Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Consistently wrong since 2002

People are complicated. Love is not.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Let there be snark.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

This fight is for everything.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Infrastructure week. at last.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Autumn Update

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Autumn Update

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From beloved commentor, intrepid gardener, and cat-rescuer Satby:

The top pic shows the colors just starting on one of my sugar maples out front.

This one shows the south side of the hugelkultur bed. The dahlias ended up sprawling over my too low supports but still were pretty. The cannas came up but never bloomed, and the small geranium was just popped in for color. You can also see the hydrangea and rose of sharon shrubs in the greenery.


Close up of one of the dahlias. I like them, though I honestly never got a single one that I would call a “dinner plate” size.

And for the non-gardeners, here’s a picture of the latest semi-feral I trapped and neutered. He’s now known as Bud and has adapted reasonably well to being inside, though he complains occasionally. Bud has decided there’s a lot of advantages to being out of the chilly rain and snuggled up on a lap.

***********
I need more submissions if you guys want garden pics on Sunday!

What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?

Reader Interactions

81Comments

  2. 2.

    Mel

    Bud is such a handsome boy! I love his little white boots and those super long eyebrow whiskers!

    That Dahlia close-up is gorgeous. Reminds me of the colors of a Chicago Peace rose I had years ago, with those vibrant peachy pinks and yellows.

  6. 6.

    satby

    Good morning and thanks all! Bud has been a good boy, though he’s had two successful and short lived jail breaks. And, as a very fastidious outside cat, with the entire world for a litter box, he’s been very creative about finding alternative places to poop, even right after his litter box has been cleaned. So far the huge banana tree pot is his favorite alternate site ?. But he’s a snuggle-bug and pretty much gets along with all the other critters.
    As far as that garden, I’m still waiting for enough of a frost to kill off the greenery on the summer bulbs so I can lift them and plant spring bulbs in their place. Today and tomorrow promise to get close to 60°, so I’d really like to get that done. Anyone know if I could just cut the foliage back and lift the cannas and dahlias anyway?

  11. 11.

    WereBear

    @satby: Reasons 1, 2 AND 3 why I don’t plant dahlias and cannas!

    Fortunately, the neighbors down the road a piece do have “dinnerplate dahlias,” they put on their dock all summer, so I’m not missing anything :)

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Although Chastity Patterson’s father died four years ago, she kept his memory alive through daily text messages, according to KTHV. The 23-year-old would text the number of her late father every night, describing the events of her day and generally hoping he would receive the messages in some way. Although Patterson texted the number everyday, she never received a response. Until this week.

    On October 25, the night before the anniversary of her father’s death, she sent another text message, this time recounting her year so far. “Hey Dad, it’s ME,” Patterson texted. “Tomorrow is going to be a tough day again! It’s been 4 years since I lost you and not a day goes by that I don’t miss you.” She wrote about how she had beaten cancer and was now keeping up with her health, how she had finished college – with honors – and how she had survived after having her heart broken at the end of a relationship. And she wrote about how making it through all of her hardships would make him proud because they had made her a stronger woman.

    To her surprise, this text message actually received a reply.

    “Hi sweetheart, I am not your father, but I have been getting all your messages for the past 4 years,” the response read. The responder introduced himself as Brad and told Patterson that he had lost his daughter in a car accident in 2014. Since then, he said her daily messages have “kept me alive.” Brad also told Patterson that, through the daily messages, he watched her grow and go through her hardships over the years.

    “You are an extraordinary woman and I wish my daughter would have become the woman you are,” Brad told her in his text.
    ……………
    “Today was my sign that everything is okay and I can let him rest!” she said in her post.

  14. 14.

    satby

    @NotMax: honestly, not even that big, but they were pretty and fairly easy to grow. I just looked up what to do with both kinds of tubers and all the experts agree, wait until the foliage has been killed by frost and turned black. ?
    I have to try to plant the spring bulbs in gaps far enough away from the summer ones that I don’t damage them when I dig up the others. I’m honestly too lazy a gardener for that ?. Working on plan B.

  18. 18.

    Mel

    @satby: The American Dahlia Society says that you can dig the Dahlia tubers before the first frost, but that the longer the tubers are left in the ground, the stronger the roots. I used to dig about half out after the weather got chilly but before the first frost, and half out after the first frost, simply b/c I had a bunch of them and really didn’t want to be stuck digging the whole lot of them out in cold, rainy weather.
    I never really noticed any difference in the ones dug a little while before the frost and those dug shortly after. I pitched any that had produced short plants or plants with weak stems, and purging those “bad” tubers seemed to make a bigger difference in mynext year’s crop than did the issue of before and after frost digging.

