Plant herbs in autumn

As it gets cooler outside, I like to make big pots of soup and hearty sauces to warm up from the inside. My recipes taste so much better when I flavor them with fresh herbs like the basil and parsley on my chopping board (above).

 Known as culinary herbs, the mild or savory ones add a delicate flavor to food while the stronger or pungent herbs impart zest. And since these herbs are varied and  attractive, their ornamental value is also important.

Their ornamental appeal enables them to be used in flower beds, rock gardens, and borders. Some herbs are annuals while others are perennial, coming up every year. Care for the herb garden will be similar to your vegetable or flower gardens. Most herbs love sunny, well-drained locations. Apply a slow-release fertilizer at the rate of 2 pounds per 100 square feet to your herb garden in mid to late summer.

Water as necessary during dry periods. Generally, you need about one inch of water per week, if not supplied by natural rainfall. A mulch will help conserve soil moisture and reduce weeds. The mints prefer moist soil so they will require more frequent watering (especially in full sun).

Annual and biennial herbs can be established by planting the seed directly in the garden or starting seeds indoors for later transplanting to the garden. You can save seed produced by the herb plants for next year's crop or get seed from your local garden center or seed catalog. To save your own seed, harvest the entire seed head after it has dried on the plant. The seeds should then be allowed to dry in a protected location that is cool and dry (I store them in brown paper bags in my basement). After the seeds are thoroughly dry, pluck seeds from the seed heads and discard the rest.

Leaves of many herbs such as parsley and chives can be harvested for fresh seasonings. On these plants you can gradually remove some of the leaves as you need them. Don't remove all the foliage at one time. These plants will produce over a long period of time if they are well cared for.

On rosemary and thyme, clip the tops when the plants are in full bloom. Usually, leaves and flowers are harvested together. Basil, fennel, mint and parsley leaves can be cut and dried anytime.

After harvesting, hang the herbs in loosely tied bundles in a well-ventilated room. You can also spread the branches on a screen or cheesecloth. For herbs where leaves only are needed, the leaves can be spread on flat trays. Keep dust off the herbs by a cloth or similar protective cover that will allow moisture to pass through.

Enjoy your herbs all season. If you plant parsley, sage and rosemary in containers, bring them in just before the first frost. No such care is needed for oregano, chives and mint, which thrive year after year in my upstate New York garden--right next to the lavender. Herbal warriors like these defy ice, snow and ridiculously low temperatures!

All hail fall!

Happy first day of fall! Just because we've turned the page on summer doesn't mean autumn can't create a brand new chapter in your garden log. I know, most of the flowers have bloomed out, but there's still plenty of color out there! Besides the tried-and-true autumn staples--sedum, asters, goldenrod and chrysanthemums--there's a bevy of foliage waiting for planting by horticultural trail-blazers adventurous enough to set their garden paths ablaze!

Topping my colorful list are perennial grasses, which take autumn seriously, knowing it's their season to shine. The panicles of Northern Sea Oats start out green (above), but will finish with a copper flourish, while miscanthus cultivars produce burnished protrusions that catch the light in a veritable fireworks display of gold, burgundy and brass (see photos, below).

Other plants mellow out in cooler weather. For example, Hydrangea paniculata, change up their hues in autumn, their flower heads going from creamy white to rose. Joe Pye Weed's mop tops turn from bright pink to subtle salmon. Some shrubs offer up color in the form of fall berries, like beautyberry, viburnum, barberry and winterberry. A feast for the eyes--and wildlife.

And since all plants turn to seed, keep spent flower heads (like Rudbeckia and coneflower) in the garden throughout the season, so birds and beneficial bugs have something to snack on!

Top picks of favorite fall fruit

As soon as temperatures drop a bit, turning nights nippy and daytime air crisp and clean, our thoughts take a Pavlovian shift, falling hard for autumn's offerings. Summer berries are little more than sweet memories as we gaze at the budding apple trees around us. Like those famous dogs who couldn't control their responses to tasty morsels, our mouths water for the tangy, tart treats picked right off the trees.

There are so many varieties of apples are out there--far too many to list in this short post--and each type lends itself to a different delicacy. Below, I've listed some of my favorites in their tastiest forms.

McIntosh and Jonathan: Tangy but tender varieties that cook down nicely for applesauce

Braeburn and Rome: Firm, juicy with a touch of tartness. Best for baking whole

Fuji: super sweet and crisp. Great for candy apples

Honeycrisp: Nicely balanced between tart and sweet; a natural for salads

Gala: Juicy and sweet; perfect for pressing into cider

Granny Smith: Tart and sassy, but with sweet undertones--just like a granny you may know! Make an old-fashioned apple pie with this excellent specimen

Golden Delicious: Rich in texture, this type gives cobblers, crumb cakes and apple crisp a tasty edge

The best thing about any fresh-picked apple, no matter the variety? Biting into it, of course, and letting the juice run down your chin!

