Autumn

The garden is still blooming. Yellow roses. Anenome. Primroses. This is the second flowering for a few of the primroses. The weather has been mild. Sunny. Very little rain. Our sprinkler guy hasn’t scheduled a time to shut off sprinklers so I am still watering, providing a bit of support to the plants heading into winter.

Bulbs should be arriving soon. Once I get those into the ground and cover the beds with compost, I will leave my garden beds alone until spring. The leaves are mostly still green but more color is making it ways to the forest. The birch are mostly done and the maples are starting to change. The hostas and ferns are browning at the edges. I’ll clean them up in the spring. We are forecast to have seasonable weather for the coming week. No frost yet. Lake Michigan helps insulate us this time of year.

The garden this year offered a few surprises. The number of bumblebees in the garden has exploded. I’ll try and keep them fed next year. Toads and frogs were numerous. I’ll take that as a sign of a healthy garden ecosystem. The deer only did damage in the spring. It was a rough winter and they were eating whatever they could find. I’ll put out deer repellent earlier next year to protect new spring growth.

What does the autumn garden teach?

It is okay to let go. Just as it is natural for trees let go of their leaves it is okay to let go of worries and anger and grief. Whatever is weighing. We may feel exposed for a period of time, but the something new that has been waiting for its time and space can now take hold.

Beauty can be found in the old and worn. Look at the leaves in autumn. They have done their job during the growing season. Now they will fall, fertilize the soil, and make way for new growth in spring. But the reds and yellows and oranges that cover hillsides this time of year is breathtaking. More so than the green covered trees of summer.

It’s time to share and prepare. The light fruits and vegetables of summer have been replaced by the heavier root vegetables, pumpkins, squash, and apples of autumn. It’s time to share our bounty and it’s time to prepare for the colder and darker season ahead. But in the meantime, I will be out in the garden planting for next year’s growth and providing a bit of TLC for the winter ahead.