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Just like spring, it is time to get back to work in our gardens…so much to do! Following is the full list of tasks for the fall garden in text format and following that is a little experiment listing the tasks and featuring some photos from my balcony with titles and music.
1. Gather any remaining seeds. Label and store them in a clean dry container.
2. Harvest any remaining peppers, green tomatoes and other veggies. Make something yummy! Here is an idea, how about a nice mexican green sauce with the green tomatoes, peppers and onions. Make some enchiladas verde.
3. Dig up any rhizomes or bulbs that are frost sensitive. i.e. Dahlias
4. Plant tulips, muscari, narcisscus and other spring bulbs now.
5. Bring in and repot any frost sensitive plants to overwinter indoors such as geraniums, coleus, osteospermum, etc..
6. Clean-up and take in any houseplants, ween them off of direct sun and if possible keep them by a partially open window to make the transition easier.
7. If you want to relocate peonies, sage, lavender or other perenials, transplant them now.
8. Plant chrysanthemum, heather and pansies for fall color to fill in any gaps.
9. You can also plant some new perenials such as lavender or sage to replace unsuccessful plants.
10. Clean-up your pots and beds.
11, Mulch your beds with any of the following: coir, sand, pine needles, peat moss or prepackaged mulch products.
12, Consider starting a small compost pile in a large pot with the waste.
Anything else you can think of, would love to hear from you! Hope you enjoyed the little vid clip and a clip of the song by Gaudi called Flower from his Earthboundalbum. Happy Balcony Gardening!
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Ants have been on my mind a lot lately! There are a lot of reasons -
1. A colony took up residence on my makeshift balcony garden in 2009. In 2010 the garden evolved and so did their colony/nest.
2. They eat crumbs from Kiki and Nerica’s food bowls (my dogs.) Sometimes the dogs lick their bowls clean so I give them bread crumbs and if they are lucky cornbread crumbs.
3. They were recently (July) in the height of their mating season on my balcony and their was either a genocide or they die after sex. I have since learned they die after mating.
4. There was a new batch introduced to my balcony when I received a bunch of old plant pots from some friends who were moving. They are a different type of ant. They actually have taken up residence and live in plant pots and not in the big beds like the others. It seems that if they are not careful and enter the other’s nests then they might become slaves, since ants do this to one another.
5. As a result of the increased population, they have decided to enter my apartment to search for more food – oooooouuuuuu – but I can only move them back outside because I just cannot kill the little buggers. The other thing is they have unwittingly forced me to clean up even the tiniest of crumbs that are hardly viewable to the naked eye! As the weather is becoming cooler and after the accidental death of a few, they no longer enter….yipee!
Ant (noun) A small insect that lives in a large community of insects exactly like itself. Commonly found raiding trash cans in droves.
Don’t touch the trash, there’s a see of ants in there!
So on another note, when a particular insect or animal comes into my life (meaning that they seem to be appearing a lot to me) there are a few things that I do. First – check my Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Smallbook to investigate the symbology they have for me in the moment, Second – search the internet for any information that I can find on the creature in question. Third – discuss these things with my comrade in arms and long time friend Jennifer. Jennifer is a lover of nature, birder, chicken keeper and organic farmer on Long Island, New York.
In the quest for lessons from nature and particularly ants, some of their notable characteristics include the following:
They display tremendous strength and determination. It is estimated that on the average they are able to carry 5x their own body weight.
They help one another and display altruistic qualities. They work for the good of one another and they will even sacrifice their lives for the greater good of their community.
They will not take from the mouth of others, yet they will give to others.
Facts about ants.
Other things or facts that we know about ants are that -
Not only are they one of the most abundant species known to us. Ants are social creatures. In my research, some sources stated that their are both solitary and group minded ants. However, according to Jochen Bihn a scientist and passionate lover of ants, he believes that there are no true solitary ants. He writes that usually “solitary” ants are from a community and are only out foraging and their behaviour is somewhat different when they are alone. You can also view incredible photos of ants that he has collected in his favorites at his flickr page entitled “ants in my pants” here. Ants in my pants makes me laugh since my parents would ask me when I was restless if in fact there were ants in my pants.
