Mother Earth's Garden

I went to a retreat this weekend, and one of my favorite parts was a walk in the woods, and down along their gardens. It was interesting to see some of the flowers holding fast to their beautiful colors. Even with the hard freezes we’ve had in our area some of the hardier flowers were still looking fabulous.
Most of these flowers were in a wooded area, so that may help shelter them from the cold and the wind. I was very thankful for their beautiful splashes of color on my stroll, so of course I had to take a few …read more

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We’ve had two hard freezes in my garden already this fall, so there’s not much left growing there. That doesn’t mean I don’t have some beautiful fall colors and textures going on.

The flowering kale and cabbage was very pretty all summer long, but after the freezes they’re stunning. I love the rich purple colors that the cold weather has brought out.
I have several grasses, with some gorgeous seed heads floating on top of my garden. Some of them are going to make their way into fall floral arrangements and centerpieces over the next few weeks, but I’ve got to leave …read more

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Your fall garden is loaded with great flavors you can add to some delicious and comforting recipes. Some of my favorite fall flavors include pumpkin, winter squash, apples, and more. You can go as simple as apples and dip, or get baking and make some wonderful fall flavored desserts.

Pumpkin Pie Blondies
Apple Crisp
Homemade Apple Pie
Cinnamon Apple Dip
Apple Cake
Caramel Apples
Baked Acorn Squash with Maple and Brown Sugar

Yum! Take full advantage of any late season fruits and vegetables that are still in your garden to make your favorite fall dishes. Fall fruits and vegetables are loaded with wonderful flavors, combine them in fall …read more

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Fall is a great time to visit a local farm or orchard. Many farm stores and small orchards have special activities during the fall like hayrides, pumpkin picking, or corn mazes. All of these can be great activities for weekend family fun.
Kids love bumping along in the hay wagon, and looking around for that perfect pumpkin.

While you’re there you can also pick up some great deals on fall produce, including pumpkins, apples, and fall squash. Some even include other yummy fall treats like caramel apples, popcorn balls, apple pie, or fresh cider.

Many also offer natural fall decorations including gourds, mums, …read more

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I love Mother Nature’s colors of fall. I think that’s why fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love checking out the beautiful fall colors on the trees, so I’m partial to fabulous fall photos.

Morton’s Arboretum sent me some fabulous images of their fall color show, going on now.

Mother Nature has begun painting The Morton Arboretum landscape with the very first hints of rich, autumnal reds, purples, golds, oranges, and bronzes.

Thousands of visitors enjoy the annual fall color “art show,” not only for its delightful native trees, but in particular, the fabulous exotic species from 40 countries …read more

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Most people think of spring as the time of year to swap plants, but a fall plant swap can be great too. You might not have new plants to swap, but there are some other things you might have to trade with gardening friends and neighbors:

While you’re digging and dividing your perennials, put extras in a bag or pot (roots and all), then give them away or trade with neighbors.
Fall is also a great time to divide your bulbs, if you have too many bulbs all clustered together it can hinder flowering after a few years. Divide them up, replant …read more

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We had our first Fall frost last night, so I spent the evening grabbing the last of the tender vegetables out of the garden, and pulling in houseplants, and any other plants I want to keep through the winter.

I think we’re a little early for our first frost date here in Ohio this year, but not much. I know we don’t usually see frost until October, but it’s usually a little later than October 1st. But this morning Mother Nature gave us our first white coating of frost.

I picked a bagful of peppers, a couple dozen …read more

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We visited a local prairie several times this summer, and I enjoyed sharing the spring and summer prairie photos here. Now I have some fall prairie photos to share.

My son had a field trip to the prairie the other day where they fished, canoed, hiked, and did a river check. Of course I went along. I can’t let my son enjoy a whole day of Mother Nature without tagging along to check things out.

We had a beautiful fall day, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect!

The trees are just starting to turn on their …read more

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The asters are in bloom in woodlands and meadows all around our area right now. Asters produce a tiny, delicate, daisy-like flower in the fall. They’re one of my favorite fall blooms.

They come in a whole range of colors from white to dark purple, and look lovely in a fall flower arrangement. The most popular type of aster is the New England Aster, that is the one you see most often growing in fields and woodlands.
Asters like to grow in clusters or clumps, and spread their cheery blooms from August through October in most areas. They’re spread by …read more

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I’ve been talking about weeds that I actually like (as long as they’re not growing in my garden). The other day I talked about one of my fall favorites, goldenrod. Today I’d like to talk a little about another fall favorite, Black Eyed Susans.

Black Eyed Susans are one of my favorite flowers for fall floral arrangements, they add a beautiful splash of yellow and brown. They’ll look nice in a vase for several days after you pick them.

Black Eyed Susan plants are also wonderful as pressed flowers, for pressed flower cards or pictures. Just place them …read more

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