Late Liatris is just starting to flower along side Helianthus, the willowleaf sunflower.
Indian Summer Days
  
  
 
As I sit and write this email, it is over 80 degrees outside. A monarch was nectaring on my butterfly bush this morning and I am continuing to harvest green beans and zucchini squash even though the tops of my plants were frosted. Bye bye wool sweater, hello tank top. You gottta love it.
 
When I tell you that this is a GREAT time to plant, I am not kidding! I spent all day Sunday in my yard, steadily working my way through the giant pile of plants I have been bringing home over the past many weeks. Each garden I approached needed a bit of rearranging and weeding which slowed down my progress. But the results are so worth it. Slow and steady wins the race was my mantra for the weekend. I have a lot of projects in the work for the next 3-4 weeks and every gorgeous fall day that I can work outside is a gift. 

This Saturday we are having our annual Playing with Pumpkins workshop.
Anemones, Kirengeshoma pods, Leonotis, asters all make this pumpkin arrangement a beautiful sight to behold. Come and create your own pumpkin arrangement this Sat. morning!
   We will carve a small sugar pumpkin and add floral foam. Then we wander our gardens and pick flowers, foliage, grasses, and berries. Back in the tent, I teach you how to make a flower arrangement in your pumpkin. This year, we ask that you let us know in advance if you are coming so we have enough pumpkins and space in the tent. Plus, we ask that you bring a $5 cash donation to the North Branford Food Bank for your registration fee. The food bank is thrilled we are doing this and has already thanked us on their Facebook page. I hope you can join me and bring your friends! You will enjoy your pumpkin centerpiece for a long time and you will be helping to feed hungry people. Keep it local...

Have you picked out your spring blooming bulbs yet? Our bulb selection is really quite lovely, with bulbs that span the season from February until late July. We have bulbs for sun or shade and bulbs that are deer proof. We have bulbs for cut flowers and bulbs for naturalizing. A few of my favorites are featured in the article below. A garden is just not complete without spring blooming bulbs. They double the color in a small space and offer combinations of color, texture, and form that the earliest perennials can't provide. Plus the pollinators NEED the earliest bulbs. And, they are just so easy to plant- anyone can do it. 
 
Have you picked out your bulbs yet? This picture was taken in my garden last spring. I LOVE daffodils, don't you?
 
In October, Natureworks is a special place to visit. Besides being stocked with lots of very late blooming, hardy perennials, we also have a nice selection of pumpkins and gourds, fall wreaths, and SUCCULENT PUMPKINS. These are small pumpkins with an assortment of succulents glued on top. They only need misting once a week. When the pumpkin finally gets mushy (this takes a long time) you peel the moss and succulents off the top and stick it in a pretty container filled with potting soil. Voila! You then have a succulent planter for your windowsill. Leave it to my creative staff to come up with this. We make them constantly; they make great little gifts or naturalistic decorations for Halloween festivities. 
 
Last week we introduced our Spooky Treasure Hunt Sale. We have now expanded this sale to include many plants that are looking for a good home in YOUR garden. My staff has supplied me with a complete list which is in the box below. 
'Whirlwind' is a semi-double white fall blooming anemone that everyone is admiring on our benches this week. 
As seen in the photograph of Diane's garden below, this time of year means seed pods, some perennials finishing up, AND some perennials budded and ready to open! If you don't have plants to look forward to in your landscape right now, get in here and get with the program! My garden is stunning, filled with blue asters everywhere. My 'Mammoth Mums' are still blooming and all of my late mums are just beginning to crack color. A few of the super-late Liatris varieties that are now on our benches are coming home with me to weave in among the Japanese anemones. What a combination of textures and forms! My willow leaf sunflower (Helianthus 'First Light') grabs my attention every morning when I step out on my deck with my cup of coffee. Colchicum blossoms poke up on the south side and the later fall crocus varieties haven't even shown their buds yet.  The flower plumes on my ornamental grasses catch the golden light of the afternoon sun so beautifully, I wish I could capture it in a photograph. Alas, I am not as talented as Diane when it comes to taking pictures...
 
