Absolutely Bushed

CELEBRATE AUTUMN INDOORS AND OUT

Fall is an excellent time of year to decorate your home, yard or business with the vibrant colors and interesting forms of autumn. Shocks of corn stalks, Indian corn, pumpkins, gourds, squash, chrysanthemums, flowering cabbage or kale, and colored leaves can all be used effectively to celebrate the season.

The outside of a home or business building can be brightened with garlands and wreaths of small gourds and miniature pumpkins strung on wire or heavy cord, and hung over doors or windows. Groupings of unusually shaped and colored squash and gourds along with orange pumpkins, backed by tawny colored corn shocks, can brighten up the yard as the flowers of summer fade.

Potted and blooming chrysanthemums can also liven up tired beds or be placed on decks or patios. Flowering cabbage and kale, special varieties of the vegetables, produce very attractive heads of foliage tinged with bright magenta or creamy lime green, and can be set into garden beds. The colors in these plants intensify as the weather cools and can remain effective until well into November.

Colorful Oak and Maple leaves can be collected and strung or glued to Styrofoam wreath forms to brighten a bare wall. Grape vine wreaths can be made up with fresh materials like lemon tree leaves (Salal), and fresh roses with bittersweet berries, pine cones, and natural colored leaves, and then allowed to dry naturally for a very rich look.

Indoors, pumpkins can be hollowed out, either in the traditional manner or lying on their side, and used as a container for a fresh flower arrangement. The pumpkin must be lined with an appropriate sized container to hold the water and flower arranging foam. Centerpiece arrangements can include fresh flowers, with fresh or preserved leaves, nuts, pods, cattails, bittersweet, wheat and oat heads, straw flowers, and many dried and preserved flowers.

Our own gardens can provide a wealth of material for arranging, some just as they are from the garden, and some may require a little preparation. The flower or seed heads of many plants begin to dry right on the plant and often they can be used immediately after cutting. Some of these plants are, Astilbe, Caraway, Celosia Chinese lantern, Clematis, Eryngium, Flaxseed, Grasses, Globe amaranth, Hops, Hydrangea, Lavender, Love-in a-mist, Pearly everlasting, Straw flowers, Teasel, and Wheat.

The leaves and flowers of some plants can be soaked in a solution of glycerin to preserve their color and form better and make them less fragile for arranging. Glycerin may be purchased at most drug stores and diluted at a rate of one part glycerin to two parts hot water. Fresh cut stems should be stripped of leaves two inches from the bottom and placed in a container with two to three inches of the glycerin mixture. The time required to absorb the glycerin may be from three or four days to two weeks, depending on the species.

Some plants which respond well to this treatment are Beech leaves, Bells of Ireland bracts, Eucalyptus branches, Maple leaves, Rose hips, and Rosemary sprigs. Brightly colored flowers that would turn brown and shatter if air dried can be preserved in a desiccant like silica gel, which can be purchased at many floral shops. Some of the flowers that respond well to this treatment include Chrysanthemum, Cornflower, Delphinium, Love-in-a-mist, Calendula, Rose, and Zinnia. If your garden is lacking in these varieties, plans to incorporate them can be made during the winter, but for now, many of these flowers can be purchased at garden centers or floral shops.

Question: Jimmie, I am wondering if you can help figure out what is going on with my St. Augustine grass? This summer, the entire lawn seemed to be sprinkled with yellow blades of grass. I tried fertilizing and it seemed to actually get worse? Thanks for your time. Jeffrey P. in Mckinney.

Answer: Hi Jeffrey, sounds like your dealing with gray leaf spot. It’s generally caused by all the excessive rains from earlier this year. By fertilizing the yard you actually could have made it worse. Nitrogen promotes the development of this organism so no more hot weather feeding on your St. Augustine. Turf fungicides will stop the current threat when you see it in the summer.

Question: Jimmie, Should I be watering my trees throughout the fall and winter? We always read your advice and find it helpful, thanks for taking the time. Jessica L. in Prosper.

Answer: Hi Jessica, You should be watering trees properly in fall, for the same reasons given for watering shrubs. The winter damage that trees sustain often stems from their inability to draw water from the frozen earth. Watering trees properly in fall can minimize the damage. The following is the proper regimen for watering trees in fall:

Stop watering trees, both evergreen and deciduous, throughout early autumn, until the time when the leaves of the deciduous trees fall. This will allow both evergreen and deciduous trees to enter a transitional phase, not unlike the “hardening off” undergone by nursery plants in spring. What you're trying to avoid here is causing spurts of new growth that won't be winter-hardy.

In late autumn, after the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves, give both evergreen and deciduous trees (and shrubs) a deep watering. This should be done before the ground freezes. Following this regimen for watering trees is especially important for the evergreen trees, which, although their growth slows down, do not enjoy the period of dormancy that helps protect deciduous trees.

It even helps to water evergreen trees during "January thaw" and other warm periods that pop up unexpectedly in winter. Until next time…Happy Gardening!!

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