For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."
what to plant in fall for beautiful spring color
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If you've opened some of my other emails these last few weeks, you know I'm a fan of fall planting. The weather's cooler, the soil's still warm, and if you struggled all summer with pests and diseases, fall is a good time to get a "do over" because these problems become less of an issue. While now is the ideal time to plant cool-season vegetables like leafy greens (and yes, you can still get these seeds in the ground for a harvest in 40 days, or even overwinter them without a greenhouse by calculating your Persephone Days), I like to start thinking ahead to spring and what I can plant for early-season color. Because if you can get ahead of the game and put a few perennials in the garden now, that's one less chore come springtime (when gardening feels much more hectic). Autumn is also pretty forgiving on transplants since they're not as affected by heat stress, they don't have the pressure of growing new leaves while they're trying to grow new roots, and they have the benefit of soaking rains to help them get established before the ground freezes. Since the plants naturally become acclimated to your garden over fall and winter, they start growing again as soon as temperatures warm up in spring (without you needing to do anything).
(Another reason I love fall planting? Many plants go on sale as nurseries try to clear out their remaining inventory! In fact, my favorite online nursery for trees and other perennials is running a fall sale right now.) Seasonal tipsA trip to The Oregon GardenDid you know Silverton, OR, is known as Oregon's "Garden City"? And The Oregon Garden is the centerpiece of this small town in the Willamette Valley, where it seems like just about anything grows! (Such a different climate from where I live a couple hours over the mountains.) I LOVE botanical gardens so the fam and I spent a day there and it was such a treat! The Oregon Garden features 20 specialty gardens (including a drought-tolerant garden, fire-wise garden, conifer garden, market garden, children's garden, sensory garden, and more) and I left feeling so inspired by all the art, structures, water features, and the most impressive plants that grew to gargantuan proportions. My own landscaping at home is still in progress and ever-evolving, so visiting gardens at different times of year is my favorite way to see what things really look like. I miiiight have a few (okay, at least a dozen 😜) new trees and shrubs on my list to investigate further. (Fingers crossed some of them are hardy enough for Central Oregon!) On the way home, we camped at a lake and found this little trail through a lava field that meanders above the shoreline. We couldn't resist going on a family Onewheel ride that evening! We're home this weekend because that 7-year-old ☝️ is celebrating her birthday with a whimsical scavenger hunt on our 1.5-acre property. Fairies and flowers are involved, naturally. (Big sister planned all the festivities this year!) I can't believe she used to be this small. 😍 P.S. Plant these perennials in fall to get early spring blooms and color. P.P.S. You can get a lot more out of your garden than what you're currently harvesting—and you don't have to plant anything new. (Tomato leaves are my secret ingredient in sauce right now!)
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Garden Betty
For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."