Green Spaces in Rural Places

The cooler weather we had last week means it's officially 'worry about frost' season. This is the time of year I start thinking about dragging out the old truck tarps, blankets, and frost cloths. They need to be laid out so it will be quicker and easier to cover the tender plants I'm not ready to let freeze yet when frost is in the forecast. The tomatoes always get covered first, followed by the peppers, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins. I'm thinking about trying to cover a few of the husk cherries as well, since they're covered in green fruits. I'm pretty sure I can't pick those now and have them ripen inside the house as can be done with tomatoes.

We are heading to Billings soon for medical appointments, so I'm feeling pushed to harvest as much as I can this next week. I can't trust that it won't freeze hard enough that the tarps can stave off disaster for the tomatoes. If I get the peppers, cukes, squash, and both pumpkins in now, that would leave me enough blankets to cover the husk cherries and hope they'll survive. At least I will have tried.

The outside pots of flowers and my house plants that have spent the summer out-of-doors will get gathered up and put on the front deck, where they can be covered with sheets. Being up higher, and closer to the house, keeps the frost from being as severe, so that sheets are heavy enough to prevent frostbite. It's a lot of work, but I'm never ready to give up on their beauty without a fight. However, after a week or two of covering things at night and uncovering in the morning, I'll admit defeat and let some things go.

During the time of covering and uncovering, I'll be selecting which plants will make the cut to come inside for the winter. I have a few ivy plants that always come in as I use those to take cuttings from to root in the spring. Those are fillers in my flowerpots the next summer, and save me a bit of money that is then spent on flowers for the pots. Those ivies always get spindly and leggy during the winter, and drop a lot of leaves, but rebound wonderfully and become very lush once outside. Most of the geraniums also come inside. I don't have a place to store them for rejuvenating in the spring.

My kafir lily is one of the first plants to come back inside. It is an offshoot of the one my mother brought back to the U.S. with us from Germany, in 1968, when we came to Opheim. It does not like the temperature to go below 40. I bring in my snake plant (also known as mother-in-law's tongue), my succulents, and my amaryllis. The amaryllis spend the summer on the east side of the house, where they are shaded from the hot afternoon sun. They bloom at odd times during the winter, spending the cold months in a south window. The house does get crowded with greenery during the winter. All of my daughters say they love that my home is like a jungle when it's white and cold outside. I think even Dennis likes it. At least he never objects.

This selection process results in some of the plants being repotted. Those that are selected also get their pots rinsed off, and the plant and pot both get a shot of insecticide so the creepy-crawlies don't also come inside for the winter. Spiders seem to like residing under the outside rims of the drip trays.

The gladioli bulbs and dahlia tubers need to be dug for storage. They would never survive a Montana winter. I'll give them a light dusting of Sevin to prevent thrips going into storage with them and eating the corms and tubers. They should be dug before frost, but sometimes I dig them after a light frost. I try to cover them, too. The foliage is left on for a few days in the garage to let the nutrition go down into the bulbs. Then it's cut off and discarded.

I've already dug and potted some herbs. I've planted a window box with basil, parsley, chives, and mint. There's a separate pot of both mint and basil. I hope they'll survive this winter. I've not had much luck with basil, but I think that's because I've waited to dig it until it's been too cold. Basil does not like cold at all. I've kept mint alive through the winter, but not parsley, and haven't tried chives before. Those pots are already inside the house, in the kitchen.

I'm busy watering the entire yard and garden, with deep soaking. Everything needs to enter winter well-nourished. Trees, especially evergreens, need to be watered well to survive the winter and come out next spring not brown. The drip system is going all the time in the garden. The raspberry canes, strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, honeyberry, gooseberry, and small cherry bushes will be well watered.

I should weed and feed the lawn, but I'm afraid I will run out of time. It probably should have already happened, but we were busy with the wheat harvest, and I had no energy. The lawn is not high on my list. I need to spray for box elder bugs again. There's been a new hatch. Yuck.

My petunias are still blooming beautifully. The late dark pink daisies and chrysanthemums are loaded with flowerbuds. The golden glow are giving up the ghost. Right now I'm going to go out and bring in a couple bouquets of zinnias, dahlias, and glads. They help me overlook the clutter and dust! I'll have all winter to clean (not that I'll do that often. I'd rather read a book or crochet).