Labor Day signals a summer about to end. Days are getting shorter and cooling down. Yet with the September 22nd Fall Equinox still ahead, there is time to spruce up your summer garden.
Bright colored Mums are a top pick for fall gardens. They mix well with pumpkins, gourds and acorn squashes. Ripe with vivid color, they make beautiful centerpieces for football parties, especially when surrounded by ornamental acorns or baskets of chips with dip.
When choosing mums, check your local garden centers first. Plants there are typically grown locally, and not shipped from distant nurseries. Locally grown plants are better adapted to local growing conditions: weather, soils and temperature.
Check your plant for damage, leaf spots or wilt. Pick the mum with a good shape, lots of unopened buds and vivid color
If you’re planting outside, try grouping them in a mass for the most effect. Use an odd number of plants for easy arrangement and space them so that the edges of the plants don’t touch.
For containers, fill the pot with enough mums to create a mound. Add kale, pansies and bright-colored cabbage for a colorful fall display.
Frosts can turn a mum’s flowers and leafs black. To avoid the discoloration, trim the stems back and cover with mulch until spring. As a last resort, dig them up and use for compost.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Scoops 