hoops works well for this, but easy-to-cut 9-gauge wire is also a great option. Both materials are sturdy and can be shaped into low tunnels to support a covering of your choice.
The cultivar Malus domestica 'Laxton's Fortune' (apple) is a dessert apple that was developed by the Laxton Brothers Nursery, UK, in the early 1900s. Here it has been trained as an espalier with horizontal branches trained on wires for support against a garden wall. This apple cultivar tends to have biennial fruit production.
living in an area with a lot of desert plants is so funny when they start to bloom and grow that tall fucking stalk. like put your fuckin thing away man that's indecent
Some of them grow trees instead of brushy dongs. Here's one down the street from me. It's taller than the house and almost taller than the actual tree next to it.
On this industrial estate I noticed this lovely Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora (foxglove) flowering at the base of a wall. This self-seeded biennial or short-lived perennial produces tall, one-sided spires of tubular, white flowers from the rosettes of foliage.
Jill Raggett
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