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Ahhhh! September! My favourite gardening month of the year. O.k., so I said that in May. When you think about it May and September have one important thing in common - No summer heat!! And in Central Canada, where I garden, this summer has been a hot one. In fact as I write this on the last day of August we are in the middle of another heat wave (technically 3 days of over 30 degree temperatures in a row).
September is for:
o Hummingbirds.
o Garden mums.
o Rudebeckia at its' peak.
o Echinacea going to seed: finches going crazy for it!
o A clean, cool, clear headed month where the kids are back at school and the neighbourhood is quiet on weekdays.
o Tomatoes on the vine. Fresh sweet corn too.
o The last swim.
o Good fishing.
o Buying Holland bulbs.
o A rest and then - a resurging of energy.
How 'bout you? Looking forward to fall? The time that best marks the Canadian gardening year as truly ours. Ask anyone from Europe or the Southern States - they don't get this. But then, I once again get ahead of myself. October is the month of changing colours.
So - what to do in the garden in September:
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Pruning
Trees, Shrubs, Evergreens
The #1 question this time of year revolves around pruning trees shrubs, roses and evergreens. In short, my response: (for more details go to the 2 consecutive articles that I wrote on the subject for the Toronto Star at www.thestar.com and www.yourhome.ca)
Trees: This is the best time of year to trim a deciduous tree (the ones that drop their leaves come fall). Fact is that if you prune a hardwood tree after the leaves fall off of it you risk 'bleeding' the tree come spring.
Take a good look at the maples, birch, oak, locust and the like around your property - are you happy with their size and shape? If not, get out there and use a green wood saw (one that cuts on the fore stroke and backstroke: look for the Mark's Choice quality version of this saw at www.homehardware.ca). Cut as much as one third of the tree out without worry that you have cut too much.
Shrubs: the rule of thumb is to prune any spring-flowering shrub before mid September. Prune later and you will risk cutting off flower buds that will produce bloom next year. Lilacs, purple sand cherries, forsythia, Service Berry etc. all could use some attention this time of year. As for fall-blooming shrubs like hydrangea and Rose of Sharon: leave the pruning until spring.
Evergreens: All evergreens lend themselves to pruning this time of year. Cedar and junipers more so than spruce, pine, fir and the like. The 'soft' evergreen species like cedar, boxwood and junipers may produce a final, short soft flush of growth early this fall which will 'fill out' the look of the plant as it heads into winter. The 'needled' species like spruce and pine etc. produce their new growth in late spring and early summer. Pruning them now will not hurt them but you will be stuck with the 'look' of them after the pruning until next spring. Which, I hesitate to remind you, is about 8 months away for most of us.
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Feed the Birds
Truth is the seed eating birds in your neighbourhood are being well fed naturally by the many mature perennials and berry producing shrubs that are in harvest-mode right now. Don't let that stop you from filling your feeder, mind you. I am filling all 13 of mine, many with my own 'Mark's Choice Bird Feast' which is made of a special blend of 10 of the seeds that birds find most attractive. Produced in Canada too. Go to www.homehardware.ca for more info.
By the way, hummingbirds are moving south from the boreal forests of northern Canada right now and they are eating their way through your yard in an effort to beef up for the long flight south. If ever there was a time to feed the hummers, this would be it.
Is that about it? By no means.
A daily walk through your garden will reveal many exciting and interesting developments including weeds that should be pulled before they go to seed (exciting - yes!!) and compost that needs emptying to make room for the fallen leaves of October - but I get ahead of myself.
Once again a reminder to take time for yourself: don't suffer from the common malady that gardeners suffer. That of 'working' all of the time and never sitting down! But then, isn't that why gardeners live longer?
More below - don't miss this stuff.
By the way, I am in Hamilton for a Home Hardware event on Saturday, September 18th and looking forward to meeting you, should you be in the area. It will be fun.
Thanks for subscribing, reading and gardening. Any suggestions are always most welcome - I love to hear from you.
Keep your knees dirty,
Mark
Merchant of Beauty.
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Harrowsmith's Truly Canadian Almanac
Available September 1st, 2010
The TRULY CANADIAN ALMANAC features all the gardening, do-it-yourself, country cooking and eco-homes stories that you count on from HARROWSMITH, plus all the astrology and weather forecasts you expect from a farmer's almanac.
The all-Canadian cast features organic gardening, green living, eco-homes, long-range weather forecasts, month-by-month night sky, useful calendar, a celebration of our small towns and so much more! The most useful compendium of entertainment and information for countryside-loving Canadians.
Find out more....
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As I have traveled across Canada with Home Hardware, I've noticed a growing trend among gardeners - en masse plantings of bold coloured plants.
Saturday, September 18.
