The Late Fall Garden Is A Teacher

The past month has been challenging for the perennial fall garden. Usually it's the perfect time for planting because of cool daytime temperatures and steady-enough rain, giving plants enough time to establish roots before winter dormancy, and giving them a head start when spring arrives. This year, however, it's been unseasonably warm with no rain in sight, so even some established perennials are struggling. When lots of things are stressed in the garden, it puts a spotlight on the plants that are holding their own despite extreme weather. Though the hydrangea and amsonia have become crunchy and are prematurely dropping their leaves, the dappled willow, spirea, and fothergilla are looking beautiful as ever. Regardless of weather, there's been ample opportunity to make daily observations and pivot accordingly. The fact that my young, fernleaf full moon maple tree is possibly dead is not the fault of drought. It's mine, for not staying on top of watering. Here, the garden teaches us that plants will respond accordingly to their environmental conditions, and how we intervene is up to us.

Despite the stress of drought on plants and trees this fall, there's the natural cycle of death and dormancy to consider. The change in color of plants and trees followed by the dropping of leaves is like an orange cone in the road warning us of a big upcoming change - winter is coming. Again, the garden teaches us that life is cyclical, temporary, and more like fog than stone. It comes into existence, expands and contracts, then dissipates out of sight. It's one part of the whole that makes a garden what it is- a collection of living things carrying out natural processes. As humans, we can participate in this process, and so do birds, bees, and bears- one of the biggest sources of seed dispersal in North America.

A hopeful aspect of the fall garden is the process of collecting and saving seeds for the following year. When Welsh writer, Dylan Thomas, famously wrote "Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light," there is the sense that death is inevitable but not to just roll over and give up. If he were a gardener referring to his fall garden, he might be saying that winter is near but now is the time to collect seeds from your favorite plants because everything is temporary and spring will come again. Some of my favorite seeds to save this season have been basil, cosmos, hollyhock, calendula, zinnia, and sunflower. If you haven't already collected seed, it's not too late. What is happening in your late fall garden, and what has it taught you?