Tag Archives: fall

This, That And The Other

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The biggest task got done over this past weekend. ‘The Great Bulbathon’ where over 1000 bulbs got planted. It was all hands on deck. What a relief. I’m indebted to all my under-gardeners – they’re such troopers for always going along with my plans. Hard to believe that until a dozen years ago, I’d do the job myself. But then, after years of suffering the aftermath of aching muscles in parts that I didn’t know existed, I got wise. I recruited help. Highly recommend that!

The lack of rain was evident as the ground was really hard even with the heavy duty drill we employed to make the holes. Let’s hope the drought comes to an end with some decent showers and we experience a more normal winter. I realize we are no longer able to define what normal is with any accuracy. The fact that we are on alert for brush fires is disturbing. Just this morning there was such a fire down county – a mere 25 minutes away.

In other doings, the clean, empty pots were put away, leaves were blown onto the beds to serve as winter mulch and subsequent nutrition for the soil. The greenhouse is full, the vertical garden empty and cut back/clean up done. A few minor chores remain but there’s no rush. The outdoor heater has been re-commissioned as we anticipate some more opportunities for outdoor gatherings and al fresco meals.

Wanting to preserve some of the fall foliage, I’d taken branches and tried the glycerin treatment. Timing is key as once the leaves are past a certain point, they do not respond to the glycerin. Woody stems may or may not suck up the glycerin-water solution. I did crush the stems to help them along. Of the four types of foliage, only an oakleaf hydrangea variety did really well. I dumped the rest. The beautiful burgundy leaved branches will add a lovely touch to the seasonal décor indoors.

Amaryllis were also started last week. This year, I decided to purchase wax coated bulbs to display on an antique stand a friend had recently given me. With any luck they will start growing soon and flower in time for Thanksgiving. One bulb arrived with a head start. I intend to have a second batch started in a couple of weeks for the remaining holiday season. With no potting or other upkeep, I’m looking forward to simplifying my to-do list.

The winding down of the hectic pace in the garden feels good. I fully intend to use the time on other projects both pending as well as new ones. All too soon my gardener soul will stir and I’ll start dreaming of new possibilities in the garden followed quickly by actual plans and purchases.

Happens every year.

The shipment of bulbs
Planting bulbs in front beds
In the meadow
The under-gardeners – best crew ever!
Front beds planted a covered with leaves.
The vertical garden has been tusked to bed
The amaryllis sitting pretty
Preserved leaves

(c) 2024 Shobha Vanchiswar

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November Is Lit!

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This year, the month starts auspiciously with the celebration of Diwali – the festival of lights. The biggest Indian festival that is all about the triumph of good over evil. Lights of all manner illuminate homes, streets, neighborhoods, villages, towns and cities. Sweets of every sort are prepared or purchased, distributed, shared and consumed. New clothes are worn and duly shown off. Fireworks light up the skies all over the country. It is one hugely joyous time.

I myself am getting ready for the Diwali celebration at home albeit in a significantly smaller scale. The house will be sparkling with a significant number of candles. Outdoors, the solar powered lights have been set up. We in the lower Hudson Valley are currently on a red flag alert because of the very dry spell we have been experiencing. So fire pits and other kinds of hazards that could start a forest fire are banned. Should it be lifted by Friday, we plan to enjoy sparklers and light traditional Indian oil lamps. We, a small diverse group of family and friends will make merry and dine in good fun and fellowship.

The great bulb planting marathon is scheduled for this weekend. And they will light up the spring garden. I can already see it in my mind’s eye. Bulb planting is all about having faith in the future – that it will be better.

The elephant in the room or should I say in the month is of course the elections. Exactly a week away. To say I am totally stressed out is an understatement. Which is why this year, both Diwali and bulb planting have taken on a larger significance. My most sincere hope is for this nation to unite and preserve our democracy. A nation that values integrity, honesty, kindness, compassion, empathy, diversity, equality and inclusivity – traits that are the hallmark of our humanity and a great civilization.

