If you want to truly experience autumn in all its glory, take a trip down to the Dallas Arboretum in Dallas, Texas. The feature right now is Autumn at the Arboretum, and you will not ever see a more spectacular Fall display than this one! The garden has been transformed with over 50,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash to create a storybook Pumpkin Village, in addition to the normal beautiful displays of plants and landscaping.
The colors, shapes and sizes of the blooming fall flowers at the Arboretum blend together to create great opportunities for fall family photos throughout the garden; you will see pumpkin-lined pathways and radiant displays of chrysanthemums. You can also take home a jack-o-lantern from the Tom Thumb Pumpkin Patch, with thousands of pumpkins to choose from in every shape, size and variety. There is also a Hay Bale Maze and Cinderella’s Pumpkin coach drawn with corn stalk horses! You can even take pictures sitting in the pumpkin coach!
As the autumn season progresses, many of our annual and perennial flowers are sporting seed heads or fruit. If you examine the tops of spent flower spikes, you will usually see a nice seed head with lots of seeds – plenty for next year’s crop of flowers!
It is not difficult to collect and save seeds from your garden. Many annuals and perennials like cockscomb, zinnias, black-eyed Susans, cleome (Spider flower), and hollyhocks can simply be harvested and dried to use next year. You can also save seeds from vegetables like pumpkins and squash, but be sure not to save hybrid varieties, as they are often patented. Also, you may not get what you expect when and if the hybrid seeds bear fruit!
Here’s how to save flower seeds: Cut the stems of your flowers and tie them into small bouquets to dry. Just hang them upside-down in a dry place, such as a kitchen window or in a utility room. You can also put them in a cardboard box to store them, depending on room available in your home.
Do you have lots of green tomatoes on your vines? Last week’s cold snap reminds us that we will soon have a killing freeze in our area, probably in the next few weeks; your tomatoes will most likely not ripen before that freeze comes, usually the first week in November. So how do you harvest them and what can you do with green tomatoes?
There are two methods of picking and ripening your green tomatoes, and both of them require that you pick your tomatoes before the vines are killed by a hard freeze.
The first method is simple, requires some space, and involves pulling up your entire vines. When a freeze is predicted, you should pull your entire vines up by the roots, being careful not to bruise the fruit. Simply hang the vines in a garage or crawl space where the temperatures remain at 50 degrees or higher.
Have you ever seen a toad lily? With a name like that, do you imagine an unusual or less-than-beautiful bloom? Toad lilies are, in fact, lovely and resemble very small orchids; they are ideal if you have plenty of trees in your yard, and lots of shaded flower beds. They are the perfect solution to discovering beautiful flowering plants that grow well in a shady environment, and they are idea for our Oklahoma climate.
A name like toad lily doesn’t bring to mind images of beauty, but this easy-to-grow fall bloomer certainly does not resemble its name. With flowers that look like orchids which come in colors of white, purple and yellow, it is the perfect plant for beginning and experienced gardeners alike because it takes very little care; it is a perennial, so it will come back every year to add color to your shade bed.
As fall approaches, we still have a lot of gardening left to enjoy, but as cooler nights become more common and winter draws nearer, it is time to consider our fall gardening chores and think about putting our gardens to bed.
Here are some tasks you should consider doing now, while we still have some lovely days to work outside.
First, pull up old annuals and weeds before they get dry and drop their seeds. Leaving them in the ground will create more work in the spring, when you really want to begin planning for your garden and planting.
There are a variety of spring-flowering bulbs that are ideal for our area, and among the most popular choices are daffodils and hyacinths. Other good options include tulips and crocuses. This week let’s look at some specific cultivars that will add beauty and color to your yard.
Daffodils (Narcissus species and hybrids) are probably the most successful of the popular spring bulbs for naturalizing in Oklahoma. There are cultivars of large flowering, trumpet, double and late-blooming daffodils, all of which make great additions to your landscape. The bulbs are rarely eaten by animals, and deer generally do not care for them either! Plant daffodils in well-drained soil where they will receive at least six hours of sun each day while they have leaves. They should be planted 6 to 8 inches deep, less for smaller species bulbs; space them 3 to 6 inches apart, depending on size.
As the weather turns cooler, a gardener’s thoughts often turn to spring-flowering bulbs. Favorite varieties include daffodils, crocus, tulips and hyacinths, but if we are to enjoy their beauty in the spring, we must plant them in the fall.
These bulbs can be planted everywhere – in flower beds, in lawns, around trees, or in pots and window boxes.
In fact, most early-flowering bulbs can be planted under deciduous trees since the bulbs will be going dormant by the time the trees provide heavy shade.
Fall is one of the best times to plant a tree in your yard; cool weather allows the tree to establish roots in its new location before it adds new top growth, which requires a lot of energy. Proper planting techniques will ensure your new tree adds beauty to your yard for years to come.
First, be sure to choose the right tree for your area. Local garden centers and nurseries have many trees on hand which will do well in Oklahoma. Also, be sure to match the tree to the planting site, especially taking care to avoid planting too close to buildings or structures.
Have you noticed how active hummingbirds have been recently? They are getting ready to migrate back to the south mid to-late September. Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures, delightful to watch and always welcome visitors in our yards. If you don’t have hummingbirds, there are many things you can do to make your garden a haven for hummers.
Three species of hummingbirds are regularly found in Oklahoma; two species, the Ruby-throated and the Black-chinned, nest in our state and are here during the summer months. The third species, the Rufous Hummingbird, does not nest in Oklahoma, but migrates through our state during the spring and fall.
Hummingbird feeders are a great way to entice these beautiful little flyers to your neighborhood; feeders are plentiful in local stores and nurseries, and they are generally inexpensive.
This fall promises to be a wonderful one for growing those cool season vegetables. Our local weather forecasters are promising a cooler-than-normal September and a warmer-than-normal October – ideal for our fall season gardening.
Gardening is a year-round activity, and some of our best quality garden vegetables in Oklahoma are grown and harvested during the fall season, when warm, sunny days are followed by cool, humid nights. When these conditions occur, plant soil metabolism is low and so more of the food manufactured by plants becomes high-quality vegetables!
Oklahomans definitely have a love affair with our crape myrtles; in many areas you can see them on practically every street. And why not?
Few plants can match the crape myrtle’s spectacular summer flowers, colorful autumn foliage and attractive sculptured wood. Known as the "lilac of the South" they are truly versatile plants; here are some tips if you are thinking about adding a crape myrtle to your landscape.
Crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, have many landscape uses: planted together, they make a great hedge or screen for your yard, while a single plant can create a distinctive focal point in a garden bed. Crape myrtles also make wonderful foundation plants around your house.
Summer is a great time to buy crape myrtles because it is easy to see bloom color.
Red, White and Blue Potatoes - Just in Time for July 4th
By Judy Kautz, Master Gardener
Gardeners like to experiment with new and unusual plants and vegetables, just to keep things interesting in their gardens. And one of the most exciting things about experimenting is sharing with fellow gardeners, especially if the experiment turns out to be a success.
Theresa, one of the master gardeners in our area, decided to try her hand at raising potatoes this spring. Of course, potatoes like cool weather and they mature in early summer, so this is the prime time for harvesting this year's spring crop. Not satisfied with plain old potatoes, she decided to plant red, white and blue potatoes for the 2012 crop.