They are quite like humans in their chosen work. Some of their occupations are as gatherers & growers. Generally, they do cut seeds so they will not germinate, yet they also disperse seeds as well. Some species of ants farm by growing fungus and while others have a symbiotic relationship with aphids and milk them for their nectar. Some are leaf cutters, etc. What they do depends on their environment. In my own personal experience with them, I have noted their planting of grasses especially which they have used in supporting their architectural adventures. Yes, these little fellows are quite the architects and builders.
Ants as architects & builders dig tunnels, build vaulted ceilings and more. After a nest was abandoned a group of scientists studied the ants work by examining how they created a ventilation system and then poured cement in the structure and then excavated the site. Here is a clip that shows this project.
As you can see from the video above that ants are team players, tireless workers and quite strong. They have 2 jaws. One is used to carry food back to the nest and to dig and the other one to eat.
According to two time pulitzer prize winner and the subject of a NOVA documentary entitled Lord of the Ants, Doctor E.O. Wilson a world renowned entomologist through years of study has stated that while ants generally share some similar characteristics, that their social habits of the different types of ants, in fact display different behaviours and depending upon where they are in the world have different cultures. Read more about E.O. Wilson here.
There are many many resources on the internet concerning ants and eventually an Ant page will be added to this blog, as they are not only fascinating, they are a gardener’s friend. In the meantime, I will leave you with a fond memory of the children’s song about ants and you can make up the rhymes as you go…apparently there are “official” public domain lyrics on a website but as I remember it this is how it goes…
The ants come marching 1 by 1 – hurrah! hurrah!
The ants come marching 1 by 1 – hurrah, hurrah!
The ants come marching 1 by 1 – the little one stops to have some fun,
and they all go marching down into the ground – to get out of the rain….
The ants come marching 2 by 2 hurrah, hurrah!
The ants come marching 2 by 2 hurrah, hurrah!
The ants come marching 2 by 2 – the little one stops to tie his shoe,
and they all go marching down – into the ground – to get out of the rain…ad infinitum!
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Here is a close-up of todays visitor to my balcony. Since I posted this earlier, I have identified it…the caterpillars like to feed on nettle and ironically, the night before sighting this lovely on the dog walk, I had mistaken some nettle for mint and grabbed a piece…ouch! Apparently nettle, Urtica is an excellent herbal remedy – chk this link here for more info.
In addition there was another visitor yesterday of a different color but alas, my camera was nowhere to be found.
The opening picture was taken earlier today (26 August 2010.) As you can see from the second picture, this area was empty and is of what the balcony looked like back in March and April when I was planning and building the wooden containers. The first images are the left side of the balcony in which the plan was to create a chicken wire, jute and wood frame which would support vines.
There are also pictures of the right side of the balcony which has a more complex raised bed with different levels. This side has a number of plants and the backdrop is a stuf (reed) panel that helps to reduce the intensity of the sun in the later part of the day. This picture was taken in early July 2010. It is much fuller now.
The right side with the stuf panel now has the following plants – tomatoes, red cabbage, nicotinia, hydrangea, sage, basil, peppers, dicentra, clematis, black eyed susan vine, yellow coneflower, white daisy and coleus. The overall size of the container is 215 cm width by 120 cm depth and is tiered to provide for plants. This container was made from some new wood, but the majority of wood used was left over from a previous years project.
On the left side the width of the box is also a little over 215 cm and the depth is 85 cm. Plants on the left side include budleia (butterfly bush), 3 vines (morning glory, sweet pea vines, clematis,) lantana, dahlia, paper flowers (unknown name), delphinium, peony and one of my favorite garden delights – the fountain.
Before the frost in late October or early November there will be another photo update of the growth on the balcony. For now, hope you are enjoying your balcony!
Many of your plants have produced seeds and many have even hardened off now. They can be stored in jars, paper bags, envelopes or foil packets. Leave some on your plants for the birds too! My preferred method is jars because not only do seeds stay dry and fresh, you can stack them and they look pretty too! No need to rely on outside sources when nature provides the seeds for you. In the spring when planting, even if you have excess you can share and exchange with your neighbors as well.
UPDATE 30 AUGUST
For several weeks now the plants have been producing quite a few delicious and very meaty tomatoes. The plants continue to increase in size and flower.
