Good morning, and happy autumn! Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.
The shot of winter that we had a week ago jump-started the change in seasons, even though we switched right back into summertime weather with highs in the 90s, lows in the upper 50s — suddenly the cottonwoods have splotches of yellow, and gusts of wind rustle newly fallen leaves across the sidewalks.
It's been a good year for the Autumn Joy sedum; some years I have problems with huge aphid infestations. This year we got melon aphids instead. It's been hell on the melon plants, but the heavy infestation is providing food for a bumper crop of ladybugs. I've never seen so many ladybug larva. I did manage to get one French cantaloupe ripe, and a couple more may make it before frost, or aphids, do the plants in.
And it's been a great year for cauliflower and tomatoes. Today I'm going to blanch and freeze a couple of heads of cauliflower, and cook the tomatoes into spaghetti sauce. The Mister took a big basket of cherry tomatoes down to a local "pay what you can" café that uses donated produce.
I went over to a local nursery and bought some hyacinth bulbs for forcing, and a couple of bags of tulips. Although I had ordered hyacinths from Old House Gardens to refresh the spring display in the front yard, I never got around to ordering bulbs for forcing!
That's what's happening here. What's going on in your gardens?