So be sure to make your voice heard with your vote. Vote with your conscience and your heart.

And now, here is the to-do list for November –

1. First and foremost, put away all Halloween decorations. Set up Thanksgiving display – gourds, pumpkins, ornamental kales and cabbages, chrysanthemums and asters.

2. Having cut back plants and cleared debris, mulch all plant beds.

3. Hurry up and finish all pending tasks from last month!

4. Finish planting spring flowering bulbs.

5. Protect pots to be left outdoors, vulnerable plants such as boxwood, certain roses, and garden statuary.

6. Fill bird feeders.

7. Be prepared for snow and ice. Keep snow shovels, grit or sand, firewood stocked and handy.

8. In case of power outage, have candles, flashlights, matches and batteries on the ready. A radio too.

9. Finish raking leaves. But, as far as possible let fallen leaves remain as is to mulch, provide shelter to small critters and subsequently enrich the soil as they naturally decay. I only clear the tiny front front lawn and walking paths. Those leaves get blown into the beds. The leaves in the meadow are not touched.

10. Clean and store tools. Get appropriate ones sharpened.

11. Start setting aside seed and plant catalogs. Soon you will be planning for next year!

12. While the weather is pleasant enough, keep on weed watch!

13. In the greenhouse, be sure the heater is doing its job. Ventilation is also important to keep plants healthy.

14. Start a routine for regular watering of plants indoors. Keep vigil for early signs of pests or disease.

15. Start growing amaryllis and paperwhites for seasonal cheer. Similarly, put bulbs such as hyacinths, muscari , crocus and tulips in for cooling. (I use my refrigerator). In about fourteen to eighteen weeks, you can start forcing them and pretend it is spring!

16. Enjoy a beautiful Thanksgiving.

Glipses from Diwali 2023
@023 bulbs for planting
Bulbs lighting up the 2024 garden

(c) 2024 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Worried About Weird

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October – the month of strange and spooky sights culminating in the grand finale that is Halloween. But this year, the weather has decided to go all in and turned positively weird. And I’m a bit rattled. The month began typically enough with temperatures dipping as the days got distinctly shorter. That signaled to me to get cracking with the Fall chores in the garden. Having been away a while, I was behind in tasks like getting the greenhouse cleaned and its winter residents prepared for the move in. So I hustled. A few plants were already showing some stress from having been kept outdoors a tad too long. Finally, this past weekend the whole project got done. Whew!

However, by aforementioned weekend, the temperature had climbed to suggest we were back to summer. Sunny and warm felt great personally but not for this time of October in the garden. Positively unsettling. While most plants are retiring for the season and many have gone to seed, some, emboldened by the weather, have begun reblooming completely out of turn. It’s a confused state of affairs alright.

Meanwhile, weirdly, there was no sign of the shipment of bulbs that usually arrives by early October and I was getting a wee bit concerned. What a relief when it was finally delivered late Saturday evening. But now, we were looking ahead at a whole week of daytime temperatures in the 70s going down to late 50s at night. Way too warm! For bulb planting, the soil temperature needs to be below 55 degrees. I’m hoping to plant over the first weekend in November. All my under-gardeners (okay family) have been told to be ready. I hate to consider postponing the great planting marathon. It’s a quandary that might be a foretelling of future gardening practices as the climate changes.

Until a few years ago, I planted bulbs in early October. That has been slowly delayed into November. To think of doing the job closer to Thanksgiving and beyond is weird. And there is also concern about the winter itself. Many bulbs require weeks of solid cold to bloom in Spring. Will we have that? And for how long? Worrisome for sure.

Other Fall chores like emptying, cleaning and putting away pots, winter-pruning hedges and shrubs, cutting back certain plants, draining and shutting off outdoor taps were also accomplished. Felt mighty odd to be doing the work in summer like weather. It’s been very dry here so the lack of rain is an additional bummer. What on earth is going on?!