I had a few extra plants and planted them behind my bloc in sand and while I do not have a pic here of those, they have produced fruit as well. Although they are much smaller and green. Really it is a miracle they survived at all.
My little tomatoes are poppin! There are lots and lots – yipee! Also included a closer look at my red cabbage.
In my opinion every garden where ever it is deserves to have a focul point. It could be a larger flower, a cluster of a flowers, a statue, fountain, bird house or any myriad of items. The fountain is my gardens focul point near the sitting area on my balcony.
Here are 2 examples of focul points that I photographed on one of my trips to Glastonbury, England. Both examples are on the ground level in the center of Glastonbury in the densest part of the town. They are on patios and honestly I do not remember if they are at the same restaurant or not…I will have to check next visit. Anyway either one would work well in the corner of a balcony as well.
Another great place for a focul point is viewing the focul point from inside your apartment to extend your living space.
What do you think? Do you have space? Do you think it is a waste of space? What is your focul point? Post a comment.
Some of my favorite winged friends are bees. Bees are cute, scary and an integral part of the life cycle. Where would we be without them? They pollinate the worlds plants thus being symbolic of fertility and many make delicious honey too. Even life itself is likened to their honey as a metaphor – how sweet it is! On a personal note, they just make me happy when I see them. So in honour of the bee, this post touches on the subject of their symbolism in hindu culture, their current dilemma in the world and some of my own opinions about them.
Rich in symbolism, bees throughout many cultures and human history are used as symbols to help us to understand the intricacies of life. In hinduism the bee is a very powerful symbol. For instance, Vishnu who is known in hinduism as the preserver ofthe universe is sometimes depicted as a bee on a lotus flower and Krishna who is known to be the 9th descent of or avatar of Vishnu has a blue bee in the middle of his forehead. Plus a quite stirring image is Kama who with a bow-string of bees is the god of love - oh the sting of love!
Not only in visual imagery are bees in Hindu culture, they are found in the words ofsome very old texts The Upanishadsdating back to 5000 – 7000 years ago. In the CHANDOGYA upanishad the metaphor of the bee and its honey explain the concept of THAT ARE THOU to the student.
„As the bees make honey by gathering juices from many flowering plants and trees,and as these juices reduced to one honey do not know from what flowers they severallycome…”
In the BRIHADARANYAKA the earth itself, its beings and even the elements are explained as the honey of life -
”This earth is honey for all beings, all beings are honey for this earth. The intelligent, immortal being, the soul of this earth, and the intelligent, immortal being, the soul in the individual being – each is honey to the other.”
It continues on with this symbolism and is found in other examples as well. How beautiful the metaphor that these teachings make clear in imagery our relationship to each other, to the whole of life on earth and our relationship with the earth itself.
Our relationship with the bee is critical to life and sadly largely due to our influence they are themselves in a crisis worldwide. What seems even sadder but perhaps necessary to stir people into action is relating their crisis (which is our crisis) in economicals terms. An article entitled World Relies on Endangered Bees for153 Billion Euroswritten on 28 May 2009 equates this crisis in the loss of currency. Nonetheless it is informativeand additionally there are many, many links to interesting articles about bees and their future on the article page itself. For further reading on the bees dilemma, as well as other plants and insects, you can find many of the ”red lists” as PDFs available for download from the internet. Searching the internet with the phrase – bees redlist pdf (add your country or continent to narrow results.)
So that brings us to the question – What can we do for the bees?
First what comes to mind is to of course plant a simple garden. It does not need tobe large and their are so many plants that do not require a great amount of effort since they are drought resistant and hardy that attract bees specifically caryopteris, echinecea and sunflowers for starters. Another great bee attractor that may require a little more watering on your part are a few of the salvia varieties, especially Salvia East Friesland and Salvia Patens. (Specific plant info requires a more detailed post…its on my list now )
Just imagine that everyone on this earth planted 1 plant each in their city environment multiply that by the world population and voila! That equals a lot of plants – thats right A LOT A LOT A LOT! The other thing you can do is to make use of organic methods when caring for them. Also talking about this subject with your friends and family will spread awareness and sensitivity on this subject. You can even keep bees in a city environment, read about the effects this is having in Paris here.
