Toad lilies (Tricyrtis) don’t sound like anything you’d want to put in your garden, right? Wrong! Toad lilies are wonderful perennials that
naturally grow in dappled wooded areas.
They prefer rich, moist,
well-drained soil like you would find in the forest, and are very shade tolerant. The toad lily blooms in the fall, from August through September, when it produces large flowers that resemble exotic orchids.
The variety called ‘Tojen’ has wonderful lavender flowers with white centers and grows to 30” high and about 25” wide. This variety has a bushy habit with neat, disease-free leaves that are shaped like a lance. If you plant Tojen, give the root some winter cover to help
it survive.
Compost
To get the best compost as quickly as possible, you must provide the right combination of materials. First there needs to be carbon and nitrogen in the correct proportions, a ratio of 30 units of carbon to one unit of nitrogen (see list below). The other necessary ingredient is water.
Most composts fail because they are too dry. Once you’ve layered the carbon followed by nitrogen, add the water. Do this three-step process until all the material is used up. Keep a hose near the compost pile and water whenever the pile looks a little dry. In two days the center of the pile should be hot; if it’s not, add more water
and turn the pile. Once it really gets cooking, turn the pile as
often as you can.
Carbon
Nitrogen
Cardboard bits
Cornstalks
Dry leaves
Sawdust
Shredded paper
Straw
Fine bark
If you have decided that you want to add a new garden next spring, start now. If you do a little this fall, you’ll be ahead of the game when the weather warms next year. Begin by determining where this new garden will be located. Then take a garden hose and use it to outline the garden’s shape.
Once the location and shape are determined, cover the area with 4 or 5 sheets of black and white newspaper pages. (If it’s a windy day, wet the paper before applying it.) If the garden is irregular in shape, fold the newspaper so that it fits as closely as possible to the shape you want.
Once the new garden lawn area is covered with newspaper, apply organic material over the newspaper. The material will be incorporated into the soil next spring, so use compost, bark fines (very small ground up bark) Erth food (peanut shell compost) mushroom compost or peat moss. Peat moss alone is very dry; mixing it with other materials will help the process. The organic material layer should be at least 6” deep when you are finished.
Wet the material so it stays in place.
Over the winter, the grass will be smothered and the newspaper will also disintegrate. In the spring you’ll only need to work the
organic material worked into the existing soil. One other thing you can do in the fall is dig in the garden’s edging. Again, that will bring you one step closer to doing the thing you like to do in the spring–plant.
Houseplants
Fall is not the best time to transplant houseplants, but it can be done. If a plant is root bound it’s better to move it now than tackling the job mid winter. As a general rule, transplant to a new pot that is one inch larger than the existing pot. If you can’t move the plant to a bigger pot because you can’t handle it, try this: Take the plant out of its pot and cut 4” to 5” of soil and root off the bottom. Add the same volume of fresh potting soil to the bottom of the pot. Then slip the plant back in the same pot and water well. The plant will grow new roots in the fresh potting soil. You should be able to maintain the plant in the same pot if you do this every 3 to 4 years.
Did You Know?
The world’s largest tomato weighted 7 pounds, 12 ounces.
Flowers and gifts from Bachman’s make any day a special one. When you order your flowers or gifts online, you know you’ll be getting a beautiful fresh floral arrangement from a trusted florist known for outstanding floral design, plus quality and service.
If you’re sending flowers or gifts out of town, you can rely on us to choose the best florist from either the FTD or Teleflora nationwide flower network. Florists who can be counted on to deliver the best fresh floral arrangements and gifts, even when doing a same day delivery.