But one thing I’m certain of – we gardeners are resilient and will figure out how to pivot and learn what needs to be changed, adjusted and adapted. Till then, we shall commiserate, complain and carry on gardening.

Scenes from the garden today – senescence, renaissance in the nonce!

(c) 2024 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Fruits Of Our Labor

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Fall is so much busier than spring. Following winter, all the work is focused on getting the garden going. In autumn however, in addition to the myriad chores of putting the garden to bed, there is the urgency of reaping all the obvious and not so obvious benefits that come along.

In the last two weeks, the perennials to replace the ones that had been lost in the big drainage project have been planted. Some new ones were added as well – how could I not exploit the opportunity! Also, a friend’s generous gift of some native plants have found their home in the meadow. That about is all the planting that’s happening this season. Apart from the great big bulb planting in early November of course.

I’m behind in getting the greenhouse cleaned and readied to receive the winter guests. The guests meanwhile need to be spruced up with some cutting and trimming and then given a vigorous shower to rid them of dirt, debris and any pesky stowaways. It’s a process that requires some care and time. With temperatures dropping this week, I’m feeling the pressure to get it all done quickly. The greenhouse was attended to over the weekend and yesterday I began on the plants that will go into it. Clipping and shaping each one can be meditative so I quite enjoy the task. Not so much removing all the weeds that love to grow at the base of the plants. It always surprises me how easily weeds show up in pots. Power washing to clean both pots and plants can be fun on a mild day but I’m not guaranteed that this week. Fingers crossed that by weeks end this project will be completed.

In the midst of all the work, I’ve also been busy getting the larder stocked, creating some holiday decorations and setting aside inspiration for future watercolor paintings. As I removed the annual under-plantings from pots, I set aside the nasturtium plants – the leaves of which were collected and along with the last of the parsley turned into a delicious pesto. A couple of jars now dwell in the freezer – taste of summer for cozy winter meals.

Leaves from the trimmings of the rose-geraniums will be used for a most tasty drink – rose-geranium cordial with a splash of champagne or bubbly water makes for a fun and festive drink.

Bay leaves from the freshly coiffed bay standards have been set aside. I pretty much give them all away to friends who enjoy flavoring their culinary creations with them. I simply pluck them fresh as needed. This year, I’m saving a few sprigs to paint gold and insert them into the magnolia wreath.

Note: Earlier in summer, I’d trimmed the magnolia espalier, The surfeit of the beautiful leaves were preserved with glycerin and then used to make a rather lovely wreath. The gilded bay leaves will be inserted into this wreath and should make a nice counterpoint to the magnolia.

Finally, I cut the okra plants with the dried pods still on them. The pods look striking and will be models for my ongoing watercolor seedpod series. Once I’ve finished painting, they too might go on that magnolia wreath.

Separately, hydrangeas harvested last week are drying nicely and will adorn the mantel.

Such a satisfying thrill to be decorating for the holidays with gifts from my garden.

And now, back to the work of putting the garden to bed. Much needs to be done before the large shipment of bulbs arrive in time for planting. See how much busier it is in the Fall garden?

Rosemary clippings.
Some of the rose-geranium for cordial making
Okra seedpods. So gorgeous!
Final harvest of Prasley
Nasturtium leaves for pesto
Cardinal vine still going strong
Summer’s last

(c) 2024 Shobha Vanchiswar

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October Rising

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October Rising

Fall is well and truly here. Daylight arrives late as one who decided to sleep in a tad longer. The garden still abundant in blooms appears to have acquired distinctly autumnal colors. I step out to commune with the plants and the honed air slices through my linen shirt sending me hurrying inside to grab a shawl. Having only recently returned from vacation, there hasn’t been time to swap out the seasonal closet. But now, I’m taking my cues from the turning leaves and scheduling the retiring of lighter clothes and reemploying warmer wear. My heart however, has yet to let go of summer.

