There was a freeze warning last night, but fog rolled in. Still frost free here in the valley in Ford City. It is quite pleasant out today, blue skies and mild but seasonal temperature. The leaves don’t seem to be quite at peak yet, from what I saw while out on Wednesday many may have dried and fallen before turning this year. It is colorful but a bit misty looking.
I took in the impatiens plants first and have most of the house plants in. Now is the time for making final decisions about what to save indoors for next season. Yesterday I planted the last flower bulbs (a hearty amaryllis, “resurrection lily”) and some garlic from this year’s harvest.
I dug up one of the clumps of Italian parsley and some chives and potted them. I will let them stay outdoors to take advantage of what sunshine they can soak up for now. With the rosemary shrub and thyme (also still outdoors) they should be a good winter herb garden. I harvested a few more bell peppers and the parsley is really beautiful. There are still a few red raspberries for picking, very tasty.
One of this year’s gardening experiments was Pineapple Sage. The leaves are attractive and by the first day of autumn, the plant was showing flower spikes with crimson blossoms. I plan on taking a few cuttings, but will be interesting to see if it survives the winter. From what I have read, this climate is marginal for that. The picture with Bode is for scale and because he is a cute dog.
