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Cleaning up the Garden

October 14th, 2009

Yesterday I spent some time in the afternoon cleaning up around the garden. I don’t do a ton of cleaning in the fall, I like to leave the seed heads for the birds. I have some zinnias up front that were very big and in spot that I wanted to plant some perennials.
handfull_of_zinnias
Since I did not deadhead them this summer they were mostly spent with only a few fresh blossoms on a few of the plants. I cut those blossoms and pulled the rest of the plants. The flowers will be lovely on my kitchen windowsill for the next couple days.
zinnias_on_porch
This time of year I’m always clinging to the remainder of summer not wanting winter to arrive. I do love winter when it finally comes, but I find myself reluctant to let go the lushness of the summer with it’s colorful flowers and the warmth of the sun.

What will you miss most about summer?

13 Comments to “Cleaning up the Garden”
  1. warren on October 14, 2009 at 9:17 am

    I miss everything! I love the heat and the long days and the heat and swimming and gardening and flying kites and the heat and running barefoot in the grass and messing with my bees and the heat and cooking on the grill and laying on a blanket watching stars and june bugs and fireworks.
    .-= warren´s last blog ..A Garden Dialog =-.

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    • Susy on October 14, 2009 at 9:27 am

      You’re making me miss it even more now :(

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  2. kristin @ going country on October 14, 2009 at 10:23 am

    Warm hands and feet. I apparently have poor circulation . . .
    .-= kristin @ going country´s last blog ..At the Cock’s Crow =-.

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    • Susy on October 14, 2009 at 12:50 pm

      I know exactly what you mean – my fingernails are purple right now!

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  3. Val on October 14, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    Oooo… zinnias. I love them. Next year I plan to have a wonderful flower garden on top of my veggie garden. :)

    I have been cleaning out the garden as well. Getting ready for kale and chard to be planted, hoping the frost does not kill my winter seedlings. I love this time of year… but I dislike the dark. I will really miss the light. It is shocking for us up here. It gets dark so very fast. Soon we will only have a 6 hour day. Sigh.

    Val
    .-= Val´s last blog ..Market Days =-.

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  4. michelle on October 14, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    I miss being in MI for the summers and being in my gardens there. Slowly digging up the earth for new beds. Watching the tomatoes grow. Eating fresh veggies. The song of birds. Spring bulbs and iris bloom season.

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  5. Pampered Mom on October 14, 2009 at 2:54 pm

    The warmth…it’s cold in the house during the winter and even though this summer was a bit short on the warmth factor I’ll still miss it.
    .-= Pampered Mom´s last blog ..Reusable Water Bottles =-.

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  6. Daphne on October 14, 2009 at 4:21 pm

    I miss all the fresh produce. I tend to gain weight over the winter. I’m not eating nearly as many veggies as before and the fall storage veggies tend to be more fattening than the spring and summer ones. Ah well. I always lose it in the spring and summer when the garden start producing again.
    .-= Daphne´s last blog ..Preparing for Frost =-.

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  7. the inadvertent farmer on October 14, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    Tomatoes,sun,surf, tomatoes…Kim
    .-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..The King is Sick Now… =-.

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  8. Jaspenelle on October 14, 2009 at 6:09 pm

    I adore zinnias! Did you have a green variety you grew this year?

    At the moment I am not missing summer, but it is always like this for me, by the time one season wraps up I am generally more then ready for it to be over with! This Summer’s heat was murderous and slowed me down tremendously as I am pregnant, so Autumn’s cooler days are overwhelmingly appreciated. Give me a month though and the wind and rain will have me welcoming Winter’s snows though and probably missing Summer.

    I love being able to go outside almost every day during the Summer. I go out in the Autumn rain as well but it is never as productive as a warm summer morning. I’ll miss fresh tomatoes shortly too!
    .-= Jaspenelle´s last blog ..Warming up =-.

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    • Susy on October 14, 2009 at 11:40 pm

      I didn’t pick any of those, they’re still blooming in the garden. I’ll probably pull them next week.

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  9. Allie on October 14, 2009 at 9:52 pm

    Oh! Those are beautiful! I love Zinnias, and you take such great pictures!
    .-= Allie´s last blog ..My Book Cover & More Great News! =-.

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  10. Dan on October 15, 2009 at 1:49 am

    Love the photo of the flowers on the deck! It would be a good candidate for turning the background b&w well leaving the flowers color. What will I miss from summer… hmm, last summers heat!
    .-= Dan´s last blog ..Long Weekend of Garden Neglect =-.

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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