Hope you have enjoyed the warm days so far into the fall.  I think the plants are confused, too!  We just received a much needed rainfall.  The rain will help trees and bushes survive better going into winter.

For December blooms, start paper white bulbs now.  Place bulbs pointy end up in a shallow container of gravel.  Add water to reach bulb bottoms.  You can keep planting outside spring flowering bulbs as long as soil is soft.

Wait until spring to cut back flowering plants that have formed seed pods.  The birds will eat the seeds.  After a raccoon destroyed my bird feeder, I am hesitant to put out another one.  I hope the birds find enough to eat in my gardens.  I don’t have leaves raked.  I leave them as ground cover and as coverage for beneficial insects like bees and butterfly eggs and larvae.

Squirrels are still trying my patience – burying my neighbor’s acorns and black walnuts in my yard.  Black walnut trees have toxins in their roots that prevent some other plants from thriving.  Black locust trees also have roots that are detrimental to some other plants.  Cornell Extension confirmed this for me.

Stay well and safe.  Grow an indoor plant today and enjoy it all winter.

Shalom,

Ceil