    That being said, my grandfather swore that he could tell the difference if he dug before the frost, and he had a truly spectacular Dahlia bed, so…

  23. 23.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Good morning and thanks!

    @Mel: well looking ahead we will likely get a killing frost by the end of the week, so I guess I may as well wait.
    I have tulips and daffodils to go into that bed for next year and more daffodils for elsewhere that I can plant today. I also had ordered some replacements for iris I lost, but that delivery date keeps getting pushed back. If it doesn’t ship tomorrow as it’s now saying it will I’m cancelling the order because it’s been two months. The same outfit sent me a bag of daffodils bulbs that were half rotted. So were half of the ones in the replacement bag they sent. So I’m not really anxious to buy more from them.

  24. 24.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: wishing… No, planting most of the other bulbs elsewhere. I’m not going to out the dahlias in that bed next year, so I’m pulling the old and planting the new all in one fell swoop. Probably next Sunday it looks like.
    Edit, really Kindle? Dallas?

  27. 27.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: I have to move a bunch of Iris bulbs, and the best locations require me building new beds for them. sigh… and my shoulder really hates me just now.

  28. 28.

    Anne Laurie

    @OzarkHillbilly: As an expert in Putting Things Off… the iris people will probably kill me for saying this, but iris rhizomes are pretty tough, and they should be dormant right now anyway. Could you transfer them to leftover pots / rootpouches / other beds to overwinter? And take your time building the new raised beds, or getting someone to help you build them, before the irises ‘wake up’ in the spring?

    (I do this all the time, but mostly with rhizomes from the ‘species’ iris that started as a handful of leftovers when I first tentatively lifted & divided a too-crowded patch at our rental duplex 25 years ago. But I’ve succeeded with a few ‘proper’ garden-shop specimens, as well.)

  30. 30.

    Sab

    Anne Laurie, what do I do with my begonnias? I always thought they were annuals. Had no idea they were bulbs I could salvage. Cannot grow them inside this winter because have five suicidal cats who would eat them just because the bulbs are poisonous and the cats are cats.

  32. 32.

    Anne Laurie

    @Sab: I don’t have personal experience with begonias, but from what I’ve read WereBear’s right (& I’m sure better gardeners than me can attest). Dig up the bulbs, put them in a not-airtight container the cats can’t reach (onion bags were traditional, but cardboard boxes would probably work, as long as they weren’t sealed so tight the bulbs mildewed). Then you can plant them outside again next spring, after the last frost.

    (I did try that with some ‘summer’ bulbs, years ago, but I left the bag in the garage and the mice (voles) chewed them up over the winter. Now I buy the occasional pot of geraniums or fuchsia for color in the summer, and treat them as annuals that will die once it freezes.)

  33. 33.

    Raven

    Nice shots! The wind and rain seem gone so I’ll head down to the water when day breaks. Now if only the seaweed is gone it’ll be on.

  34. 34.

    Spanky

    @Anne Laurie: Ain’t that the truth. My neighbor thinned his iris in July and left the cast-offs in a crate in the sun for me. I planted them within a day and they seemed to do alright, although I think I lost about 20% because I never watered after the first week and we went without rain for over a month.

  36. 36.

    WereBear

    @Ken: I love a macabre turn of mind :) Especially since I am, in tiny bits and pieces, working on a horror novel of my own.

    Writer brother challenged me to come up with a concept, and I created what I modestly think is a doozy.

  37. 37.

    JPL

    @Ken: When we lived in IL, I’d vent the dryer inside the basement with pantyhose attached. Anywho long story short, we were selling our hose and potential buyers opened the basement door and I was drying laundry. They didn’t buy the house.

  40. 40.

    waratah

    @satby: we received six inches of snow last week not normal for this time of year for the Panhandle of Texas. Your photos cheered me up thank you. I love dahlias any size but have not tried to plant them, I may try next year if I can plant them in a pots.

  42. 42.

    waratah

    @satby: we received six inches of snow last week not normal for this time of year for the Panhandle of Texas. Your photos cheered me up thank you. I love dahlias any size but have not grown any.

  44. 44.

    satby

    @Sab: I have begonias in hanging pots. Last year I followed Quinerly’s example and just put the pots in the basement. I would give them a splash of water every few weeks but basically just let them be and they mostly died back (I think Quinerly puts hers under grow lights and treats hers like indoor plants). This summer I brought the pots out expecting to have to plant something new in them, but the begonia tubers began growing like gangbusters again. I’m going to do that again this year.

