Tasks:
- Watering, until the rain comes back.
- Plan for and purchase Spring flowering bulbs.
- Start on the Fall “To Do” list.
- Pine needle corralling.
Notes:
Some time in September, I usually start thinking about buying some new, naturalizing-type Spring flowering bulbs. I won’t plant them until the hard soil gets at least 2-3 weeks worth of rain, once the dry season finishes. Some years, I go headlong into buying and planting mode forgetting that a good portion of the bulbs end up in a squirrel stash. Other years, I buy just a few packets of tulips for my deck planters, draping the containers with netting, sending the squirrels elsewhere for their Winter stash.
This month, I dust off my Fall “To Do” list which I start each year in May/June. Due to our usually mild Winters, Fall is a great time to plant here in the PNW. And so I try to limit plant relocation to this time. In the past, I’ve also added new beds and planted hedging material. For Fall 2010, the big project is to convert a large corner of the lawn/mud patch into a fern and native plant bed.
The Pine needle drop intensifies this month. A good portion of the needles gets blown into rows along the driveway, keeping weeds at bay. Needles and leaves that fall on the deck and lawns get blown into heaps which I use to cover bare patches on the garden walkways. Needle and leaf drop elsewhere remains in place, insulating plants and decomposing over the Winter.
