Last fall, I went for a sombre, purple palette in my annual autumn container. This year, I thought I’d liven things up with warmer hues. As I wheeled my cart into the local nursery, a gorgeous, orangey-red coneflower called ‘Sombrero Hot Coral’ caught my eye and became the focal point of my container design.
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Seed-saving strategies
Fall is the perfect time to harvest and save your own seeds. Here are a few simple strategies to follow to increase your chances of success.
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Growing winter vegetables; it’s easier than you think!
By late September, I know that the first frost is imminent in my zone 5B vegetable garden. But that doesn’t mean that my planting season is over. In fact, I still have more garden beds left to seed. Growing winter vegetables – particularly, planting overwintering crops – is easier than you think. Plus, it results in a bounty of homegrown greens in March and April.
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Beans make seed saving a snap!
Confession: I’m not the most dedicated seed saver. Sure, I gather the seeds of – what I like to call – ‘Level 1’ veggies, flowers, and herbs. These are the ones that produce seed which is VERY easy (foolproof, really) to gather and save like nasturtiums, marigolds, zinnias, calendula, beans, peas, poppies, lettuce, and dill. For the most part, these seeds dry on the plants and I collect them once the seeds are dry or rattling around in their pods.
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Stunning sedums for fall gardens
The established perennial garden of my first home introduced me to ‘Autumn Joy’. This drought-tolerant stonecrop, as it is also called, was a reliable fall bloomer that added a lovely hint of pinkish red to my late summer and fall garden.
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Wheel bugs
I’ve been writing about gardening in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for about seven years, and last week my inbox was flooded with the exact same question from ten different readers: “What is this crazy insect I found in my yard?” They go on to describe the insect as “prehistoric,” “enormous,” “terrifying,” and “ugly.” Some of the emails even included pictures.
They’re all referring to the wheel bug (Arilus cristatus), and all of their descriptions are perfectly accurate.
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