  47. 47.

    satby

    @waratah: no worries! Glad the photos took some of the sting out of the early snow. If you’re in zone 7 you could probably plant the dahlias in the ground and just mulch them heavily over winter. They only need to be lifted for storage in colder climates.

  49. 49.

    Immanentize

    Great pics Satby. Bud is such a regal cat. Needs a long cigarette holder, that one.

    Also all great bulb advice. The one piece of advice I will share from my gardening grandfather via my father:
    Plant garlic between the full moon in October (the Hunter’s moon) and All Saints Day (November 1). Just under a week to get it done!

    That is all —

  50. 50.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    Quick kitten update:

    (Posted one last night in the Cinderblock thread, but I think it was moribund by then.)

    Loki is developing a scattering of white hairs in his black coat. We’re calling it his starfield and slightly regret losing the opportunity to name him something astronomy-related.

    Maysie is a window hog. I have a couple of not-well-lit photos demonstrating this that I will pass on later today, if my day doesn’t go sideways yet again.

    Currently debating whether their clan name should be McChirpy or Underfoot.

  51. 51.

    debbie

    Satby, as a professional admirer of my neighbors’ yards, that is going to be one awesome flower bed when it matures! Beautiful!

  53. 53.

    Immanentize

    @debbie:
    Ok. As I’ve mentioned my brain is a sieve these days — but weren’t you interviewing around this week? Or do I have folks mixed up here?

  55. 55.

    Quinerly

    @satby: I do use grow lights. I have the old fashioned florescent ones in a little grow room where the coleus, geraniums, and begonias winter. The full spectrum ones on Amazon are neat too. Use them in some window sills. Impatiens blooming all winter!

  56. 56.

    Immanentize

    @debbie:
    Sorry…. But I do like the idea of just being a professional neighborhood admirer. After all, we dress our areas, especially the fronts, for the pleasure of others as much as for ourselves….

    It reminds me of how much time we spend on hair combing, etc. I mean, we really don’t see ourselves that much. When I was a teenager and we were on vacation somewhere (the New Jersey coast I think) — one time I guess I was fretting too much about whether I had combed my hair in a sufficiently cool way and my Dad said, “No one knows your hair here.”. Tru dat.

  58. 58.

    debbie

    @Immanentize:

    Ha!

    One reason I stay where I am is all the beautiful yards. A few years ago, I started, but never finished, an art project to create a “flower map” of my neighborhood. As I took my daily walks, I noted emerging flowers/shrubs for each yard in a little notebook. There was so much going on, I could barely keep up with the day-to-day changes. Anyway, I hardly ever saw any homeowners out in their yards admiring their accomplishments. I sure would have!

  59. 59.

    JWR

    O/T non-gardening interruption…

    Something tells me that Trump’s telling of the story about the killing of this ISIS character has been somewhat … embellished? But that ISIS loser really was the worst human ever!

  60. 60.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: I was spared the sin of combed hair. Buzz cuts when I was a kid and then super curly hair when I was finally allowed to grow it out. Wash and wear hair my entire life.

  61. 61.

    Kristine

    Lovely flowers, Satby!

    Remnants of TS Olga blew through northeast IL last night. I haven’t checked the rain gauges, but weatherfolk were saying that most areas received al least 1-2 inches, some 2+. Really, really sick of the rain.

    Most of the leaves are down, yellow hickory and dull brown bur oak. Neighbors’ maples are gorgeous. No hard freeze yet, so my begonias and some of the zinnias still have color. Temps are expected to dip below 30 towards the end of the coming week, after which I will dig up and compost the remains.

  62. 62.

    debbie

    @Kristine:

    She came through central Ohio yesterday. I don’t know totals, but it was constant and the day was as gray as it will be in the dead of winter.

  63. 63.

    JPL

    @JWR: When is it safe to put on tv again? Twitter tells me that he thanked Russia several times, and dissed the EU. Also he’s safeguarding his oil.
    Also this was the biggest terrorist get ever.

  64. 64.

    Another Scott

    @JWR: He’s such a child. I’ve got it muted on the BBC. He made everyone wait for his big victory lap, looked lost before he started, and then went on far too long. He’s apparently taking questions. I expect him to drag this out for an hour or more.

    The tweets describing what he said are just as horrible as you could imagine.

    The chyron says he said “The world is now a much safer place.”

    Great, now the revenge attack will be even bigger.

    He’s such a stupid, stupid man.

    Grrr….