The myriad chores of the season await but first, I want to savor the days remaining when one can still linger outside basking in sparkling sunlight and boisterous beauty. Because Fall is, if nothing, lusty and lovely.

Things To Do In October

1. Yes, weeding continues!

2. Time to plant perennials and trees. Give a good dose of compost to each. Water regularly. Perennials already in place can be divided and re-planted as well.

3. Cut back all spent plants except what is needed for seasonal interest and what you’re saving for the birds.

4. Collect seeds. Store in labeled envelopes in a cool, dry space.

5. Last call to root cuttings of geraniums, coleus, rosemary etc.,

6. Get all pots of tender perennials into clean greenhouse or other winter shelters. Wash plants and pots thoroughly first – minimizes pest infestation.

7. Plant bulbs as weather gets consistently cooler. Bulbs can be planted until the soil freezes solid.

8. Rake leaves. Add to compost pile or deposit in woods. I leave a good part as is to protect the earth, provide winter refuge to critters and eventually nourish the soil when the leaves will naturally break down.

9. Give the compost heap a good stir.

10 Clean out vegetable garden except for cool weather plants that are still producing. Apply several inches of compost on cleared beds. Plant green manure to enrich the soil – optional.

11. Clean and put away (or cover) outdoor furniture.

12. Check what needs repairing, repainting, replacing and get to it!

15 Clean all equipment and tools. Store neatly.

16. As temperatures plummet, protect tender shrubs and immovable  frost sensitive pots and statuary. I cover the former with burlap and for the latter, I first cover with sturdy plastic and then use burlap so it looks halfway decent.

17. Remove suckers from ornamental and fruit trees. Prune roses and wisteria. Remove dead and decaying limbs from all plants.

18. Fill up bird feeders. Keep them filled through the winter. Put up nest boxes for the spring.

19. Get into the autumnal spirit – fill window boxes and urns with seasonal plants and produce.

13. Lift tender bulbs, corms and tubers such as dahlias and canna. Store in dry, frost-free place. As I grow mine in pots, I merely cut the plants down and move the pots into the basement where they will spend the winter in dormancy.

14. Drain and close all outdoor water faucets. Empty rain barrel and hoses. Store.

My terrace and meadow right now –

(c) 2024 Shobha Vanchiswar

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After The Festive Frenzy

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We’re in post-Thanksgiving recovery mode. I don’t know about anyone else but, in my home, the entire long weekend is fraught with happenings. There’s the preparing first – for company and The Meal. Overnight guest quarters readied, grocery shopping done, menus planned, house put to order etc.,. Then, between the many meals (including the big one) and all the catching up and conversations, interspersed with brisk walks, raucous parlor games like Charades, excursions to see the season’s decorations and displays ( they start earlier and earlier), the four days fly by. It’s all good and yet, once over, I’m left with a desperate need for respite – a retreat to restore my energy and find my mental balance.

As much as I adore this Holiday and look forward to it as no other, I’m always ready for a breather come Monday. The quiet of the garden beckons for a moment of rest. No work, not even a tiny bit of tidy up is encouraged. Simply the welcome embrace of a most soothing calm to enjoy.

I stand in the meadow, close my eyes and inhale deeply the crisp, cool air – like a deep cleanse, all the cobwebs in my head disappear. Suddenly, I’m made more aware of where I am and the activities going on around me.

I hear the rustle of leaves still clinging to limbs like lovers reluctant to say goodbye. The birds are very much in evidence – flashes of color brightening up the mostly monochromatic brown landscape. They’re busy chattering and winging there way around on missions only they know and are actually quite loud. In my fatigue from partying all weekend, I had failed to notice them at first!

I smell wood-smoke from neighboring houses and imagine neighbors decompressing by the fireside. The sunlight warming my face eases me into a state of bliss as I scan shrubs for the vernal promise of nascent buds. I watch squirrels hurrying around like the Mad Hatter – what are they late for? Small stirrings in the leaf litter tell me of tiny critters too busy to mind my presence. My random footfall disturbs one of the resident garden snakes; he looks none too happy to be aroused and after a brief, futile attempt at looking menacing, he slithers into a pile of leaves near by.

