Our front garden has not shown its best face since midsummer. By the end of June and the Japanese beetle invasion (thankfully most of the damage was confined to one rose bush), some of the perennials looked a bit shopworn. After several weeks of hot, humid days without rain except for a few torrential storms, they definitely look like they are ready for a long rest.
I can’t do anything to change what has already occurred, so I will look forward to the cooler days and nights of autumn. With only three weeks until the Autumn Equinox, it is time to look toward fall clean-up and planting.
Last year, I ordered several bareroot whips, or small, leafless seedlings from a company that sells native trees. The 18-inch-long whips arrived color-coded by genus and were easy to identify for planting, although labels were necessary for identification as the paint soon faded. Whips are inexpensive compared to the cost of a larger tree. If some don’t survive, you haven’t lost a lot of money.
The select...