by Ruth Vold Markle, November 10, 2022, VOL. 4 ISSUE 6

Gardener’s Journal:   “And the winner is…”Having enjoyed the rains and sunshine of October and the incredible autumn colour that seems to appear magically…my mind stops to reflect on this past growing season.  Not that we are done yet with growing…oh no…we can continue to plant trees and some shrubs as the cooler weather settles in.  We are so fortunate to live where we do…the winter and cold come…but not as harshly to the soil.  And the trees and shrubs go to slumber, so planting them will not be an issue.  They will wake up in spring…sort of like we gardeners do!My reflections are recorded usually in a journal I keep for the growing season of each year.  I could be considered a little obsessive about this…I record when I begin to mow the lawn and when I finish that task for the season.  I keep track of what perennials have survived and the names of the new plantings.  I explore how successfully the annuals have performed in their spaces and place a star beside the ones that have been stellar through the whole season…right up to frost time.  You have the idea now of how statistics work for me in my plans for another growing season.  Oh yes…and those vegetables!I had the joy and privilege this past season of volunteering at a school community garden.  We had a good beginning and then because of unfortunate vandalism at the school the area had to be closed for the summer.  In my own way, I worried about the veggies growing without much water in the hot and dry.  When September came and it was time to get back to tending what was left…I feared very little would have survived or at least the weeds would have won.  What a lovely surprise to find that only the carrots had struggled through the dry time. In fact, this being the first year we planted celery I was amazed at how lovely and fresh this vegetable was.  I can always count on peppers and tomatoes and squash to make it through to the autumn but the celery and kale were a pleasant and welcome surprise.  So in writing up results for 2022 the veggie winner is the celery!There are other winners too, but more in the ‘butterfly’ garden area.  The winner there was the Gaillardia…the lovely ‘Mesa Yellow’…This perennial has bloomed steadily and with little fuss for almost 5 months.  And the seed heads remaining will feed some winter critters and will help in advancing next year’s growth.  The runner-up is the always faithful Monarda ‘Bee-Free’ …this lovely and unique bloomer keeps on going no matter the weather.  And of course, my all-time favorite butterfly bush that grows and flourishes is ‘Miss Ruby’.  She’s been welcoming monarchs for 7 years now!This is my first year to try and plant with intention a complete butterfly garden at my home.  I have planted these elsewhere in my volunteer times but decided this would be the year to work the ‘butterfly magic’ in my own space.  Some of the plants were in place already and each year I will add more until I have host shrubs growing well and enough blooms to attract monarch butterflies as well as other butterfly species.  My winner in this first year is Coneflower ‘Red Ombre’.  Not only is this lovely perennial a stand out in colour but already has proven to attract the monarchs.  I have very high hopes for the effectiveness of this garden in encouraging and helping these endangered monarchs to find a safe and thriving space.I decided this year to plant a pink, white and purple garden.  So the idea was to plant bulbs in spring with those colours in mind, to have perennials through the summer and into the autumn with the colour theme and to even have a ground cover that keeps the hues.  My winner in that space is the Astilbe ‘Visions in Pink’.  This smaller bloomer graced the area all season and even gave us autumn pinks when the sedum was making its transition to late season colour.  I rather enjoy this little pink, purple and white garden, especially in the summer and autumn when so much shading goes to golden and orange.I must mention my two final winners.  These lovely plants grace many areas of my space as they keep re-seeding themselves and bringing joy and scent wherever they grow.  My first winner in this group is the lovely perennial Helenium(often goes by the name Sneeze Weed) and the lovely ‘Moerheim Beauty’ has a blend of lovely orange and yellow and bronze small daisy-like blooms.  Long after all the other perennials are spent this chap keeps on going.  Even today in late October I can see the waving flowers in the morning sunshine. My final winner is the small and lovely  ‘Golden Lemon’ Thyme.  First planted in the autumn last year it has managed to thrive through the winter and I was able to propagate it in the spring and now have many lovely thriving plants to add colour and scent to my space. I feel these plants are worthy of ‘red carpet’ treatment for their continuous efforts to make my spaces beautiful and thriving…When folks tell me how much they love my garden or my spaces I realize how much I count on these plants to keep those compliments coming!  I don’t feel I can take a lot of credit for the success or beauty.  I think my growing and thriving ‘winners’ and ‘runner ups’ make a good team!As the autumn glides into a cooler and less colourful time in the garden I am very thankful for the ‘growing buddies’ I have.  We all need each other for success and joy in life!Keep growing green my friends,

Ruth Vold Markle
You can reach Ruth at ruthmarkle@gmail.com