The Garden Journal
September - The Month of Transition
September 2022
Bulb Planting 101
Saturday,
October 22
9:00am
$20-30 per person
No pets allowed Smoking of any kind is strictly prohibited on property.
September Musings
“By all these lovely tokens September days are here, with Summer’s best of weather, and Autumn’s best of cheer.” Helen Hunt Jackson
September, to me, has always been a month of transition. With days shortening, and the night air starting to cool off a bit from summer’s languishing heat, talk turns to all things pumpkin spice, sweater weather and change of season. Perhaps it’s because kids are going back to school, it marks new beginnings and the passing of time, as well as anticipation for what’s ahead.
We are charging full steam ahead with our garden plans, and the Arbor path, and Venue Garden is the next phase of growing into a Botanical Garden and Event Space. We are dreaming of a future Farm to Table dinner placed out under our vine-covered Arbor, and dining under a flower canopy - can you even Imagine this? This all comes with some infrastructure changes, and so the team is devoting all efforts to keep things moving smoothly. Fall is our busiest time, so adding the complexity of more gardens to build and take care of along with all of our normal Fall tasks (cutting back peonies/perennials, getting ready to dig/divide dahlias) is a bit daunting, but we have an amazing team who are ready, and excited for what is ahead. With this in mind, the decision to close the gardens to visitors made sense for this season of change. No decisions have been made of when we will open the Gardens yet, as that is dependent on several factors, but we will keep you posted as things move along. Please follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook if you aren’t already, as we do our best to share things as they progress. As always, we will share any updates via newsletter.
Farm to Table Dinner
Our 3rd annual Farm to Table dinner was a success! The Gardens and food presentation were beautiful, and we hope that everyone who attended had a wonderful evening with us. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. We are tentatively planning a Winter Dinner, to be held in our newly restored circa-1930’s dairy barn. More details to come as we work out dates, menu and other details. Our hope, with your support, is that we can make these more regular, seasonal events, eventually moving towards monthly dinners and perhaps adding lunches eventually. Highlighting what is growing, and sharing the bounty of our local producers and farms is key to sustainable continuation of local agriculture success, and what better way to do that than over a delicious meal?
Garden Shop Hours*:
Saturday, October 15
10am-4pm
Saturday, October 22
10am-4pm
*Hours subject to change
Bulbs Planting 101
As part of our ongoing efforts to introduce people to different aspects of gardening, and flowers, we are holding a Bulb planting class on Saturday, October 22 at 9:00am. This class will teach you how to plant bulbs, whether you are a home gardener, want to plant in containers, or even try your hand at growing flowers on a larger scale. Garden classes are held outdoors, rain or shine. Cost is $20-30 per person, depending on if you want to add bulbs to take home for planting to your experience.
Ticket link is here:
https://www.simpletix.com/e/bulb-planting-101-tickets-113941
The Garden Shop
The Garden Shop will be open Saturday, October 15 and Saturday, October 22. We will have bulbs in the shop, arriving sometime mid-October, as well as peony roots from our field, for sale. This will be a Fall/Halloween/Holiday inspired event, with all of our fun seasonal items out, along with helping you get your gardens ready for Fall planting. I personally love the porcelain pumpkin collection we have, and put them out as decor October through Thanksgiving.
One of our favorite cookbooks is also available: Six Seasons, by Joshua McFadden, organized by produce available in each season. It’s a great way to try out new vegetables with multiple recipes for each item. We’ve never made a bad recipe, and somehow, the transition to fall just screams cozy cooking sessions again. Soup, anyone?
While you’re getting back into the kitchen, here is a recipe we found, and tried, using our Organic Harissa Sauce and Maldon Salt we carry in the shop:
https://www.theendlessmeal.com/sticky-harissa-honey-glazed-chicken/
Garden Tasks
- Dehydrate, Pickle and Can your Summer harvests!
- Start drying and pressing flowers for winter projects.
- Continue collecting seed heads from plants/flowers you’d like to save from. Don’t forget to label!
- Add color with Mums and Pansies - update porch and patio containers. Heucheras are also great for Fall!
- Improve soil by mulching with compost, leaf mulch to protect soils over winter.
- Start to clean up vegetable plants that are finished.
- Begin cleaning up any leggy or weak perennial stems that are messy looking - get a head start on fall clean up.
- Bring Houseplants, Tropicals and Tender annuals inside.
- Organize seeds for winter growing.
Stay Tuned for Upcoming Events
BOLD ITEMS are ON-SITE Events
- Farmers Consumer Awareness Day: September 10
- Fall Solstice: September 22
- National Teach Ag Day: September 26
- Garden Shop Open: October 15, 2022
- Garden Shop Open: October 22, 2022
- Bulb Planting 101 October 22, 2022
- Tentative Winter Dinner - TBA
- Proper Pruning Techniques - Winter 2023