It had rained hard overnight so, the soil is still wet and renders the grass dewy and very green. I resist the temptation to slip my shoes and socks off and feel the earth in bare feet. But, I can imagine the tickle of squelchy, cold soil. The witch-hazel in the far corner by the woods sends out tendrils of fragrance reminding me what season it really is.

Despite the untenanted appearance, the garden is very much alive with all manner of busy. There’s a plethora of movement and sound, smells and texture. I’ve only been out here for a half hour or so but in that short time, I’ve been recharged and refreshed. Ready to get on with the demands of the day. But perhaps I’ll remain a little while longer – it just feels so good to take in all the details of Nature’s seasonal offerings. Puts into perspective what really matters and how blessed I am.

Thanksgiving is not just a day. It is always.

Note: Here are some images from my visit a week ago to the NYBG. So many ideas for creating more autumn drama in our own gardens –

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Act Of Faith

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Bulb planting got done last weekend. All of a 1000 give or take a few. The weather cooperated beautifully. Sunny, not too windy and comfortably cool conditions made the daunting task much easier to tackle. I say daunting because it is. There are so many holes to dig, drop a bulb and then fill back whilst maneuvering ones way around myriad established perennials. In my garden, it takes two days of steady planting by a team of two minimum. One drills holes the other fills.

In the past, I did the whole thing myself. But age catches up and help is necessary – family is roped in. I’m immensely grateful for their willingness to go along with my horticultural ambitions or, as they like to call it, my craziness. This year, I’ve been handicapped by wayward knees so it has been particularly meaningful to get the support of loved ones.

Like a child of a farming family taking time from school to help with planting/harvest, my daughter drove down from her graduate school in Ithaca to do her fair share in getting the bulb planting done. I’m thinking next year, I’ll try to get her cohorts from school to join in and give my husband a break!

Despite having a direct, realistic understanding of the weather patterns and climate shifts, the loss, reduction or changes in certain flora and/or fauna of value to the ecosystem, gardeners are an optimistic lot. The very business of gardening is about the future. What I plant now will only yield in time ahead. Through all the vagaries of the weather and general circumstances, on pure faith we sow, plant, water, feed, weed and nurture. It’s going to be just fine – we feel this viscerally. It would be impossible to garden without that conviction.

When it comes to bulb planting, it takes an extra dose of faith. The bulbs look innocuous – brown, rotund, little nuggets full of the promise of a beautiful tomorrow. With the goal of celebrating the end of winter and the arrival of spring, we envision the flowers put forth by the myriad bulbs and plant. We bury the bulbs in cavities of appropriate depths scattered through beds and meadow and come away with the conviction that they will deliver. Our full trust in Nature is commendable. In our interactions with other humans we do not display quite the same degree of faith. Human nature seems so much more fickle and treacherous than Nature herself.

Currently, at a time when we cannot ignore the acts and words of so many people within our midst as well as afar that demonstrate the worst of human traits, we must seek solace somewhere. That somewhere is a garden – ones own or elsewhere. Here, we find comfort and courage to face the future. In planting a bulb, a seed or a young plant, we firmly express our faith that there will be better tomorrow. Life would simply be unbearable otherwise.

Note: I encourage those without gardens to grow something(s) in a pot. A houseplant, an amaryllis, micro-greens, anything. I promise, you will feel so much better as you watch it grow. Have faith.

Images of bulb planting this past weekend – A mix of assorted tulips, alliums, camassia, fritillaria and ornithogalums were this year’s choice.

Unpacking the boxes of bulbs. What was I thinking when I ordered so many?!!!
Bulbs for the two perennial beds in front
The 2 front beds await.
Team work
Drilling the hole
Finished! A mulch of fallen leaves will be spread over.
Planting in the meadow
Amaryllis
Amaryllis
A lone paperwhite
Paperwhites

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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November! Last Call!