 
Fall is a great time to improve your soil. Many of our clients have asked us to topdress their garden beds with compost now instead of in the spring. This will certainly help plants that were stressed by the extreme heat and drought of the summer. If you deep soak your important trees and shrubs with Organic Plant Magic before topdressing with compost, then apply a layer of mulch, they will be SO much happier going into the winter. The lawn renovation project that my husband embarked on in early September turned out really well.
Orange Agastache is still blooming strong in my garden and in Diane's garden too. The bees love it along with the goldenrod. AND, you can use the Agastache leaves to make tea, they taste like licorice mint.
  He continues to water and I will give the lawn one more foliar feeding with Organic Plant Magic to build a strong root system. It is not too late to put down grass seed or to feed your lawn. It is also PRIME TIME to plant garlic. Our garlic bins are slowly emptying out. Last year we completely sold out of our organic, hardneck, seed garlic. Don't miss out. Prepare your soil with compost and Coast of Maine fertilizer. One clove=one head of garlic next year. It is one of the easiest crops you can grow. 

Have you ever actually sat down in the fall and watched the bees on the flowers? I can't get over how many bees are in my yard. Even in the early morning, the asters are covered. At dusk, they are still going strong. I find it relaxing to watch them and SO gratifying to know that my conscious effort to plant for pollinators is paying off. 
 
Treat yourself to a visit to Natureworks this week. Escape the election madness, escape the worries and cares of your daily life, and stroll our gardens to restore your soul. You will see that we are deep in the heart of a GIANT renovation of all of our beds- it is so exciting! Plants have been removed, plants have been rearranged, and tons of new plants and bulbs are being added each week. We hope to have them established and labeled by next spring, making our "living classroom" even more valuable to our loyal customers.
 
There are only two more Saturday mornings in the garden with Nancy still to come- this Saturday is Playing with Pumpkins and next Saturday is Getting your Garden ready for the Dormant Season. After that, the Teaching Tent gets packed away for the winter and we start gearing up for the November/December holiday season. When it's 80 degrees out, it's hard to imagine, but, believe me, it will be here before you know it. 
 
I look forward to seeing you soon...

Signature_Nancy





   
Pot up Amaryllis NOW!
 

I am sure this will be hard to imagine, but if you pot up your giant Amaryllis bulbs this weekend, you will have a mere 9 weeks to force them into bloom for Christmas! Yikes! The giant bulbs take a full eight weeks minimum, the smaller bulbs force in 6-8 weeks. The secret is to give them bottom heat while sprouting then put them in a sunny window and turn them daily so they grow straight. 

 

My houseplants are in my unheated back garage, in a sunny window, wondering WHY they aren't outside on this beautiful week! Many have been repotted, with a few to go.  All need to be seriously groomed and pruned. I need to give them a couple more sprays with Neem to be sure no aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, or scale make it into my office sunroom this winter. Click here to link to the handout The Plant that Came in From the Cold to read how this process works.

  

We have Organic Mechanic potting soil, clay pots, and everything you need to treat your houseplant collection with tender loving care. While you are at it, why not plant your first sowing of nutritious microgreen seeds?  

 

   
Bulbs Complete the Garden
 

Every year, as winter starts to wind down, I find myself outside, nose to the ground, looking for signs of life. On the south side of my house, the snow melts fast and the earliest snowdrops, winter aconite, Iris reticulata, and species crocus make me squeal with delight. Yes, I have my pussywillow shrubs cut and forced in vases in the house. But there is something about those earliest late winter bulbs that just simply makes you joyful. It means spring is on the way!

  

At Natureworks, WE LOVE BULBS! Every retail employee and every gardener on our crew makes it their mission to sing the praises of bulbs to all who will listen. They are just so easy to plant and grow. Because we love bulbs, we carry lots and LOTS of bulbs, including all kinds of unusual varieties that you don't find in the chain stores. Shown above are species tulips- I call them 'Peppermint Stick'. They have been coming back to grace my garden for years and years. 

 

Being an April baby, I also adore daffodils and hyacinths. I especially love hyacinths after they have been in the garden for a couple of years when they get multiple flowers from each bulb and the flowers are thinner and more delicate. Everyone thinks of pink and blue hyacinths, but I enjoy creamy yellow, soft salmon, pure white, and rich purple. 

