End of Season Gardening

I am very sad to see the growing season come to an end as it represents an end of my gardens life.  Presently I have only a few flowers still blooming, pink clematis, yellow mums and the white sweet autumn clematis.  All other flowers have died back and all that remains is the seed heads.

Dried Hydrangea flowers add winter interest to the garden

Tomorrow there will be a hard frost and then I will cut back all the garden beds for the winter season. And will cover the gardens with a thick layer of leaf mulch as this organic mulch will aid in protecting the flower roots that are close to the soil surface from snow or ice.

Now that the growing and gardening season is coming to an end I am not doing much other than trimming back the dead tree branches, collecting seeds, and keeping the gardens weed free. 

Cleanup irises by removing leaves and weeds

Garden Notes:

1. I never collect all of the seeds as many flowers like the sedum and ornamental grasses are attractive throughout the winter season.  I also leave the seed heads on the black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, and coneflowers as they provide food for the songbirds.

   

   Ornamental grass plumes add winter interest to garden
2. This year we covered our small pond with a layer of chicken wire to keep the leaves from accumulating and clogging up the water filter. 
3. The small tabletop fountain provides the songbirds and the stray cats with a reliable water source, although we mu constantly remove the leaves and change out the water daily.