Favoring Fall

Is it my imagination or is this fall a real winner? The colors are simply spectacular – I’ve been hard pressed to stop gazing and get down to the business of seasonal chores and other work demands. This past weekend, we had a taste of the frigid months to follow. It got very cold and the nights experienced hard frost. The saving grace was the sheer beauty of the foliage. Happily, temperatures are predicted to go up to the 70’s by mid-week. I hope the autumn lingers on much longer.

Because of my recent travels, the garden chores have not been attended to as they ought to have been. It has been a busy scramble to cut back and clean up. The former is done and the latter is in progress. Thankfully, I got the greenhouse cleaned and ready just in time to receive the vulnerable plants before the hard frost.

This has been an exceptional year for apples. My garden’s bounty concurs. I’m trying to brace myself for the hours in the kitchen – apple sauce, pies, baked apples, apple cakes ….
I’m sorry to see the last of the leafy green veggies. A steady diet of winter root vegetables can get tedious. So I’m arming myself with new and interesting recipes. The goal is to try and stick to seasonal produce as much as possible.

Apart from the grand task of planting my 700+ bulbs, there are two big projects I’d like to get done in the next few weeks. The first is that of dividing up the irises and replanting them – this needs doing every so many years and I’ve procrastinated for two years already. The guilt is getting to me.
The second job is that of replacing the wisteria covered gazebo. When I planted the pair of wisteria and directed them to climb up the structure, I knew full well that the gazebo was not going to stand up to the powerful twining nature of the climbers. My eagerness, okay my impatience, to get the native wisteria established and fuelled by the romantic vision of feasting with loved ones under the vine dripping with purple, pendulous racemes, got the better of me and I disregarded the obvious. Sure enough, the metal has been tortured and is now screaming for mercy. A strong, wooden replacement is in order.

As I write about these jobs, I’m feeling a wee bit overwhelmed. Much to do in the remaining few weeks before we’re once again in the deep freeze. So I’ll just have to get on with it.

But lets not get too obsessive about the work. It would be a shame to stop taking the time to appreciate the splendors of this season. I need these memories to get me through the more minimalistic palette of winter.