Garden Calendar
All photos and videos © Michael Hofferber. All Rights Reserved.
Picking Pumpkin
Pumpkins are usually ready to pick 90-120 days after planting, depending on the variety. Signs that your pumpkin is mature and ready for harvest include:
The stem has turned brown, woody, or withered.
The pumpkin has fully developed its typical deep color for the variety.
The rind is hard and cannot be punctured easily with a fingernail.
The pumpkin sounds hollow when tapped.
The vines begin to die back and lose color.
Always harvest before the first hard frost to prevent rot.
Red Maple
Red Maple (acer rubrum) in łatę autumn with classic red leaves. This is a medium-sized tree with red flowers, red fruit, and red-tinged fall color that grows 40-60’ tall, and has a rounded to oval crown.
Saffron Blooms
The autumn crocus Saffron (Crocus sativus) has golden-colored pungent stigmas (pollen-receiving structures) that are dried and used as a spice to flavor foods and as a dye to color foods and other products. Saffron has a strong, exotic aroma and bitter taste and is used to color and flavor many Mediterranean and Asian dishes, particularly rice and fish, and English, Scandinavian, and Balkan breads. It is an important ingredient in bouillabaisse.
Pumpkin Matures
Pumpkin is a cultivated winter squash in the genus Cucurbita. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties.
Chiminea Aflame
A chiminea is a freestanding, front-loading outdoor fireplace or oven with a bulbous body and a vertical chimney or smoke vent, traditionally made from clay but now available in cast iron, aluminum, and other materials. It is designed to burn wood, charcoal, or, in some modern models, gas, primarily for outdoor heating, cooking, and ambience.
Asters in Full Bloom
Asters are perennial flowering plants known for their daisy-like, star-shaped blooms in vibrant shades such as white, pink, blue, purple, and red. They typically blossom in late summer and fall, adding color when few other flowers remain in bloom.
Fair Bianca Rose in Summer
Rosa Fair Bianca
Fair Bianca is a hybrid shrub rose in the Rosaceae family.
This upright bushy shrub will grow 3-5 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide in full sun in amended well-drained moist soil. Prune in late winter. Protect new growth from spring frosts.
White to white blend flowers are very full with 40 or more petals that open flat and quartered with reflexed edges. They are 2-3 inches wide with a strong myrrh fragrance and bloom in clusters nearly continuously for the season. Semi glossy mid to dark green leaves are on stems with prickles.
Use this shrub in the border, in groups, as a specimen or accent in an English, cottage or cutting garden.
Three Sisters Maturing
Beans are grown with corn as part of the "Three Sisters" companion planting method: pole beans use the corn stalks as support, fix nitrogen in the soil, and squash plants provide ground cover.
Apples Ripening
As apples mature, they produce ethylene gas, which acts as the "ripening hormone" and triggers changes in the fruit.
Ripening is marked by a series of changes: Starch in the flesh converts to sugar. The skin changes color: background green fades to yellow or whitish (variety-dependent).The flesh softens and acidity decreases, making apples taste sweeter. Seeds turn brown, indicating maturity.
Apple varieties ripen from late July to October in temperate regions, with some early varieties ripening around late July/early August, and late varieties into October or November.
Burning Brush with Chiminea
A chiminea provides a safe and effective place to burn off dried weeds and grasses. Be sure to place your chiminea on a fireproof or fire-resistant surface such as cement, pavers, bricks, or flagstone. Ensure it's at least 10 feet away from any structures or flammable materials, including fences, trees, and bushes. And never use accelerants like gasoline or lighter fluid to start the fire.
Corn Tasseling
Corn tasseling refers to the stage when the corn plant produces its tassel, which is the male part of the plant at the top of the stalk. The tassel contains hundreds to thousands of spikelets, capable of producing the pollen needed for fertilizing the silks on the ears below. The tassel's job is to shed pollen, which is carried by the wind to the silks (female parts) on the ears of the corn. Successful pollination leads to kernel formation and, ultimately, an ear of corn.
Echinacea Tea
Echinacea tea delivers a bold, floral flavor with a sharpness reminiscent of pine needles and a subtle sweetness similar to meadowsweet.
