Winter's Coming, And Ridgefield Garden Days Are Numbered

RIDGEFIELD, CT — It's mid-September, and after a tumultuously rainy summer, Ridgefield gardens are just about ready to give up the ghost.

In fact, you may want to help yours on its way, according to Lisa Chuma, a member of The Ridgefield Garden Club.

"It's not too early to start cutting things back," Chuma said. "Start to think about what worked in your garden, and what didn't, this year. Is there anything you want to add or move or change around or divide out or make smaller?"

Pretty much anything that's been in the ground for a year or two is safe to transport. If the plant has put down roots before then, you risk killing them. Deciduous plants and shrubs — such as azaleas, camellias, fruit trees, rhododendron and peonies — are the prime candidates for an autumn move. Grasses and evergreens take better to a spring transplant.

As you're re-locating, subdividing and swapping out, seize the opportunity to plant the new bulbs you want to grow before the ground freezes. Winter's coming, and you're on a clock.

Even if you lack the ambition to rearrange your garden residents, September is still a good to time grab some shears and get a jump on cleaning away the brown leaves as they begin to appear. Do it early enough, and you may be in for a pleasant surprise.

"You might get a second bloom later in the fall," Chuma said. "Either way, you're starting the big chore of garden clean-up."

Cutting off the tops of the dead flowers, or "deadheading," stymies the development of seed heads, and encourages the plant instead to focus on its flowers.

Besides improving the aesthetics and encouraging a second bloom, deadheading your flowers is important to overall garden health. Decomposing plants are an optimal breeding ground for bacterial and fungal problems, so clear out the dead weight before it can attract disease.

But don't confuse coaxing a second bloom from an existing plant with starting a brand-new bloom, Chuma said.

"You definitely don't want to do anything to encourage new growth now, because it probably wouldn't be strong enough to make it through the winter."

Chuma is a big fan of canning, and now is the last opportunity to get the pickle processes rolling.

There are several approaches to canning, and which you choose usually depends upon the acidity of what you are looking to preserve. As canned foods are immune to contamination, they can be kept a very long time. Fruits, vegetables, and even meats are canning candidates.

"You can freeze your herbs and tomatoes," Chuma said, and September is the ideal month to get what's in your garden into the freezer, so you can enjoy them over the long winter months ahead.