The First of November

It's been raining since yesterday afternoon. I came home from work at 3pm with the idea of cleaning the basement and sorting all my containers. Instead, I took a nap. It started as a constructive staring episode thinking about things to add color to the backyard. It ended about 1am when I woke up, a full night's sleep behind me. I went back to bed about two hours later, setting most of the clocks as I went. When I got out of bed about 6am, I made coffee and headed to the basement to clean. The front half is done.

The light rack, where tender plants spend the winter, is reset and ready for later this week when temperatures will be back down into the mid 30s. The top shelf holds the cloner. The two middle racks each have two 4' light sections. The bottom and top shelves only have one light. I need new bulbs for one fixture that has sunshine bulbs rather than daylight. It produces a warmer light, but I've found the daylight bulbs are better for growing plants during the winter months. All the brugs and pineapple sage cuttings will live here until next April. Gardenia cuttings and other hardy plants will live here until the hoophouse goes up in January.



Outside, it's Sunday, 52 degrees, and soggy.



The maple by the street is almost naked. I hope to collect some leaves Monday before work.



The oak in the front yard is even further along. More mulch for the beds out back.



Tiny sparks of color still remain.



Next year's larkspur have germinated.



In the meadow, crimson clover is growing painfully slow.



Gomphocarpus still hasn't given me any seeds. There are now three pods the size of tennis balls.



Along the driveway, pineapple sage and the lavender crape myrtle provide lots of color on such a dreary day.



Tomorrow, I will be taking out the rest of the brugs. This week might give us our killing frost. It's time to put the garden to bed. Lots of things need to be moved and divided. And some fence panels that are taking up space in the basement need to be installed at the end of the driveway. I only have two. A burford holly will find a new home and the pineapple sage will be cut down. I may let nature take its course on that one. It's hard to cut back plants that are still blooming and have a slight chance of returning next year. All in all, it's been a good season.