It is prized for its potential health-promoting properties, Regular consumption may help boost immune response. Some studies suggest that echinacea can lower the risk of catching the common cold and may shorten recovery time if you do fall ill. The tea may also help reduce inflammation, potentially soothing sore throats and easing symptoms related to colds or the flu.
The aroma and essential oils in echinacea tea are said to positively influence mood by promoting dopamine release and reducing stress
Picking Cucumbers
Cucumis sativus
This widely cultivated, creeping vine plant in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) produces elongated, green-skinned fruits. Botanically, cucumbers are classified as a fruit—specifically, a type of berry called a pepo—because they develop from the flower of the plant and contain seeds.However, they are most often treated and consumed as a vegetable due to their mild, savory flavor and typical use in salads, sandwiches, and pickles.
Russian Sage
Salvia yangii
A flowering herbaceous perennial plant native to the steppes and hills of southwestern and central Asia, Russian sage was not previously a member of the Salvia family, but has become widely known as a sage and ornithologists have included in its family since 2017. This plant grows upright, reaching 0.5–1.2 metres (1+1⁄2–4 feet) tall, with square stems and gray-green leaves that yield a distinctive odor when crushed. Best known for its flowers, flowering season for Russian sage extends from mid-summer to late October, with blue to violet blossoms arranged into showy, branched panicles.
Orange Coneflower in Bloom
Rudbeckia fulgida
Blooms from midsummer through fall with bold yellow-orange flowers that nearly cover the entire plant, growing from two to four feet high. This plants has deep green foliage and sturdy stem, with good form all season-long. A good nectar source, Orange Coneflower is visited by butterflies and other pollinating insects. Native to the eastern area of the Midwest, it does best in full sun to light shade in a rich soil. The plant prefers consistent moisture, but becomes more drought tolerant once established.
Mullein in Bloom
Rabbit Tobacco Is Sweet Everlasting
Like mullein, the leaves of this plant were often added to regular tobacco to make it last longer.
Squash Blossoms
Squash blossoms are the edible flowers of squash plants, especially those from the Cucurbita pepo species, which includes zucchini and other common squashes. They are also known as zucchini flowers or courgette flowers The blossoms are delicate, with a mild, slightly sweet flavor reminiscent of young squash, and are prized in many cuisines for their unique texture and taste
Edith's Darling Blooms
This bright, English-style shrub rose produces 3" golden blossoms with over 60 petals each. The Edith’s Darling name was inspired by the television series Downton Abbey character, Lady Edith. It embodies the devotion and affection Lady Edith maintained for her beloved daughter Marigold. These ruffled and cupped rose blooms have a fresh, fruity scent.
Pot Marigold Abloom
Calendula officinalis
The pot marigold, Scotch marigold, or ruddles is a flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. Probably native to southern Europe, but its long history of cultivation makes its precise origin unknown, and it is widely naturalized. The florets are edible and the plant has historically been used as medicine.
Sweet William Abloom
Sweet William
Dianthus barbatus
Sweet William is native to the mountains of southern Europe from the Pyrenees east to the Carpathians and the Balkans, with a related variety in northeastern China, Korea, and southeasternmost Russia. It grows to 13–92 cm tall (depending on the variety) with green to glaucous blue-green tapered leaves. The flowers are produced in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems (known as an umbel) and have a spicy, clove-like scent; in wild plants the petals are red with a white base.
Foxglove Blooms
Digitalis purpurea
Common foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, is a biennial or short-lived herbaceous perennial from western Europe in the plantain family that grows in woodland clearings, mountainsides and especially on disturbed sites, as well as being used as a garden ornamental.
Also called purple foxglove, fairy gloves, fairy bells, lady’s glove, or many other things, this plant is widely naturalized outside its native area, commonly near roads and in some places is considered a weed or an invasive.
Honeysuckle Blooms
Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Also known as coral or trumpet honeysuckle, this is a vigorous, twining vine native to the southeastern United States. It is valued for its ornamental beauty, wildlife benefits, and adaptability in the garden.