It was well after dark, when I felt the cold air seep in through the cracks in the open window, and slipped on boots and a heavy jacket to harvest the last of the basil and the zinnias. Foliage peaked last weekend, and it was time to move the indoor plants into their winter quarters, a cold yet minimally heated room off the kitchen with windows to the south and east. Over the years, I’ve less patience for lots of small pots, in favor of larger specimens that look well grouped together: jade plants, several orchids including a prize Cymbidium that is blooming right now, two rosemary plants, two passion flower vines, a half dozen scented geraniums, and a mandarin orange tree.
It’s not easy for plants (or people) to move gracefully from the glory of the summer to a small indoor room. My trick to prevent transplant shock is to allow everything to go dormant (that includes me): give them time, no fertilizer until February, water only when the soil is dry, and cool temperatures. Plants ( and people) like company, which is why the breakfast table fits neatly in between the foliage. This week I’ll order tete a tete daffodils, delft blue hyacinth and paperwhite narcissus bulbs from Van Engelen Inc for forcing, just to have a little color and fragrance in between all that green foliage.
Once the frost had cleared, the blackened annuals were hauled to the compost pile, the last of the weeds uprooted, and a the soil was scuffed with a hoe before planting with 3 pounds of annual rye grass for a cover crop. This will feed the soil and hold it in place when the rain and snow of winter comes tumbling through the yard. Since my paths are mulched with bark, the distinction between the path and the garden is often blurred over the summer. It’s a good time to reset the outlines of the beds with sticks and twine, and breaking apart garlic cloves from this years harvest, to replant. By dusk, I said goodby to the garden, after planting four rows or about 100 plants that will emerge as green sprouts next spring. A promise of good things to come.
