Newsletter - October 2009

Hi,

October is for me the month of two very special anniversaries. On the first, our daughter and her husband celebrate eight years of marriage and on the sixth, her parents celebrate forty-one. Yes, it does happen. One of the things that I remember most about both weddings is the beautiful flowers adorning these events. I know people don't associate October with flowers, but there are many varieties available for an autumn bride.

At my own wedding, we went seasonal, so chrysanthemums were the blooms of choice. Orange, gold, burgundy, yellow, purple, and white are included in the color palette of this versatile flower. Plus, the selection of flower shape and size is amazing. My favorites are the "spider mums" with their lacey, delicate falls of petals, but shapes include daisy forms, cascades, football re-curves, sprays, pom-poms and quills and these are all available in the multiple array of color choice.

You will begin seeing chrysanthemums in florist shops, neighbor's gardens and nurseries from now until the first frost (greenhouse grown are always available for Thanksgiving). But, if you're interested in getting some really unusual, spectacular blooms for your own garden, take a trip to "King's Chrysanthemum Nursery". They're open from September to mid-November for viewing and retail sales. They also print a mum catalogue for spring planting. The nursery is located at 20303 E. Liberty Rd., Clements, CA and the phone number is (209)759-3571 - call for directions.

I began growing mums because of my mother. They are her favorite flower and while I prefer orchids and poppies, neither of these is available for the fall garden. So I got into mums. You can buy mums at the grocery store, but keep in mind that these short bushy plants have been given growth inhibitors to control their size. Also, each 6" pot contains about five plants. If you separate the plants and put them out, space them about two feet apart and be prepared to stake them next year when they will grow between three to five feet tall. Make certain that the soil is loose and well aerated with compost and feed them several times during the summer with an all purpose flower fertilizer. They will begin to set bud in June, but if you want spectacular showy autumn flowers, pinch them back and remove all signs of June flowering. They'll reset their buds in August for a great autumn display. It's a bit of work compared to other plants, but the results are weeks of vases filled with glorious fall color.

My daughter's wedding was much larger and more formal than mine, so her flowers came from a florist's outlet. (A very talented florist friend and I did the bouquets). Fortunately, she just gave us her color preferences and wasn't particular about variety. And if you're planning an autumn event, this is good to keep in mind. October is a terrible time to find lilacs, daffodils and tulips, but the colors of lavender, red and yellow are all available in beautiful flower forms. We ended up with white orchids, lavender orchids, and purple, lavender and white lysimachia and fern. It was gorgeous. Will she ever grow these items in her garden? That remains to be seen.

Other flowers associated with autumn are asters, but truthfully, asters and I seem to repel each other. If you have good luck with them, be proud. I have better luck setting out gourds, pumpkins and cat tails for fall displays.

There are a few chores you should do this month. Fertilize everything with 0-10-10. Its important for winter hardiness, yet won't stimulate new growth that may be lost in a heavy frost and stress the plant. If you want to fill in with spring color, plant bulbs of Daffodils, Dutch Iris, Narcissus, Anemones and Freesias. I like these varieties because they return dependably year after year. Get your pruning chores started - we'll talk about that more next month and enjoy the autumn festivities, especially Halloween.