What to pack up and what to enjoy in the garden as a cool fall unfolds

DECISIONS, DECISIONS AMIDST OUR BRIEF AND BALMY REPRIEVE

FOR A GOOD WEEK the tempestuous weather has been bossing gardeners around. Wicked west winds then big puffs from the east, but we were, thankfully, spared the terrible thrashing to property from tornadoes.

Depending on what type of garden you have, the temptation may have been to pack up the plants and cocoon into fall. If you have big tropicals in pots, they bring another layer of worry.

For a week or more I have been carting banana plants and elephant ears from spot to spot trying to shelter them from the worst winds. Then, early this week, we got a balmy reprieve from the active weather and the leafy stuff all looked happy again.

In our garden, I reunited my favourite combination — a blacky-blue elephant ear, a frosty blue snake plant and an icy agave.

It’s a beautiful community of plants, always well turned out, and not reliant on flowers to be attractive. It’s just wretched to think of packing these plants up and bringing them inside. The elephant ear would have to be assigned to the basement, and the agave moved to a room with bright light but none of the glory of life outside. Luckily they don’t mind the cool temperatures of fall and winter, and just seem to idle away during the cold months. Snake plants, as most of you know, will withstand all kinds of indifferent treatment and still live on.

Just as we get these twitches of winding down parts of the garden, other horticultural phenomena occur. Take the impressive habits of ornamental tobacco plants (Nicotiana). The big ones seem to save their best for September. I have a self seeding nicotiana that is only now starting to bloom. It smells as sweet as an Easter lily, and has handsome and hefty leaves. In July, the first little leaves pop out of the ground and then, as summer rushes by, it throttles its way to a big show in the fall. While this growth spurt climaxes, the onand-off-again geraniums nearby have reverted to their pretty profile of June.

So though it’s just too soon for a premature packup of plants, I am getting mentally ready to tackle moving day for the split-leaf philodendron.

This plant isn’t really a philodendron at all, and is now called a Monstera deliciosa. In nature, this trailing or climbing vine can grow more than 20 metres (70 feet) or so into a rainforest canopy. In captivity, it just keeps spreading wider and wider, and ever more beautiful.

The Monstera spends the summer outside — where it sends out aerial roots like snakes that will actually root where they touch the ground. Those have to be cut before moving indoors, and then the plant is lifted and wrestled inside where the gigantic leaves take over a room. Now that the new iPhone operating system has an app called Measure, I have just measured it and can report that one of the leaves on the Monstera is 81 centimetres long. It is a monster Monstera.

In the backyard is a favourite spot for sitting and sipping wine by a grove of palms, banana plants and elephant ears. They are sizeable enough to deliver a tiki bar vibe. I dread the day they have to come in and wipe out the tropical feel. Indoors, we have to find room for them to tread water through the winter.

Out in the garden beds, the stars of autumn are looking good. Asters and caryopteris are freshly in bloom and have thrown out the welcome mat to lingering bees.

Looking at the weather, I think we can crib another week of garden immersion. So the pots will stay put for our viewing pleasure.

So though it’s just too soon for a premature packup of plants, I am getting mentally ready to tackle moving day for the split-leaf philodendron.

Palms, bananas and elephant ears just get bigger and better in season. Wintering indoors, they often sit in a holding state until moving back into bright outdoor light.

Tough tropicals can stay out a little longer as weather cools, but soon will have to move indoors to hibernate.

Monstera, also known as a split-leaf philodendron, can get to be monstrously large when they spend the summer outside. But they are quite adaptable to indoor conditions.

Flowering tobacco plants are annuals that can return in the garden from self-seeding. They tend to bloom in late summer and fall, adding sweet fragrance to the air.

Asters are late season landing pads for butterflies and bees.

Geraniums are still adding a burst of colour to the garden and can withstand cooler fall temperatures.