Finally, we can all take simple actions that will make a difference. For instance picking up litter you see and throw it in the bin is a nice way to show your thanks to the earth that you care for her. Live by example. In fact after writing this I came across a book by Michael Schacker that thinks we literally need „Plan Bee” his book is about the crisis and what we can do about (have not read it yet since I just found it now!) anyway it is A Spring without Bees: How Colony Collapse Disorder Has Endangered Our Food Supply.
Have any suggestions of what we can do to help the bees? Please share them by commenting.
Remember that in this dance of life on earth, bees play an integral role. Here is a beautiful video shared by Stella G on vimeo entitled Dancing Bees set to music.
In closing, look for a new [bee] pagein the next few days [was created] with the goal to collect and share some of the interesting information and media about bees worth having access to is here. Again feel free to submit related materials through the comments section.
Latyrus odoratus – sweet pea – A slow start from seed and a few were planted in different areas as an experiment. One in particular the one that has its first flowers has grown the tallest, a couple alongside it are doing ok. They have a bit more shade from some other neighboring plants. They easily have taken to the chicken wire on the balcony divider.
Dahlia – One of my favorite flowering plants my favorite colors for them are their pinks, purples and white. Only one tuber was planted this year, although I am tempted to pick up a couple more in the next day or two. They are always showy and beautiful.
Thunbergia alata – black eyed susan vine – Like the sweet pea it has had a slow start from seed and now in the last few days taking off like wild fire. Never before has this vining plant been in my garden and already thinking it may become a mainstay. This also has easily taken to the chicken wire which was placed on the exterior wall.
Buddleia – butterfly bush – It is planted infront of a large drainpipe that climbs down from the roof (nearby morning glory vine will hopefully obscure the pipe as the season continues as a lovely backdrop to the rich purple scented flowers of the butterfly bush) was susceptible to some insects – over a few days I plucked infested areas and washed areas around them with some soapy water. Seems better now although it is necessary to be vigilant in keeping any reoccurence in check. Check out the natural pesticide recipes pdf, you can download the pdf and learn more on natural remedies for bothersome insects.
Of note also are the plants that have been struggling -
BEFORE
AFTER
Osteospermum- south african daisy – Of the two planted, 1 died and another is hanging on. They were displaying an incredible colorful bouquet non-stop for a couple of months. Then it seemed pretty sudden (there were some signs) as they both took a turn for the worse. It seems to have been weather related – there were several consecutive days of rain with little light. That is not really normal here, as it can rain a lot in periods – we normally have at least a few hours of sunshine between showers. I have now transplanted the remaining and what seems to be survivor to a pot in hopes that maybe its own space will allow it to revive itself. This seems to be working.
BEFORE
AFTER
Hydrangea macrophylla – it seemed to have gotten a slight burn but has continued on. As the area where it finds its home is changing with surrounding plants providing some additional shade it seems too to be determined to continue on. There is new growth and that looks quite healthy. Hopefully it will make it through this period and be strong enough to face even the more difficult period of heat that is to come.
Sempervivum – hens & chicks – Most are thriving in the large beds and reproducing quite well and a cluster that was in a separate pot even appeared to be doing extrodinary. Yet the one that appeared to be extrodinary took a turn for worse in just one day. It was moved to a different location next to a jade plant that is doing magnificently well and in just one day poof – so prehaps it was the move or maybe there is even some truth to an old superstition.
BEFORE
AFTER
Truth or fiction?
It is said that if you plant sempervivum on the roof of a house that neither lightning nor fire will harm it. As chance would have it, just yesterday we had a lightning storm and in the morning before the storm all was well with this plant and today, post-storm, as I was checking on the garden this is what it looked like…
By the way sempervivum means live forever and many varieties are great for zone 5.
Please comment and share your insights and experiences so we can all benefit from our shared gardening experiences. Looking forward to our discussions!
Need a gift for your favorite urban gardener? You can personalize the text on this mug with a name or maybe you want to declare you are strictly a balcony gardener - personalize it if you like.
book to investigate the symbology they have for me in the moment, Second – search the internet for any information that I can find on the creature in question. Third – discuss these things with my comrade in arms and long time friend Jennifer. Jennifer is a lover of nature, birder, chicken keeper and organic farmer on Long Island, New York.
Apparently nettle, Urtica is an excellent herbal remedy – chk this 
.
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