September in the Home Garden

The calendar says September. Labor Day is over. My nieces have headed off to college. It’s truly the end of summer. To be honest, this summer felt a bit like an endurance test–drought, long stretches of intense heat, and even a bout of Covid just as I was set to head off for a few days away with my family. If you had asked me in July, I probably would have said this summer will never end. Now that it is actually almost over, I feel a little sad.

That is the beauty of seasonality in New Jersey. Each season arrives at just the right time, rescuing me from what might teeter on the edge of exasperation and delivering me into wistfulness, and an awareness that I’m about to miss what I’ve just had–long days and strong sun, evening walks in the flower field, and the indefatigable cheerfulness of the sunflowers and zinnias.

I know fall is coming. The bluebird houses are empty. The monarch caterpillars are eating the milkweed, the goldfinch are filling up on the spent echinacea, and “golden hour” walks in the field need to happen much earlier in the evening.

Shorter days coincide with the need to ramp up flower farming activities. This time of year I’m starting seeds indoors that will be transplanted out soon to overwinter in the field–Dianthus, or sweet william, Rudbeckia, and yarrow are a few. I’m also mowing down tired summer flowers and preparing beds for direct-sowed spring flowers. A few that I will be sowing this year are Larkspur, Nigella, and Bupleurum.

Fall is also the perfect time for planting perennials. The perennials I planted last year have put on a lot of growth. This year I’m adding more peonies and a big native area that will provide more habitat for birds and bugs. I’m adding more Joe Pye weed, butterfly milkweed, swamp milkweed, New England aster, Northern sea oats, golden ragwort, obedient plant, and a few more pawpaw trees.

Much of what I’m doing this fall relates to flower farm production, but there are some things home gardeners can consider too:

Sow some cool hardy flowers.
Larkspur and Nigella should both be pretty deer resistant. To plant seeds this fall, simply spread on some bare soil and weed until frost hits and then again in the spring. The small plants that grow this fall flower in late May/early June in our area.

Plant some native perennials.
Joe Pye weed has resisted the deer outside my deer fence, and it adds four season interest and habitat to the garden. Most varieties are tall, so plant it somewhere near the back of a border.
New England asters are another good choice. They come in a range of sizes and colors, but are generally slightly shorter than the Joe Pye, and they have a delicate flower that blooms in September, most commonly in shades of purple. My hungry deer have also left these alone.

Plan what to do with your fallen leaves.
Now is a good time to figure out what to do with your leaves. Earth-friendly choices are to leave them where they fall, move them onto beds or “wild” areas of the property so insects (including lightning bugs) have a place to overwinter, or construct a simple caged area where all the leaves can go, and in a year or two you will have some of the richest, healthiest, cheapest compost you have ever seen.

For the vast majority of my life, September has meant “back to school.” It still feels a little funny to not be moving into a classroom, but the headlong dash to prepare for next season brings the same anticipation of surprise and joy that I always felt entering a classroom.

Let me know if you have any big plans for your fall garden!

LOCAL FRIENDS: If you are needing a flower fix, come to the Wull & Oak grand reopening on 10 E. Broad Street and visit my Bloom Bar, Saturday, September 7th between 10 am and 3 pm. Buy stems and arrange them in your own bouquet or have me build one for you.

More images of some of the natives I am planting this fall:

The Season of Goldenrod and Aster (and Dahlias)

Thank You Lightning Bugs