Fall is probably my favorite time of year, and I have written so many articles about it. I was lucky enough to be born in October. My birthday was usually around the same time of year as the State Fair in Columbia where I grew up. If you haven’t been it should be on your bucket list. In case you don’t know Agriculture is big business in South Carolina, and the State Fair has it all. There is a lot of talent in our state and each year the best growers, bakers, artists and crafters, as well as farmers show off their products/produce. I love the animals, vegetables and flowers there to be judged and admired.
Fall is an exciting time to be a gardener. Wildflowers and grasses are showing off on the roadsides and ditches. Butterflies and birds are on the move finding places to overwinter, stuffing calories from flowers, seeds, berries, and grasses. The days are getting shorter, signaling a color change from green to more muted colors. One exception is pignut hickory Carya glabra; the leaves stay on a while longer than other deciduous trees and turn a bright yellow.
For me fall is an optimistic time of year – not too hot and not too cold. It’s the perfect temperature to work in the garden cleaning up, putting away, emptying soil out of the spring and summer pots and planting cool season herbs, like parsley and cilantro, vegetables such as leafy greens, spring onions and garlic. There are quite a few flowers that can take the cold here and still bloom in the spring. Pansies, snaps, Calendula, and Dianthus are just a few. Those chores that seemed impossible or ridiculous in the summer are now do-able if not downright pleasant. I’m such a nerd that I got excited today finding earthworms in my planters. Those guys/girls?? are making my soil better.
We have incredible landscapes in our Lowcountry. When friends come to town or you just need to get out and move, my top recommendations for nature walks or rides in no particular order are Penn Center Museum and campus, Hunting Island, Savannah Wildlife Refuge, Newhall Preserve, Cypress Wetlands in Port Royal, Jarvis Park, Victoria Bluff. I just realized my list is endless.
Gotta go plant some bulbs.
