Plant Talk

Halloween Scenes from Crows to Country Pumpkin Stands

Happy Halloween - The south end of Whidbey Island's rural roots are clearly on show this time of year...

Langley decks itself out for Halloween, from a road-side pumpkin stand to a murder of crows for the holiday....

 

 

 

An honor system pumpkin stand - You put your money in the box , and help yourself...

A metal crow, as slim and dark as a shadow, by island artist Tim Leonard seemingly gloats over his pile of pumpkins in Sharen Heath's front garden.

A murder of crows, so real looking you expect them to flutter and caw, at Useless Bay Coffee Company on 2nd Street...

And my favorite pumpkin scene, at a house up the hill from town on Third Street...see the nasturtium winding its way through the woodpile?

 

Pretty Pumpkins and Spectacular Squashes at DIG Nursery on Vashon Island

Not everyone had as much trouble growing pumpkins this year as I did, thank goodness. I'm not sure whether to blame my sorry pumpkin crop on a faulty irrigation system or perhaps it's because Langley faces north and my garden just didn't heat up enough to ripen squash this summer....whatever the reason, it's been a disappointing year pumpkin-wise...

Sylvia Matlock and Ross Johnson of stylish DIG Floral and Garden on Vashon Island had no such problems. They grew such a bumper crop of squash, this designing duo were inspired to make a pumpkin video that makes you want to jump right on the ferry and pick up a few of the warty, bi-colored or smoothly spherical squashes they're selling this autumn....whether you plan to decorate with them, carve them for Halloween, cook them, roast the seeds, or all four, these squash are weirdly gorgeous and no doubt delicious...all photos courtesy of DIG...

 

 

 

Pumpkins Galore

I love to grow unusual pumpkins and squashes - but this year you can find such an assortment of fabulous ones in shops and stores I'm thinking I won't give up garden room to the colonizing vines anymore....Even Trader Joe's has fat French Cinderella heirloom pumpkins for $4.99!

For a fine assortment of heirloom squashes and pumpkins in glorious shades from mint green to deepest burnt orange, stop in to Marigold and Mint in the Melrose Market on Capitol Hill.  These fruits from Gordon Skagit Farms are so varied and beautiful it'd be a shame to carve them.  For your Halloween pleasure:

Harvest Time

This morning as I was walking up our alley in Langley, I was thinking about "Restoration Harvest", a piece Tim Egan wrote this week on his New York Times blog about the beauty of the Eastern Washington apple harvest. Of course, this was Tim Egan, so there's plenty in there about food safety, irrigation, etc., but mostly it's an ode to apples...

It begins “The apples look like Christmas ornaments, wearing a blush of dew at first light” and ends with the conviction that the harvest satisfies a need that has never been bred out of as people.

So just as I’m contemplating this comforting thought, I come upon my neighbor’s final pear harvest and his wheelbarrow full of pumpkins and squashes. So beautiful on a sunny October morning – harvest visuals courtesy of Linda Morris and Dan Babbit’s fruitful garden. 

Fall Vegetables?

Sorry to inject reality, but as Labor Day approaches it's time to be thinking about autumn planting.  If your cilanto and broccoli bolted like mine did in that July heat (let alone summer water bills) cool season crops sound like a fine idea....

For those of us sans greenhouses or row covers, what to plant for fall food crops can be puzzling.  I'll be giving suggestions over the next couple of weeks so you can get your fall seeds ordered, or better yet, give yourself an earlier harvest by tracking down starts.

First, care for the soil. If you're re-planting a bed in which you've grown flowers or vegetables all summer, refresh and enrich the soil by digging in compost and a balanced, organic fertilizer.

Consider planting kale, which is nutritious, stands up well to winter weather, and its crinkly leaves are pretty in the garden.  Romaine lettuce is another nutritious green, and it does better in cooler temperatures than many of the more tender mesclun-type lettuces. And it's not too late to try a second crop of broccoli for a late autumn harvest.

And speaking of autumn harvests - have you ever seen pumpkins ripening so soon? I'm already picking them ...

Photos courtesy of Log House Plants, who are busy shipping autumn vegetable starts to nurseries. Stay tune for more cool-season veg selections...and here's proof of early pumpkin ripening going on in my Langley garden..