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November! The month of winding down the gardening, finding comfort indoors and giving thanks. A month for review and gratitude. This gift of time behooves me to use it well. As I go about the final round of garden chores, I take stock of how things went for both garden and gardener. Were expectations met? Did I do right by my covenant to do no harm? What balls were dropped? What were the successes/failures? It’s an inventory of what all has happened in the garden this passing year.

I make note of my assessments and observations. In December, I will reflect on the points. But for now I must get the remaining chores completed.

Things To Do In November

1. First and foremost, put away all Halloween decorations. Set up Thanksgiving displays – gourds, pumpkins, ornamental kales and cabbages, chrysanthemums and asters.

2. Having cut back plants and cleared debris, mulch all plant beds with fallen leaves and/or bark chips. Putting down layers of newspaper or opened up paper grocery bags over the soil and then covering with fallen leaves is a really good, eco-friendly, sustainable practice.

3. Hurry up and finish all pending tasks from last month!

4. Finish planting spring flowering bulbs.

5. Protect pots to be left outdoors, vulnerable plants such as boxwood, certain roses, and garden statuary.

6. Reinstall and fill bird feeders. Note: in my area, we are cautioned to not put up feeders due to bear sightings.

7. Be prepared for snow and ice. Keep snow shovels, grit or sand, firewood stocked and handy.

8. In case of power outage, have candles, flashlights, matches and batteries on the ready. A radio too – I have a radio that uses batteries but it can also be charged up by mechanical cranking. Came in handy when a few years ago we lost power and Internet for a whole week due to Hurricane Sandy.

9. Finish raking leaves. Remember, leaving fallen leaves in place is encouraged. I keep only the various paths and my tiny lawn clear as the former needs to be kept safe for passage and the latter risks getting smothered to death if the thick pile of leaves shed from surrounding trees are left in place. Those leaves on the lawn are raked and distributed over the adjacent beds.

10. Clean and store tools. Get appropriate ones sharpened.

11. Start setting aside seed and plant catalogs. Soon you will be planning for next year!

12. While the weather is pleasant enough, keep on weed watch!

13. In the greenhouse, be sure the heater is doing its job. Ventilation is also important to keep plants healthy.

14. Start a routine for regular watering of plants indoors. Keep vigil for early signs of pests or disease.

15. Start growing amaryllis and paperwhites for seasonal cheer. Similarly, put bulbs such as hyacinths, muscari , crocus and tulips in for cooling. (I use my refrigerator). In about fourteen to eighteen weeks, you can start forcing them and pretend it is spring indoors!

16. Enjoy a beautiful Thanksgiving. Plan for it.

Some scenes from the garden and home –

Brugamansia giving a final hurrah for the season. I brought it indoors to best enjoy its beauty and fragrance.

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Great Disturbances

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It’s a chaotic time across the globe. Too much happening to ignore. While I escape into the garden, a book, a movie or the brushstrokes on paper, I cannot avoid being affected by what’s going on near or far. The climate, political chaos, living conditions, religious and racial disputes, wars… so much discord. No living being is untouched. As humans, we have to care, feel and respond. In ways big or small, we are each beholden to do something. Anything to make the world better.

I know I’m not alone in how overwhelming it feels. But we cannot, must not despair. I’m opting to bring out the compassionate warrior in me and fight for what I know to be right – for myself, my near and dear ones, my community, country and planet.

To start, lets just resolve to be kind to each other. Smile at people known or unknown, hold open a door for someone, pick up litter, plant a native tree or shrub, help a neighbor, pay an honest compliment, apologize without reservation, listen without judgment to an opposing viewpoint. The ripples of kindness will spread wide. We are not helpless – our humanity must triumph.

