Be a lazy gardener and bring balance to your yard

Maybe it's because I've had a few upheavals in my life lately, or perhaps it's because I'm a Libra--the astrological sign of the well-balanced scales--but I am acutely feeling a lack of balance in my life. This, of course, I notice in the world around me.

This past summer the Northeast was cold and rainy. Local weather forecasters explained we'd wiped out our water deficit by July, and drought conditions were a mere memory. On the up side, I didn't have to water my yard even once--until September hit. Late summer to mid-autumn brought us sultry temperatures and virtually no rain. Until recently, we were right back to conserving water.

When nature is out of whack, I'm deeply disappointed. The warm fall evenings and even warmer days never allowed trees to turn off chlorophyll production until well into October, so we didn't get much brilliant fall color before the leaves dropped. My late-blooming perennials were puny, or didn't even bother blooming at all. How I miss the Japanese anemone which once flourished along my back fence, lighting up fall evenings in sparkling white blooms with cheerful yellow centers. The photo, above, is an annual plant in full bloom along my back arbor--in November!

Okay, so if nature isn't going to be predictable, I should be. I need to give the butterflies and frogs--and even beneficial bugs--a fighting chance to procreate and burrow safely in the ground. Just like I did last autumn, this fall I am limiting the amount of leaves I blow into piles and bag up in favor of gently raking them to the perimeter of my yard. This not only protects the flowerbeds in a layer of mulch, but also ensures delicate habitats remain intact, offering wildlife plenty of organic refuge.

Try it yourself! For once in your life be lazy. Clear leaves off grass but keep them covering perennials until spring arrives. You'll save yourself a lot of work as well as provide a home for nature's necessary creatures.

Baking soda isn't just for baking

I think baking soda should be renamed All-purpose Gardening Powder, or even magic fairy dust. The horticultural applications are nearly endless! Take, for example, my five favorite uses around the yard:

1. Killing slugs the all-natural way: After all the rain we had this past summer, slugs were proliferating among my plant life. Sprinkling baking soda on them shriveled the slugs and solved the problem.

2. Testing soil pH: Are your flowerbeds and lawn too acidic? Have you got a lot of weeds, which tend to thrive in more acidic soil? In a small dish, mix garden soil with a little water, until it becomes muddy. Dust the dish with baking soda. If the mixture bubbles, your soil is acidic.

3. Correct acidic soil: If the test, listed above, proves positive, you can amend highly acidic soil by mixing baking soda and water into the area. The result: more flowering, fewer weeds. But be careful about how much you apply. Start with just a pinch or two of baking soda. Too much will burn plant leaves and roots.

4. Keep fungus at bay: Applying a spritz of baking soda to leaves infected with mildew or fungal diseases not only cleans them, but neutralizes surface areas. More alkaline areas limit the ability of fungal spores to grow. Mix 1 tsp of baking soda with a few drops of dish detergent and a liter of water for a solution which will clear up infected areas.

5. Keeping cut flowers looking good longer: Dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a vase of cut flowers for longer-lasting freshness and blooming.

Summer's second act

Now that autumn is officially here, it seems more like summer. Temperatures have soared into the 80's nearly every day this month--something we northeasterners didn't see in July.

I, for one, am making the most of the Indian summer--spending time in my garden and admiring plants, like the morning glory, above, which would normally be on the decline during this time of year. Everywhere I turn, I see the effects of a very rainy summer followed by warm fall days. Plants are huge and healthy, and longer lasting.

Tree leaves are not as brilliant as normal, since it's the cooler temperatures that broadcast the signal to stop producing chlorophyll. That will happen soon--sooner than I wish. In fact, with the promise of brilliant color right around the corner, I'm enjoying summer's second act. You should too. Get outside and tour a winery, pick some apples or just stroll through your neighborhood. It's also a great time to plant spring bulbs.

Autumn-themed window boxes

The summer's nearly over, but that doesn't mean planting season is kaput! Hardy plants and dried flowers will carry window boxes and planters through autumn--and, in some cases, even into winter.

The key is to choose plants that won't wilt and die until temperatures dip below freezing. Hearty red geranium and petunia (pictured above) tend to stay in shape even when the mercury slides into the forties, and upper thirties. Of course chrysanthemums last a good long while, and provide plenty of spectacular color, but consider filling in sparse areas with unlikely species--dwarf boxwood and cyprus, winter cabbage, the dried mop heads of hydrangea, and even the "cinnamon sticks" from the fern of the same name. They all look fantastic in fall (as you can clearly see in the photo).

Go a step further--as seen in the picture--and paint window boxes a cheery hue the color of sugar maple leaves, and accent windows in strips of rich green wood for a look that's both rustic and elegant.