Create a stay-cation sanctuary

During a Labor Day family gathering this past week, a relative of mine talked about vacation.

"Time to start planning a trip so we have something to look forward to," she said.

That made me realize I don't take many extended trips away from home. I seldom feel the need to "get away from it all". For three seasons of the year there's always something new blooming in my home garden, and if I'm away too long I'll miss the show! If I do need a change of scenery, I head upstate to our modest house in the woods, where the nature-cultivated view always inspires and entertains.

It's not that I don't understand people's need to escape the everyday. As the world becomes increasingly crowded, noisy and intrusive, folks crave a break. Who doesn't long to unplug and relax every now and then? Going new places also sparks the imagination, and gives us the chance to cultivate friendships far and wide. For these reasons I enjoy venturing from upstate New York once or twice each winter to have a taste of the wider world. But come April, I'm right back where I love to be most: my own yard.

One of the main reasons my yard is so enticing to me is that it doesn't feel like a property in the middle of a neighborhood. Rows of smooth hydrangeas--backed by a privet hedge--prevent my northern neighbors from viewing my property (photo, above), as well as delighting me with seasonal scents and a knockout view of their own. The back and side yard to my south are layered in forsythia, a fast-growing perennial that can form a hedge in a season, and has amazing sound-proofing qualities. Visitors to my back-yard garden don't hear cars and lawnmowers from the streets and properties behind me--they hear birdsong and the trickle of fountains.

If you long for a retreat from the busy world but don't have the funds or desire to travel, try planting living hedges around your property to create your own little oasis. In addition to the shrubs and perennials I've already discussed, I've listed plants that I think make the best privacy protectors, grow the quickest, look the best, and last the longest:

Arborvitae: This tried-and-true shrub is your go-to for inexpensive hedging. By mid-fall (prime planting season) you can get a 6-foor shrub for as little as 25 bucks. My tip: plant them a little closer than directed on their tags to ensure you get a nice, tight hedge. Within a few years they will mesh and form a great wall of green. Yew is also a great choice.

Boxwood and hornbeam: These plants are both beautiful specimens if you want a more formal look. They're easy to clip and shape into hedges and a breeze to maintain (if you go out at regular intervals--try to establish a routine with these babies). The downside: they can be quite pricey.

Perennial grasses: If you have a summer place that you want to keep private but aren't really around in cold-weather months, grasses are the way to go. Grasses generally grow to a minimum of five feet (unless you specifically want a smaller variety). A stand of switch grasses will provide upright "fencing," like nature's soldiers standing at attention. If you want a more open, airy feel along your borders, opt for miscanthus. For all-out coverage, try the biggest of the bunch--a row of pompas grass will keep prying eyes and stray sounds away from your personal spaces.

If you've always loved the idea of floral fences, try climbing roses. You'll have to erect traditional wood, stone or wire fencing first, but if you buy enough rose bushes, you can completely cover the fencing with blossoms. This is a great option for a sunny, wide-open area that you'd like to enclose.

Whatever you choose to line your property with, plant in mid-fall, when temperatures are consistently cool, but not so cold that the plants can't successfully lay down roots and call your home their own.

Who rules nature?

Sometimes nature forces us to play favorites. Case in point: The hummingbird feeder taken over by a clever spider. Normally I don't get involved in wildlife border skirmishes. As my son has told me, I can't "play God." Best to let nature take it's course, right?

Wrong! When a crafty arachnid spins a food-gathering web from a splashy red feeder full of sweet-tasting "nectar" (as in the picture above--look real close to see his web and his curled up form beneath the feeder's "flower") he's got the fates slyly in his favor. I know it's his job. I also understand he needs to eat, just like the rest of us. Yeah, I guess he deserves to catch unwitting flies and hapless bugs. But hummingbirds weigh only 0.07 of an ounce. They could be trapped by the spider's nearly invisible web of death.

Sadly, there are many documented cases of this happening. And, I'm not gonna lie, I also hate it when one of my highly prized butterflies flits into the noxious network, suffering a slow, torturous demise. Most hummingbirds, however, know better than to get tangled in a spider's web, but when that web is so close to a coveted food source, I imagine it throws these tiny birds off their game a bit. It takes a lot of energy to keep those miniscule wings spinning--they flap them up to 80 times per second--so they are constantly seeking carbs to keep them charged. Get them close to a whole feeder full of food and I think they throw caution to the wind. Kinda like hazarding a stretch of desert in order to make it to the oasis.

I wasn't taking any chances. As gently as I could, I dislodged the top portion of the web and tried to anchor it on the porch post, but I think I ticked off the spider when a day or two passed and his mutilated web didn't catch a darn thing. I imagine he huffed off in disgust because when I checked this morning, he'd moved on. Sorry buddy. I'm the god of this garden.