Gardening in September

We are having some cooler temperatures again.  We like to take advantage of these pretty days to work in the garden before the real work of fall begins...Leaf removal.  Can you tell it's not my favorite fall chore?  Before that begins we can do a lot to get our garden ready for winter while the weather cooperates.

I like a clean edge to our mulch beds of shrubbery.  There are all kinds of ways to keep a tidy edge that we have used over the years.  On a few of my flower beds we have used brick edging.  These were left over bricks from the building of our home and its additions.  I love the look of brick in the garden as it has an organic way of blending in with the environment.  The mulch beds of shrubbery is different though.  As the shrubs grow the mulched beds need to increase in width.

I've used a half moon edger for years now to get this task done.  It's not too difficult and gives a pleasing edge to our beds.  If you are lucky enough to have had recent rains, the job goes with ease.  If not more muscle needs to be applied to the process.  Grayden and I share the work duty as we edge along the beds.  Ideally this bed should have been edged and mulched this past spring.  That didn't happen so we are doing the work now.

 Gardens are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful,' and sitting in the shade.

— Rudyard Kipling

We are a little behind because of the heat and humidity that we have even into September.  Also while cleaning a neighbor's fence of vines and such, I must have gotten into some poison ivy or poison sumac or poison oak.  I'm very familiar with these vines and did not see any evidence of them growing along the fence.  I've had to go on three medications to clear this mess up.  If you love gardening this will probably happen to you.  85% of us are allergic to these vines.  And the other 15% can become allergic at any time.  So be careful, my friends.  I read recently to get the urushiol  oil off of your skin is to scrub your body with Dawn dish washing liquid.  It seems kind of harsh, but the rash is harsher!  The urushiol is a laquer like substance that exudes from the vines that is quite difficult to remove.  If you don't remove it you will have this oil spread over places you never thought you touched.  You should also make sure you launder your clothing and clean your tools.  This is all to do if you know you've been exposed.  Since my experience, I have been at least washing up to my elbows in Dawn.

My doctor looked at me as he was accessing my problem and said, "Don't you know that is a job husbands should be doing and not you"?  I told him I love working in the garden and I can't imagine sending him out to do this chore alone.  If you love gardening you know what I'm talking about.

Our next job will be transplanting some acuba and some hydrangea that would like to live somewhere else.  Plants will teach us where they like to be if we pay attention.