In the garden this week, I’m simply going to enjoy the season such as it is. A little clean up but mostly, appreciating this garden that gives me so much joy. In the face of so much disturbance, it cannot be taken for granted.

Seasonal Disturbance

The trees seem reluctant

to disrobe this year

Even the leaves are reticent

to reveal veins coursing

colors borne of the earth

Clouds shepherded

by the wayward wind

Gather in formations

akin to adversarial regiments

Threaten violent outcomes.

Perforce some leaves

will fall prematurely

Others sentenced to

languish and wither

On limbs too tired to care.

This moment in flux.

Feeds the uneasy heart

Anxious and uncertain

of changing climates

And changed live.

—Shobha Vanchiswar

Autumn vibes in the garden – not as dramatic as in the past but still beautiful –

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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Glimmers In The Gloaming Of The Garden

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At this time of year, there is an ethereal quality to the light so special that I’m moved to pause and simply bathe in it. Neither warm nor cool, it skims over my person as if to reassure me that it is real and is here to close out the days of warm weather with grace and beauty. Come late afternoon, the low slants of beams set the garden aglow. Every plant appears gilded, every wing speckled in gold dust. The golden hour of a day, a season, a year.

In the gloaming are revealed glimmers that bring so much joy, such unparalleled beauty.

Going about the myriad chores of the season, it is easy to miss the glimmers. But, I’ve learned over the years to slow down, sit down even, in order to do justice to this seasonal gift from Nature. How else would I be at liberty to observe the iridescent clusters of mason bees having one final fling with the mass of asters before the first frost claims the flowers for itself and the revelers go into hibernation.

The Amsonia scattered at various points of the garden grab the light to draw attention to themselves – their leaves having turned a bright yellow shout for attention as the rays of sunlight sets it afire. In contrast, the burgundy leaves of the oakleaf hydrangea appear like smoldering embers when back lit.

As leaves from surrounding trees silently swirl and twirl down in a bolero guided by the music of the wind only they can hear, I’m suddenly conscious of the air turning cold and pull my coat tighter. I feel privileged to have witnessed this collaborative performance of natural elements that feels both intimate and public at the same time.

In the midst of decay and senescence, my eyes stop at a tumble of rambunctious nasturtiums. The happily trailing plant still wears leaves that radiate emerald green punctuated by flowers of brilliant vermilion – as though it’s celebrating something known only to itself. I’m envious of its carefree ways.

Soon, I will harvest the leaves to make one final batch of pesto to freeze for winter meals. Memories of the growing season and dreams for the one to come will be indulged.

The hydrangea have begun to blush deeply and I take a break from some tedious chores to cut armloads of the flowers – to bring them indoors to fill big white, ironstone pitchers. They mark the season in a most graceful manner. With such a large bounty, I’m able to share it with those who enjoy them as much. Spreading the joy is a gardener’s perk.

The hydrangea perform once again at the holidays. Sprayed in gold, they light up the dark corners of the interior and chase away the melancholic shadows.

This being the time to divide plants, there are several that need to be attended in my garden. Particularly the ever exuberant asters, goldenrods and wood anemones. All beloved natives that surely every garden must welcome but they do need to be reined in periodically. All my ‘extras’ are readily accepted by friends and neighbors. It pleases me no end that a piece of my garden resides in theirs. Just as my own garden cherishes quite a few members that arrived from similar acts of generosity.

Continuing the spirit of sharing, in getting the plants ready for the greenhouse, a great deal of pruning and cutting occurs. From the rosemary and bay plants, I make little bundles of the cuttings and give them away to the keen cooks in my life. The thought that they will enjoy many winter meals perfumed by the herbs is enough to warm my heart. There really is joy in giving.

Small, subtle glimmers. Expansive, enduring bliss.

Nasturtiums beaming bright
Hydrangea for the home
Bay leaf cuttings
Yellow amsonia leaves in the foreground and in the back.
Before and after. Thinning out the Solidago.

(c) 2023 Shobha Vanchiswar

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