 

I also love to plant daffodils that span the bloom season from late March until the middle of May. Because daffodils are true perennials and are deer and vole resistant, they are very popular. Don't just think of yellow trumpets- daffodils come in so many colors and forms. I especially like the double late forms such as 'Cheerfulness', 'Geranium', and 'Erlicheer' that smell like heaven on earth and can be added to Mother's Day bouquets along with lilacs and tulips. 

  

Tulips are now so much easier to grow with the addition of Repellex Systemic

to each planting hole in the fall. This organic product is drawn up into the bulb and makes it taste like very hot pepper, thus repelling voles. In the spring, the soil around the emerging tulips leaves are sprinkled with Repellex again. This protects them for 3 months, well beyond their growing season. 

  

I plant hundreds of bulbs in my yard each year. As I cut down perennials that have gone dormant, I tuck bulbs in between the crowns of the plants. Every butterfly bush and every hydrangea has daffodils at the base as they are late to sprout leaves and look like dead sticks for the early part of the spring. Ornamental grasses are cut down in March- daffodils come up and bloom where they leave a gap. I play around with combinations of perennials and bulbs to double the color in my gardens. 

I like to plant white flowers in my courtyard because I am often out there in the evening after work and white flowers glow in the darkness. 'Mt. Everest' Alliums are one of the bulbs I use, perfect white orbs that bloom in June and make me smile, even when I am tired from my hectic spring days. 

  

 
Fall Treasure Hunt!
  
 

What is Kassie doing in the picture above? She is scurrying around creating a Fall Treasure Hunt for our customers.  
All sorts of plants are on sale but you have to find them as they are scattered throughout our benches and displays.
 Pick up our Spooky Treasure Hunt Flyer  when you arrive
 and let the hunt begin! 


20% off
All ASTERS!

30% off 
All shrubs, roses, hydrangeas, crape myrtles, butterfly bushes, Chelone, Corydalis, Gaura, cranesbill geraniums, mountain mint, thyme, Veronicastrum, Vernonia

40% off 
All Asclepias, Astilbe, Echinaceas, ferns, hostas, Solomons seal

50% off 
Many miscellaneous plants (too numerous to mention),
all annuals (including annual mums)
 

 
Sale applies to in-stock items, while supplies last and does not apply to special orders.
 

Upcoming Events 
Saturday, October 22nd 
9:30-10:30 am     Playing with Pumpkins
This is one of the most enjoyed fall events of the season. We supply you with a small sugar pumpkin. You carve it out, add a bit of floral foam, and then take a walk with Nancy through the gardens and pick flowers, seed pods, and foliage. We return to the tent and Nancy will show you how to make a basic flower arrangement! Bring your friends and have a ball. It is our way of saying "thank-you" to our wonderful customers for a great gardening season.
Registration in advance is required so we have enough supplies.
*****New this year, to gain entry to Playing with Pumpkins, please bring a $5 cash donation for the North Branford Food Bank.*****
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Saturday, October 29th
7:00 - 9:00 am      Early Bird Sale
Coffee and a free $5 gift card for those who shop before 9 am.

9:30 - 10:30 am    Fall Gardening School: Getting your Garden Ready for the Dormant Season
This is our last official garden walk of the season. Nancy will teach you which plants to cut down and which plants to leave up and why. She will demonstrate hilling up roses, Wilt-Prufing, and many other late fall chores that need to be done for the health of your garden. We will celebrate all of the remaining color in our gardens on this last day of October.

11:00 - 11:30 am    I Dig Dahlias & Other Tender Bulbs with Jane Ketterer
Jane is an expert at planting, growing, digging and storing tender bulbs. As the frost arrives, it's time to dig up your dahlias, and other tender bulbs so that they can be dried and prepared for winter storage. Learn all about it from the expert!


Click the month for event flyers: OCTOBER , NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 
Unless otherwise noted, events are held on-site at Natureworks 
 
Click a Quick Link for more Information




FALL HOURS   
Monday - Saturday 9-5  and  Sunday 10-4 




Natureworks Horticultural Services   (map)
518 Forest Road, Northford, CT  06472
Business Reg. #B 3307   |  CT. License #0569208  
naturework.com     |   nature@iconn.net
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