Plant bulbs and more for fall, Home Matters,
Gardening weather coming at last; plan for autumn flowers.
Just a few days of clouds, cooler breezes and a drop of rain are enough to get gardeners out the door and into the yard. At the very least, those days give us hope that there will be an end to the hot, dry days of summer.
As the temperature moderates and we are tempted back outside, there are many things that can be done in the garden. Of course, clean up is a constant job: take out the dead spring veggies and flowers; put in new fresh ones.
By the end of August, spring annuals are usually pretty well-done. Bugs have gnawed on them, the sun has scorched them and they haven’t had as much water as they want. Rather than trying to revive tired marigolds, zinnias and begonias, start over with fresh new plants that are perky, optimistic and ready to grow.
Cool weather annuals will start showing up at the nurseries soon. Beauties like calendula, snap dragon, phlox, petunia and stock can go directly into the garden or containers and will brighten up the garden and get happier as the weather gets cooler. Be sure to keep them watered while it is very hot and give them a liquid feeding of seaweed, fish and compost on a regular schedule.
Although they won’t pop right up and give instant gratification like new flowering transplants, bulbs are a great addition to the garden this time of year. Plant crinum, snowdrop, narcissus, tulip, oxblood lily and other spring-blooming bulbs now and you’ll enjoy them for many springs to come.
They need to go in spots where they will not be disturbed: in good, rich, well-draining soil with minerals add- ed in the form of bone meal, blood meal and, of course, compost. You can plant bulbs in existing perennial beds or in large containers that can be rolled out to a prominent spot when the flowers begin to bloom. Look for bulbs that are happy in our hot climate — usually referred to as “Southern bulbs.”
Chris Wiesinger, known in some circles as “the bulb hunter,” started the Southern Bulb Co. in East Texas a few years ago to offer heirloom bulbs that are well-adapted to Texas and the South. He began searching out old flowering bulbs while a student at Texas A&M. Most of these plants were no longer offered in the trade because the major bulb companies are located in the northern U.S. or Europe. The bulbs he offers for sale at his website (southernbulbs.com) and in some retail nurseries are all grown in Texas and ready to plant when they are delivered.
A few years ago, a friend was living in the Netherlands and sent me a lovely selection of tulips. I duly refrigerated them for months and planted according to schedule. The next year they put on a beautiful, colorful show. The year after that — nothing.
If you are the kind of gardener who wants to go to the trouble of chilling, planting, flowering, digging, chilling again and planting every year, you might want to try some of the lovely Dutch tulips you find in nurseries every fall; but if you’re like me, you’ll be happy with the heirlooms that rebloom for years without any tending.
The oxblood lily, also known as schoolhouse lily and/or chilly lily, often starts blooming when school starts in the fall or the weather turns cooler. This cheerful harbinger of comfortable weather can be spotted in older gardens across Texas. If you want to add it to your garden, you can plant now.
Now is also an excellent time to add some herbs to your garden. You can plant herbs in vegetable beds, flower beds, containers or just as accent plants in the landscape. Herbs are attractive and useful plants, not only for cooking. They attract beneficial insects to the garden, repel pests and are almost maintenance-free landscape plants.
Almost every herb can be planted this time of year. Perennials like rosemary, oregano, mint and sage are good additions to any garden and will produce flavors throughout the winter for holiday and everyday meals. Now is also the time to plant parsley, chives, garlic, dill, fennel and the ever-annoying cilantro.
We all want cilantro to grow side-by-side, hourby-hour with our tomatoes — but it just isn’t happening in Texas. Cilantro likes cool weather. It flourishes in the late fall and early spring garden and is long gone to seed when the first tomato ripens. So the secret is to give up on those fantasies and grow cilantro when it wants to grow, harvest it, freeze leaves chopped up with a little water or oil in ice cube trays and have them ready in the freezer when salsa time arrives.
Start now on your second season vegetable garden by planting seeds and transplants of cool weather salad greens, cabbage, broccoli and much more. September and October are the prime months for starting a vegetable garden that will continue to produce goodies for months. Check the Austin Organic Garden Club’s website (AustinOrganicGardeners.org) for a calendar that shows when to plant each individual plant.
In some climates, autumn is the beginning or the end and a doorway to months of cold and bleakness. But here in Central Texas, it is a time of rebirth and emergence from months of indoor air. Get out and enjoy the coming cooler weather and get your garden prepared for many more days of cheerful flowers, tasty herbs and veggies and hours of peaceful repose.