Design

It's been a great fall color season, and the ginkgos are currently at their peak. Ginkgos are ancient conifers with a delightful habit of turning butter yellow in fall, just before all the leaves (in clusters on short shoots) drop, practically in unison. I remember a great photo/memory image from years ago of our dog romping with my gardening companion in the ginkgo leaves in front of our (first) house in Georgia. Ginkgos at the South Carolina Botanical Garden We've had ginkgos ever since. These two are at the garden where I work.  Fabulous!

After a mild frost (30-32°F) last weekend, we've had lovely warm days (highs near 70° F) with lows in the 40's.  Tender annuals and perennials were zapped, of course, but hardier plants, whether ornamental or vegetable, sailed through. In our (SE US) climate, it's always variable, and with a mix of plants from around the world in our gardens (vegetables included),  it's hard to predict HOW the impact of oncoming cold weather will affect our individual gardens. There's always the site to consider, and exposure, in addition to how frost affects our plants (whether edible or ornamental). We're doing an experiment in our unheated education (Sprouting Wings) greenhouse this winter (I've posted about this previously). It'll be interesting see if we can 'grow' greens in the winter, beyond simply holding them for harvest.

It's remarkable that we haven't yet had a good frost yet, much less a freeze. There's been spotty frost, to be sure, but nothing that's affected any except the most tender tropicals, and the nasturtium in the Garden's kitchen garden is still flourishing. My very late-sown flats of lettuce, mache (corn salad), arugula, dwarf Siberian kale, etc. are doing well. They'll just need to be tucked into the ground (in the case of kale and mache) or into the cold frame before a freeze finally comes.