A Garden Update: End of the Season

I am never a fan of the end of the season, but I realize it is necessary, and in many ways is a metaphor for life. The end of the season comes with the overgrown beauty of the untamed, but with the knowledge that that freeze and frost will soon bring it all to its knees. The return to the earth is a beautiful one, but one that is filled with sadness. Soon the ground will be bare and uncovered, dormant, at rest for the cycle to begin again.

I roam the garden each day, especially in the golden light of the warmest hours of the day. I notice the small changes of color, of remaining growth, of the breakdown of the once mighty stalks and blooms. I still find beauty in it all, even if all the zinnia blooms have been harvested for seed.

The gourds continue to dry, but soon must be taken in to the barn so they can properly dry. My goal is to have five giant bushel gourds for next year’s displays. There will be two dozen loofas to turn into sponges for Christmas time gifts. I believe gardening should be a communal thing. I grow an abundance so that I can give it away. I believe a fruitful life is parallel to having a garden that produces an excess.

The tobacco sticks, used for staking the tomatoes and for fences, are slowly removed so the bush hog can come through. My fear is if the garden is left totally to its own it will be a mud filled mess come spring. I envy those that can left their garden winter on its own, but soon the technologies of man will be used to clear the garden in a way that’ll ensure an early spring planting….one that I will soon begin to prepare for.

A Garden Update

My August garden has been one of my very best, excluding the tomatoes of course, ‘cause they didn’t survive much past June. This year has been one weather extreme after another. A wet spring led to a very dry spell, then what seems to be several inches of rain every other week. The weeds have taken these weather patterns as a challenge to be as lush as possible, and the vegetables, well a lot of those have seen better years.

As we head into the final week of August the third planting of corn has turned into the very best planting of the year. The first two were stunted by the early summer lack of rain, but this third round has produced a bumper crop, one that will mostly go into the freezer for winter luncheons and Sunday suppers. The squash died weeks ago and they haver very bunch been missed. Usually a stable in my summer cooking, I have had to turn to using cucumbers and cabbage in creative ways to fill the zucchini and squash sized holes.

The broom corn and zinnias have created walls around the garden and help hide how badly the deer ruined the sunflower rows before the electric fence went in. Cantelope and watermelons continue to produce, as the guards and pumpkins wait for their time to replace their summer glory with the vines of fall.

The garden this year has been a welcomed task. A joy filled task as opposed to last year’s garden that often times felt like perpetual defeat. This year saw a scaled back garden size and next year looks to move towards a hybrid between raised beds, standard in ground planting, and the use of landscaping fabric for better weed management.

Like every year the August garden is one that I dream of all year long. The garden in a way becomes an overgrown forest. The morning glories and foxtail fill everything with a spirit of abundance and recklessness.

The Flowers of Salt Lake City

On our trip from Moab to Ogden, Utah we made a stop in Salt Lake City to see the gardens at the Mormon temple. The gardens are absolutely beautiful and fill several city blocks. During our visit they were in the height of their spring blooms. I hope you enjoy some of my snaps.