The Garden Party's Over

That's it! The first hard frost has wiped out the veggies. Not a moment too soon since the family of four deer has figured out how to push through my fence. Just this morning one of them lifted two cantaloupes out of the cold frame - just in time for breakfast (theirs,  not mine).

Once I put my frustration aside (after all, how many more veggies can I expect in October?) I'm intrigued by the deer's menu.  First they ate the carrot tops and the broccoli.  Okay, they're going to be pretty healthy this winter.  Then they ate the onion tops.  Well, that seems a little strange but maybe they needed some seasoning on the carrots. And then - then! - they ate the flat-leaf parsley.  Ha! Gourmand deer cleansing their palates after a hearty veggie meal. Alllll rightey then!

It all points to the end of the garden year - frost-burnt cucumber and squash vines, shriveled petunia stems, sad, frozen hostas, exceptionally hungry deer prowling in daylight hours. And the last of the hummingbirds seems to be gone from the feeder.

But I'm looking forward already. The flower beds are 13 years old now and looked patchy even at the height of the summer bloom - now is the time to fix what is obviously "broken" in the summer garden design.

Since the annuals are finished, I can pull them out to better see what the perennials are doing. Once I've pulled the last of the weeds and raked up any debris left behind, I like to step back (sometimes the view from an upstairs window is best) and see what is wrong with the design.  I take photos of my flower beds throughout the season so I'll be able to judge what's working well (or not) as the year moves along. This particular bed has wonderful Spring flowering bulbs and late Summer Lavender but it's pretty bland in between.  I can see, from this vantage point, that the Irises have multiplied and are overwhelming everything else so I'll be digging and dividing them. The lavender plants are doing well, placed evenly throughout the bed but it's now obvious that I need to add some contrast and height to the picture. I'll add some Russian Sage (Perovskia) which will arch above the shorter plants and some pink-flowering Persian  Stonecress (Aethionema schistosum) to cover the ground beneath.

It's a great time to put in some new plants: the nurseries don't want to carry their stock over winter and the garden is nice and damp from the random fall showers.  I do a lot of planting in October so the new plants will have enough time to produce new roots before the ground freezes solid - I've got four or maybe five weeks, so I'd better hurry.

If I can get the garden ready for the first snowfall,

my 2016 garden will be in great shape.  If the four-legged neighbors leave anything for me...

I've found that the OSU Extension Service's Garden Tips help me remember all my seasonal chores - here are the tips for October and November: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes/sites/default/files/GardenTipsOctNov.pdf