Garden Tip for Color during the Cool Season

by Leslie Perrin

Cooler temperatures and lower humidity make gardening more pleasant. When the plants begin to look tired and past their prime, pull them out and replace them with fresh plants. You can keep your container current with seasonal themes by growing a succession of plants, such as bulbs and primroses in the spring, annuals and vegetables in the summer, and colorful kale and pansies in autumn .

Decide what color and height you would like to plant. Remove old plants, turn the soil, add 2-4" of organic matter and fertilize. Excellent choices for planting at this time are: cornflower, dianthus,kale, larkspur, lobelia, pansy,snapdragon,

Rotate containers on a regular basis to encourage plants on all sides to grow evenly. Plants on the shady side tend to get leggy as they stretch for the sun.

This fall when planting your bulbs, try the layering method. Start with the largest bulb then cover with a little dirt, then put in the next size bulb (like tulips) and cover with more dirt. Then next size (like daffodils), then next size (like Hyacinths) etc. You can even plant pansies on top of them. In the Spring you can enjoy the riot of color.