Fall Gardening Progress...finally

Taking a breather

Well I am proud to say, the garlic is in. I threw K in the backpack, since it was nap time, and went for it.

Ripping out the remains of the summer always makes me feel a little nostalgic. I think about friends, gatherings, adventures and experiences that have defined this year. It has been full of ups and downs, thank you hormones, and now we can get to know one another again. While summer has that go-go-go feeling full of fun, I welcome the relaxed pace of Fall with open arms. 

Easy smiles and easy conversation.

Late rising sun and dark evenings.

Summer's garden sleeping and the colors of the trees awakening.

Hot bowls of soup and warm bread.

So today, I gently raked the bed flat, added a little fertilizer, covered her up with a couple of inches of compost, added some Magic garlic bulbs an inch and a half below the surface for the summer and then tucked her in with some hay.  I decided to cover the cloche hoops with bird netting, my latest attempt to keep the wildlife out over the winter. 

Good Night Magic Garlic

The Fall garden wrap-up still leaves a lot of unchecked boxes on a lengthy to-do list. I want to set up our second bed for lettuce, chard and carrots over the winter under clear plastic to attempt a greenhouse-esque cold frame and I would like to put my oh-so-tired pea bed, strawberry barrels, asparagus bed, pumpkin bed, and raspberry bed to sleep. So much to do...so little time! 

The final hurrah of our fall gardening is when we do the BIG CHOP. We still have a little time, but all of the Russian Sage will be cut down to the ground and the spirea trimmed back...until next summer.

P.S. I HAD to include this collection of photos that I took while I was outside and the kiddos were inside. Goof balls.