First Frost

I am still waiting for the first frost of fall. October seems to have been divided into two distinct halves---the first half, in which the sun was out and the daytime high temperatures edged towards the 70’s. It felt as though Indian summer might stretch on into some glorious infinity. Then the second half of October was upon us and the rains came---at times in what felt like Biblical proportions---and I started wondering if the ark had a two bag limit and if so, was one of them required to fit under my seat.

Non-slimy Petunias: Good

Still no frost though, at least not at the Sume house. My dahlias are still blooming; the marigolds are still glowing, their colors a perfect match for this golden season. I have, however, pulled up all of my petunias and deposited them in the compost pile. If there is one thing petunias cannot tolerate it is rain. A few little sprinkles a precipitation and the blossoms get all slimy. And if there is one thing I cannot stand it is a slimy petunia, so into the compost they go!

Dahlias need the frost though. I wait until the first frost of fall has come and sent all the living energy from the plant back into its roots before I did them up for winter. That is, if I remember that I have dahlias and where it is that I have planted them. Once the frost comes dead things kind of look alike, at least they seem to from the warmth and comfort of my couch. Sometimes I don’t remember I have dahlias until the following spring. I’ll stab my trowel into a slimy mess of something that looks like it was once—oh yeah---a dahlia. Oops.

Dahlia planted in a "safe" location.
Ignore the tomato in the foreground.
I do.

This year I planted a lovely dahlia the color of a sunrise in the big pot on my back deck where I can’t help but remember to dig it up. Now I am just waiting on Jack...