If time and/or money is an issue, gather a bunch of fallen leaves in three or four different shades and exercise your creativity: arrange them in a soil-filled window box or planter around existing plants, or even by themselves. You can even add small logs (1"-2" wide) into the mix. Slender white birch logs look amazing in these types of designs, especially when combined with Christmas ferns, which stay green all year long, and the explosive red seed heads of switch grass. Festive!

After the storm

Just as Texans were packing up and heading out of many coastal towns, I was driving into Hurricane Harvey territory. Driving the 25-plus hours toward Austin, I had no idea what I was in for. I had no choice. My daughter and her dogs were visiting with us in New York, but she has a job that started this past week in Austin.

I'm not going to say it was the best cross-country trip I've ever made. Tedious hours behind the wheel, trying to rip through counties and towns as fast as I could while my muscles protested, locked into the "driving position" for 14 hours a day. Almost unbearable. Yet it was the unknown that made the trip most difficult. What would we encounter when we met up with the storm? Downpours so powerful that I'd have to pull off the highway? Flash floods that could swiftly carry our car away? Weather reporters were unsure; the hurricane appeared to be unpredictable.

As luck would have it, we appeared on the scene just after the deluge. Aside from downed trees and littered pathways (see a photo I took from Common's Ford in Austin, above), Travis County was pretty much spared. The poor people of Houston were not so lucky. All the horrible emergencies I'd conjured in my head have become reality for so many of them. The photos coming out of that region are harsh and heartbreaking.

Let's help the folks in the ravaged areas along the Texas coast. Go on redcross.org or call 1-800-HELP NOW. If it's easier to text a $10 donation, send a message to 90999 with a message saying "REDCROSS" and it will arrive to the charity via your phone company, but be aware: it takes longer to get the money to victims since it has to go through a third party.

However you choose to help, it will aid in getting fellow Americans back to safety, and normal lives.

Light up the night

Many flowers call it a day as soon as the sun sets, but evening is often the time we want to spend in our outdoor spaces. Cocktail parties, cookouts--or just cooling down after steamy summer temps--are enhanced by a bevy of beautiful blossoms. This is the time plants like the evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) like to shine.

This annual (or biennial, depending on local climate) boasts yellow flowers more than two inches wide that open at dusk. It flourishes from June through October in the Northeast, so it's a handy plant to have around this time of year, as many other flowers die down.

Evening primrose doesn't need much nurturing. It's been known to thrive in dry meadows, waste places and along roadsides, but don't let its humble abodes deter you. It looks magnificent when paired with purple petunias or red roses. Its sunny demeanor holds its own among the more noble blooms.

What's more, the entire plant is edible. Principally cultivated for its root, it can also be prepared as a tea or tincture to treat coughs related to colds. A salve made from the plant treats skin irritations, and traditionally, it was used as medicine for the urinary system, relieving bladder and urethra pain (though I don't recommend applying it in this fashion without checking with your doctor first).

Because the hardworking evening primrose produces brilliant yellow buds and lush foliage around the clock for a solid four months with little or no supervision, it deserves a spot in your flowerbeds.

Extend your blooming season

I find myself feeling wistful this time of year. It's something about seeing that last day lily bloom (above) that stirs up emotions of love and loss. As the garden settles down and the riot of blooms subsides, the idea of beauty and life as precious, fleeting entities covers me like a heavy mantle. I carry this weight as I wander the pathways of my gardens, trying not to sigh.

Fortunately, knowing this malaise will descend upon me this time of year, I've learned to prepare, and even divert my melancholy. Yes, it's important to acknowledge the facts: my day lilies are pretty much done for the season. They've gone the way of some of my favorites: the columbine, climbing rose, lupine and peony. But the growing season is far from over!

The Liatris, Rudbeckia and Echinacea have just started to shine. The hydrangeas are hanging in there, and I'm still getting a smattering of Shasta daisies. Soon my Montauk daisies and Anemone will emerge. Other fall must-haves are: Sedum (all varieties), the pretty panicles of Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium), Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), bluebeard bush (Caryopteris clandonensis) and the magnificent Rose Mallow (AKA Hibiscus moscheutos). The one I planted last year has dozens of buds on it and each gorgeous crimson flower--the size of a dinner plate--is a work of art (below).

Another way to extend the flowering in outdoor spaces is to plant re-bloomers. Experts have been working hard at hybridizing for years, and over the past decade or so, many of our all-time favorites push forth blossoms from spring to the first frost. Among them: lilacs, azaleas and roses (I have them in white--seen in the background of the Rose Mallow photo--and hot pink, seen entwined with Rudbeckia, below).

With all the horticultural innovations available, there's no reason your garden (and mine!) can't look abundant right up through October!