What would Jane Austen Grow?

It’s September and we are in my favorite time of the year.  You can call it autumn, but it really starts in mid-summer.  My favorite months are July-October.  This year, I have not enjoyed my garden as much as I would have liked.  Mitch and I have spent hardly any time outside.  We seem to be working on the computer 3 nights a week, spending time with family or relaxing.  And the one or two weekends we had off together were 90 degrees.  I was pretty worn out by last Sunday.  Now we are into the football season and as season ticket holders, we will be spending a lot of time at Reser Stadium.  I am hoping for one day or a few nights to really soak up the atmosphere of the garden.  Then I am going to chop everything back!  It is getting very overgrown.  Perhaps we will have more time in November and we can go out in parkas to enjoy.

I am harvesting vegetables from the raised beds.  Lots of beans and Sun Gold tomatoes, a few zucchini and a first harvest of the new planting of lettuce.  The blueberries were very productive.  The strawberries so so.  I still have basil to turn into pesto, but not the drive to do so.  I am going to have a ripe Momotaru tomato soon and we can see if it really is the best tasting tomato.  From the kitchen window I can see the Goldsturm Rudbeckia.  They always give me joy.  They sweet golden heads with a black eye are very appealing.

I finally ripped out my Pretty Much Picasso Petunias.  They were quite exuberant.  I was ready to see the other plants around them.  I am actually feeling ready to plant pansies!  This is the earliest I have ever had that urge.  What’s going on?  I just feel like clear cutting the whole yard.  I must have overplanted it in preparation for “the tour”.  I’m over that and ready to go back to a more tame look.  And I am so over garlic.  It’s not worth the work and the space for me.  Oh and have I shared that I cannot successfully grow mint?  I keep getting these little green worms that totally destroy the leaves.  I am so bad about spraying.  Anyway, I am going to rip it out and replace it with an ornamental of some kind.  I am excited that there is now a granular form of cinnamon oil to deter slugs and snails.  The spray worked wonders for Karen and the one time I tried it for me.  A granule would be so much easier to apply.  I am looking forward to seeing that in the spring.