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Show 4 - OVERDUE TIMES - OCTOBER 1 5, 1997 GARDEN GRAB BAG Look around your place right now and what do you see as far as garden color goes? We11,I guess it depends on how much the weather has changed between the day I’m writing this and the day you receive your copy in re—lation to frost dates. However, in our area, we often have won- derful autumn weather that can stretch out leisurely for many additional weeks after that first hint that summer is ending. This is usually indicated, I’m discovering, not by the calendar but by the total eradication of anything resembling a road to my house! Some of these storms have been doozies! Generally, though, most folks are through with their vegetable gardens by this time unless they have specifically planned for a multiple season har-vest (don’t forget to get your garlic planted now for next years crop, though!). The herb beds can also be harvested in bulk for either freezing or drying now. So that leaves us with our flower gardens and plants which have either continued blooming since summer or those which are specifically noted for their late fall color or blooms. If you notice a lack of pizazz this year, then now would be a good time to recognize it and start planning for next fall’s flowers, especially since fall is actually an ideal time to put in, (autumn crocus), helichrysum (strawflower), helenium, and autumn monkshood. Asters, also known as Michaelmas daisies, are another favorite fall flower with many colors of blooms and sizes of plants from a few inches high to 3 feet tall. Chelone, often called turtlehead, in pinks, whites, and reds and Sedum (stonecrop) which produces showy red or bronze flowers are both old time perennial favorites for fall. A favorite of mine is ornamental kale which looks best in fall, as days become colder and its color sharpens and becomes more vivid. Then, of course, there are also the vines, shrubs, grasses, and trees which also add to our autumn gardens. Trumpet vine is still producing wonderful flowers and another vine is Bittersweet which produces orange-red berries in the fall. Among the excellent desert grasses, fountain grass will provide you with almond cascades of color while maiden grass will have fmthery reddish plumes and spike grass will be burgundy in the fall. Colorful shrubs may be bright with changing leaves, by fruit production, or both, such as the yellow foliage with purple berries of the Beautyberry bush, the bright red fruits on the Viburnum Opulus compactum or the orange berries of the infamous Pyracanbtha. (We had these when I was a kid and, although they’re pretty, I consider pyracan— tha as the most wicked bush I know!) Trees can be everything from the reds and golds of various maples, oaks, and aspens to more unique varieties such as the Crimson pygmy barberry, the Gingko biloba, and the Sweet gum tree. Trees such as the Russian Olive which also provide berries for birds in the winter are an added bonus. I know that the idea of planting flowers, shrubs, and divide, or move perennials. Some of those summer plants which are still blooming and are especially well suited to this area include cosmos, zinnias, 4 o’clocks, and marigolds, all of which anticipation then of the good weather to come, but this is are fairly drought-tolerant. Others are salvia, impatiens, actually an ideal time to plant many things. They have coneflower, cleome, nasturtiums, and bachelor buttons. A the dormant months to establish root systems, there is less shock and setback due to the cooler temperatures, and they’ll all get a nice spring flush of growth when the few even have the added distinction of being fairly deerproof such as the yarrow, Shasta daisy, gloriosa daisy, and other rudebeckias. Then, of course, there are the sunflowers, whether wild or cultivated, which are especially showy and abundant this year with all the extra rainfall. All of these started their blooming in either July or August and will continue as long as the weather stays fairly mild. You really get double-duty color by having these plants in your gardens, although most of them are annuals rather than perennials. trees seems low on our list of priorities at this time of year compared with the excitement of spring and our weather warms up. Take a few moments now to cultivate several new plants and reward yourself with the thoughts of the eye—dazzling display you’ll have next autumn. One last thought, don’t forget to clean up those tools as you put them away since you probably aren’t going to get to see them again ‘til March or April! —-Rusty Salmon, 259-4044 But when it comes to fall blooms, almost everyone always thinks of Chrysanthemums, mums, or grandma plants, as my daughter used to call them, because of the many colors and varieties often found in our grand-mother’s gardens. I recently read, however, that the genus Chrysanthemum no longer exists and that its former members are now Dendramhema, which, of course, is silly because everybody knew the name Chrysanthemum! They range in oGroundwater Locating Studies & Reports. Water Treatment Systems. o Well Development size from button-like blooms and daisy-like blossoms to decorative, pompon, anemone and spider versions. Mums are not alone, however, in their fall preference for blooming. They are joined by several others such as colchicum HC 64 Box 2003 Castle Valley. 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