Fall Gardening, Grief and Joy

As summer quickly slips away, fall is a time when gardener grief sets in. It is a time when many of the steadfast summer bloomers start to drop their last petals. Farewell to the sweet peas, snapdragons; overcome with rust. The crocosmia seed pods have browned and the calla lilies have finished their show.  It is a time when the aphids settle in and powdery mildew takes over the underwatered lupines and the fading cosmos, dense with fine leaves slowly turning silver.

It is a time of immense gratitude for the endless joy the blooms have brought. It is a time for reflection; what worked, how could the labor of spring have been lighter or more fruitful? Or, perhaps it was just right and these weeks and weeks of armfuls of blooms were just the right amount.

This is the time to save seeds for next year. Pluck the seeds from the zinnia heads and shake them from the cress, amaranth and celosia.  Let the strawflowers open, remove the fluff and collect the tiny seeds; save the heads of the scabiosa and the brown pods of the sweet peas. Your spring self will thank you.

The work is slow in fall; clear a bed here and there or an early morning accidental clearing of a long-neglected blackberry patch or grabbing the last of the arugula before the slugs return. It’s a little cover crop planting and some hardy annual direct sowing.  Fingers crossed that the rains don’t come and wash them away before their little foxglove, calendula, sweet pea, poppy and kale roots take hold. I cover them with frost cloth until they sprout or they usually become a buffet for the migrating birds.

It is a time of farewell to a season that never lasts as long as one hopes.  Grateful for the dahlias that will provide an abundance of blooms until the first frost.  The cut and comes are bursting with buds ready for one last flush of color, zinnias, marigolds, and cosmos keep on giving until the frost takes them. While this is a season of endings it is also the beginning of hard, late fall work. Ease into that.

Ways to love your garden in fall:

• Deadhead the cut and come flowers, they will give you joy for many more weeks.
• Clear the plants that have shed their last petal, cut back the summer bulb foliage now brown or fading.
• Prep your beds for winter cover crops: winter rye, winter peas, oats and buckwheat do well in zone 8 and are easy to turn into the soil come spring.
• Roll and store trellises, drip line and soaker hoses.
• Prep beds for fall planted bulbs, narcissus, tulips, alliums.
• Prep beds for ranunculus, they will be delivered soon and need soaking and planting and a blanket of frost cloth is helpful for our winters.
• Plant winter hardy annuals flowers and veggies.
• Once first frost arrives, it will be time to dig the dahlias, wash them, sort them and store them for winter to share in the spring.
• Most importantly, savor every last moment of sun on your face and blooms in your arms!

Happy gardening, tell your plants they’re great, always be planting, and enjoy the view!

Andee Zeigler

Principal Broker | OR

She/Her

I have called Portland home for over 20 years and can’t imagine raising my babies anywhere else. I have been a REALTOR® for over a decade and still wake up every day delighted that I truly love what I do. I love helping people find their home sweet home, score an investment property that pencils out better than expected, holding the hand of a first-time homebuyer, or guiding a nervous seller through the process of leaving a home they’ve loved. I know Portland like the back of my hand and have a wealth of knowledge about our unique homes and rapidly growing inventory of new construction. I have loved up many homes over the years, from a total restoration of an 1894 Victorian farmhouse to a full remodel of 1942 ranch and several in between. I enjoy educating my clients on the home buying and selling process as well as educating them on how to care for their home. I strive to help buyers understand their homes' unique qualities, how to love them up, and the realities of vintage homeownership. Each real estate transaction is different and for many people the entire process is new and can feel overwhelming. I work hard to help clients manage expectations and give them perspective along the way. I also truly love negotiating and believe it can be done with grace and cooperation. Over the years many of my clients have become my friends and I am grateful for the joy this career has brought me. When I am not scouring the new listings, meeting clients for pie or reading up on all things real estate, I am busy filling my days with goodness. I currently live in my dream home in St. Johns with my husband, 3 kids, 2 cats, 2 ducks and goose! I am an avid gardener, growing over 30 varieties of fruits and vegetables and countless plants and flowers, including nearly 1000 tulips and over 100 dahlia varieties. During the spring and summer we have a little free table with bouquets and plant starts for our community. When the garden doesn’t need me you can find me in the kitchen. I try to bake once a day, everything from sourdough to french macarons. I graduated with an art degree and find great joy in painting and making pottery, there is almost always an art project happening at the dining room table. I am a dedicated traveler and have made exploring the world with my babies a priority. When we aren’t traveling internationally we explore our corner of the world in our Vanagon, Dr. Coffey! I am in constant awe of the beauty of the PNW and feel grateful that this is my home sweet home. I absolutely believe that everyone should love where they live and won’t let anyone settle!

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• T: 503-901-6864
• andee@livingroomre.com