    On the gardening front, I cut the grass yesterday for the first time in a month or so. It has been dormant for ages because of the local drought. Lots of rain overnight and this morning, and it looks like it will be ending soon. I also trimmed a fairly big branch on a volunteer redbud that I transplanted a few years ago. I hate hacking up things like that, but it seems to quickly recover.

    Have a good Sunday, everyone.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  65. 65.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    It of course was all about Trump.

    He also said the guy ran running and crying, and that he was whimpering like a baby. Lots of “we”s, of course. Can’t you just imagine him running through the tunnels, just ahead of the troops? //

    NPR has noted how striking it is to see the president “spiking the football so graphically.”

  70. 70.

    JWR

    @Another Scott:

    I expect him to drag this out for an hour or more.

    Looks like he may reach that length today. And yes, he mentioned Russia several times, and “keep the oil”, too. But I can not stand listening to him, so I changed the channel.

    But geez, he sounds like some 14 year old kid bragging about the wheelie he just popped.

  72. 72.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    Glad NPR cut off their coverage before that statement. NPR has also noted that he barely thanked the Syrian Kurds who were the ones chasing the guy for a couple of years.

  73. 73.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    Bud is adorable. The dahlia is beautiful and I like the “like-a-regular-flower blossom” size, as much as I hate misleading advertising.
    You are a rescue hero, also, too.

  74. 74.

    JWR

    @Quinerly: Yeah, but it was odd the first time around, because he said something like “it was a canine. I call it a dog.” But then he went back to the macho, killin’ talk. And firepower. Tremendous firepower. It was perfect!

    Me, I thought about Obama and how he approached these sorts of things.

  75. 75.

    Kattails

    Anne Laurie, please remind me what format you need submissions in? I recently downloaded all the pics stored on my camera and have some things I could send. Thanks!

  76. 76.

    Kattails

    Cold, rainy day here in NH, but still have dodged a frost, and it looks like nothing below 40 at night for the next several days. My dahlias are still blooming, fine by me! I have one that has barely started, as it got in late; I’m tempted to try digging and potting it up for the living room. I’ve had some success overwintering the tubers, it seems to depend on how plump they are; mold or too dry are both issues. They do keep blooming very late in the year, which up here is so welcome.
    I had planted some mixed lettuce late summer. It was growing quite slowly, and one day it occurred to me that the old political signs I’d picked up and never taken to the dump after the last election had these really perfect wire hoops. Hummm…removed the now-useless anyway plastic signage and stuck the hoops in the ground to support floating row covers. Getting nice baby lettuce and arugula.
    I’ve got 5 cords of hardwood stacked and neatly covered & my body is starting to forgive me.
    Bud looks so much like my Patty. Cutie pie.
    Gonna get some creative stuff done and then cook.

  78. 78.

    laura

    https://youtu.be/vPzDTfIb0DU
    A little Faith No More for your listening pleasure.
    I’m off to the farmer’s market for marigolds and tuberose because the party’s coming up on Friday. The yard is in bloom and the gardenias have been coaxed into another round of blossoms. We’re stringing up lights in the orange tree and it’s going to stay warm and dry all week.
    Spent a mostly sleepless night checking the evac zone, so far we’ve had a friend in the hospital moved to San Francisco as Sutter hospital evacuated yesterday afternoon. Three firestorms in three years. Prior to that, the last major fire was in 1964 which was my older brother’s first memory. This climate change hoax has got me shook. Wishing and hoping for the best for jackals in the zone including Ruckus and Seaboogie.

  79. 79.

    StringOnAStick

    I grew dinner plate dahlias for a few years as a kid, for tubers a coworker gave to my mom. The blooms were big, and the plants were 6 feet tall and had to be staked. Happy dahlias can be a Scorcerer’s Apprentice plant with each making 6 more tubers every year. The ones I liked the best and that bloomed the most are the small ones from seed, but they do make tubers you can lift and separate.

    We’re in the middle of our second snowstorm the year and the heaviest snow is tonight through the morning rush hour so getting to work will be interesting.

    I inherited a 3 tier growing light rack that I’m sure was a pretty penny, and I’m wondering if we can use it over the winter to grow baby salad greens; anyone have any experience with this they can share? I plan to start a bunch of xeric plants from seed for the empty yard of some close friends and their new old house, and then I thought about salad greens too it has to be in the garden level basement though because of two young inquisitive kitties

  81. 81.

    Anne Laurie

    @Kattails:

    Anne Laurie, please remind me what format you need submissions in?

    Sent you an email, but for general purposes: The jpgs most devices use for storage are GREAT for posting purposes… not least because I’m used to dealing with them!

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