I have holes in my garden. And they aren’t planting holes,
either! These holes were former homes for plants that simply didn’t
make it in my garden.
I have holes in my garden. And they aren’t planting holes, either! These holes were former homes for plants that simply didn’t make it in my garden.
Yes, indeed, garden columnists also kill plants, and it doesn’t matter how I killed them! But these holes will be full of weeds in a few weeks if something isn’t done. What to do?
End-of-the-season annuals are one solution. With our mild fall/winter climate, summer annuals should continue to bloom into November. Isn’t it worth a few bucks to buy petunias, geraniums or impatiens for a last-ditch round of end-of-summer color? What’s even better is that many summer bedding plants are on sale this time of year. Managers of garden centers don’t want to get stuck with summer annuals in the fall, so they reduce their price this time of year.
For half price, I’ll put up with having these instant-color bedding plants for two months or so.
Sure, the bedding plants that are on sale may be leggy and wimpy, but all they need is a little TLC.
Clean up any yellow foliage and spent blooms. Plant in rich soil, add some fertilizer and they’ll be blooming again within two weeks.
I always like to add a little Miracle-Gro liquid fertilizer when planting, and even put a teaspoon of timed-release pellets like Osmocote to give them a jump start this late in the season.
Of course, you don’t always have to buy new plants for fill-in color.
I always seem to have a couple extra geraniums in the garden that can be transplanted for color in different garden locations.
Geraniums are also the easiest plants to root. All you need to do is cut a stem off a geranium, plop it in the ground and water; in a few weeks, you’ll have another plant growing.
Some of my impatiens and petunias are also always looking pretty leggy around now. I cut them back, thin out some clumps and – voilá – I have transplants for my “holes.”
Talk about cheap, plus I’m actually doing these plants a favor by cutting them back, thinning them out and transplanting to a location with extra space. Remember, though, that impatiens still can’t take full sun, although petunias are tolerant of heat.
We get some of our warmest weather during September. Don’t forget to water regularly when it gets hot. Just because the calendar says “September” doesn’t mean we can slack off on our irrigation.
Plus newly planted and transplanted plants always need a little extra care in terms of watering and fertilizing.
Finally, many perennial plants usually go on sale in the fall.
They can be planted now for a little color now and a lot of color next year.
Plants like delphinium, foxglove, lantana, verbena and many more can be bought and planted now through November.
So fill in those holes in the garden. There’s a variety of ways to do it.
