![]() | | | ![Advertisement]() | ![]() | | |
![]()
Thursday, Oct. 28, 2004
Ahhh, autumn. The garden has finished its yearly show and is settling back for winter. Although much of the gardener's work is finished, a couple of key tasks remain, like planting bulbs, for instance. If you're obsessed by bulbs, as Washington Post gardening editor Adrian Higgins is -- along with many others (the National Gardening Association says Americans spent $1 billion on bulbs last year) -- you can save some bucks and buy in bulk from companies like Terra Ceia Farms and Van Engelen Inc., as well as look for end-of-season sales at local nurseries like American Plant Food, Behnke and Johnson's. Consult our bulb guide to find out about varieties, color, height and bloom dates for tulips, daffodils, lilies and minor bulbs like snowdrops and hyacinths. Larger bulbs need to be sunk deeper, in holes bored with a short- or long-handled bulb planter or dug with a shovel. Smith & Hawken sells rust-resistant stainless steel bulb planters with ash handles in two sizes: a hand-sized (8 1/2 inches long) version for $19 and a long handle (34 1/2 inches) version for $49. Use the tip of a trowel to make a shallow crevice in the soil for small bulbs such as snowdrops. Follow Higgins's advice on how to get the puddle and drift effect. Besides planting bulbs, the last weeks of fall in the garden is the ideal time for cleaning up and cutting back, which will put you ahead of the game come spring planting time. Cut back perennials for the next season, pull up your dead annuals and save cooking herbs like rosemary and thyme by putting them in a pot and placing them in a sunny spot in your kitchen. John Peter Thompson, Behnke company president says, "Clean gutters, cover your pond, remember to feed the lawn after Thanksgiving and bring in your house plants if you haven't already." Use a garden rake to smooth flower and vegetable beds; to pick up the leaves on your lawn, select a broad rake that can collect as many leaves as possible in one stroke. Smith & Hawken's gardena rake ($15) with enamel-coated steel tines gathers debris under shrubs and between plants without disturbing shallow roots, and the compact head reaches into hedges and gutters. Bright colors won�t get lost amid the leaf pile. White Flower Farm's industrial-strength rake for leaves ($28) features heavy-gauge round steel tines and a 48-inch steel handle for ample leverage, even for taller gardeners. See our Garden Guide for more tips on care of perennials and annuals, planning your beds, herbs and how to choose essential tools like pruners, cultivators and hoes. Last but not least, just as the garden seems dullest, perk it up by planting fall pansies, which will not only spring back into action come spring, but will also provide plenty of color until the first freeze. Especially fun for Halloween are the almost black and orange combinations now for sale at area nurseries.
![]() | |
| | | |
![]()
|
|
|
