autumn garden.

The days are chilly, the nights are very cold. The garden is wrapping up slowly. We have pulled out one area of the finished tomato, pepper and cucumber plants. The squash has been picked and the vines cleared. But there are still full areas. Full of red raspberries, full of kale, full of herbs and flowers that seem to go on and on even with freezing temps and frost.



We are still picking kale. I grow a lot of kale because I love it in soups and stews all winter, and also because we have a bunny (she loves it). I pick from a few main plants all summer and leave a few others for late fall - just because I love how beautiful they look when they are huge twisty frilly trees of vibrant color. We still have wonderberries and huckleberries, swiss chard, calendula, feverfew, parsley, lovage. The amaranth is battered from our strong October winds but we leave some because we love all the color.


I have been slowing digging up and re-potting herbs. I have brought in parsley, thyme, celery and basil. We are starting trays of greens for our indoor garden, but I love how long we can keep herbs going when they move to a sunny window.


We have planted more greens and radishes along with a few other things, but they grow more slowly with the cold and darkness.



We leave some things for the birds - some currants still on bush, sunflower heads bent and dried full of seeds, and the compost pile is a popular spot for the juncos. And the chipmunk clears out most of the tomatoes that I pretend I don't see (am I the only one who gets really tired of tomatoes by mid October?).


I do love this time of year - the cold, the smell of the air. Tucking in, laying to rest, getting ready for winter.

How is your garden?