October Gardens

October is a very confusing month for me. We are generally past the glorious days of Indian Summer - they came and went in September - and we often have some snow flurries (these usually coincide with our draft horse show, the Michigan Great Lakes International). But then come these days in October that surprise us with hazy sunshine and sixty degrees, inviting you back out to the garden to do just a few more last minutes jobs before the winter weather really sets in.

They are deceiving days ... no insects and lots of energy that leads me to believe I can do more gardening in the spring and summer of the following year than I actually can, so I begin to plan new beds and think of what plants I want to add and where. It is a false and misguided belief, and my usual sloppy housekeeping suffers even more because I am cramming in those garden hours ;)

The picture above is not from my garden, but is of a plant that is IN my garden that is supposed to be Lavatera "Silver Cup", or Rose Mallow. However, the flowers that are boldly shining still in my fall flower bed are of quite a different, deeply veined color. I have taken some photos and hope they will turn out and show the true color - then I will post them here. They are such a pretty, old fashioned looking plant.

So what are the new garden bed plans for 2005? Well, along with extending the long perennial border on the west side of the house, I want to plant a Dyers Garden, with natural dye plants. We will see if that actually happens!