Rainy Days

In the past 48 hours, a large portion of the state got a wonderful gift in the form of rain— roughly an inch and a half! A majority of the western part of the state, ourselves included, have been experiencing moderate to extreme drought conditions. After one of the wettest Mays on record our summer took a decidedly dry turn, having only a single day of rain in August. Now that we are standing firmly in Fall, we have so much to look forward to.

If you haven’t been out due to the sweltering temperatures, we certainly can’t blame you. Despite the heat, we have not held back the preparations for Autumn. I am pleased to report we are fully stocked with all of the Allium, Narcissus, Hyacinth, Tulip, and Iris bulbs you could hope for. Our selection of fall color doesn’t stop there. The greenhouse is overflowing with beautiful pansies, mums, rudbeckia, stock, heather, gerbera daisies, asters, dusty miller, and ornamental greens and grasses for your every bed and container. If edibles are more your bag, we are full up on herbs like basil, bay laurel, cilantro, chives, dill, fennel, lavender, rosemary, flat and curly parsley, and thyme. We have all the cold season crops too — beets, broccoli, kales, cabbages, and chards a plenty.

If you’ve got a lot of little plantings ahead of you, a specialized tool like a mini-auger might suit you well. With the help of a power drill, these attachments get the hard work done fast. What about the pesky powdery mildew we experience with incoming cold temps? Arber’s Bio-Fungicide can be used on foliage and soil. If you are a fan of lasagna planting bulbs with your pansies, this product can give a one-two punch, knock out powdery mildew up top and prevent bulb rot below.

That’s about it for this week. We look forward to helping you make your fall fantasies a reality! As always, catch Gardening Inside Out on Saturday mornings at 8 am on YouTube or Facebook. Listen to the podcast after hours. Follow us on Instagram for questions answered, inspiration, and behind the scenes fun with Caroline and Austin. Hope to see you soon!

Happy Gardening,

Sara Bates