Mums are definitely the standard fall blooms. I am partial to asters because they are perennial and better for pollinators: aromatic asters would fit the bill - they are low growing and have tons of purple blooms. They do need some sun though. Other low growing things still blooming now are black eyed susans and blue mistflower (somewhat agressive but does fine in shade)
4 Likes
Mums, asters, zinnias, black eyed susans could all work! Thank you for the suggestions. I also just saw that some of my direct-sowed marigolds from BN seeds have started blooming, just a very few.
@Hollanynia blue mistflower is so pretty! Alas it is probably too tall (3-6’?). We made an XXL tree pit, 8’ long when most people have none or 3’, so the compromise was to have a couple of walking paths through it. There are a couple neighbors on the block with legit mobility issues so I want to keep things low enough for them to navigate.
4 Likes
Mine is only 1-2 ft, and that’s what prairie moon has listed as the height too! But I can understand not wanting to change it
2 Likes
Yep, it is a rite of passage 
The biologist in me is compelled to say I believe that is a tobacco hornworm not a tomato hornworm. But they are closely related and do the same amount of damage lol. Their moths are very cool, I let them stay unless they are doing crazy damage! I just found a couple of tobacco hornworms chewing on my willow the other day. Tis the season!
2 Likes
My kids found like 20 of those on our tomato plants this year, it was ridiculous!
How much of a difference is there? We’ve also had these (and now I’m not sure what variety) on our grapevine in previous years, but the ones that we took off of the tomatoes wouldn’t eat grape leaves, which surprised me.
2 Likes
They are the same genus but different species. They are pretty similar in that they share many host plants, including many flowering nightshades (including tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes). Tobacco is also a host plant of the tobacco hornworm, but not of tomato hornworms. (Tobacco is also a nightshade, it just doesn’t happen to be a host plant of the tomato hornworm (I don’t think - nicotine is a potent toxin that the tobacco hornworm evolved to tolerate!).) It’s possible each species has alternate host plants that the other won’t eat. The tobacco hornworms I had were on my willow, which was a bit surprising, and definitely not in the nightshade familly!
Tomato hornworms grow up to be the five-spotted hawk moth. The catepillar has 8 "V"s and a black “horn”. Tobacco hornworms grow up to be Carolina sphinx moths. The caterpillar has 7 lines and a red “horn”.
(And yeah, 20 of them is so many! That many would totally decimate my tomatoes!)
Another little factoid some people might not know - if you see one of these little guys covered with little oblong egg looking things, you should NOT kill it. Those are the cocoons of a tiny braconid wasp that parasitizes the hornworms. By letting the caterpillar “live” (really, it’s already dead, it won’t survive to reproduce), you are providing another generation of biological control in your garden to help keep the hornworm numbers under control.
6 Likes
the more you know! 
5 Likes
I got a black light to try and find them! I found 4 yesterday.
Why are they so cute and the moths so beautiful it they are so destructive??? I want them all to live lol
I looked up how to keep them alive until they become a moth and it seems like it’s basically a new pet! You have to feed it and clean its poop regularly and give it a full environment with soil to pupate in.
8 Likes
They poop so much. SO MUCH.
5 Likes
Has anyone grown Ranunculus? It has always seemed a bit picky, but maybe I can grow it since I’ve managed to keep my dahlias alive…
1 Like
i grew some this year! i got them planted out a little late (late april) — but i still got a few blooms.
next season i’m going to pre-sprout them inside and put them out in late march, with some frost protection cloth if it’s super cold. they want to grow when temperatures are cooler and it takes about 12 weeks from planting to bloom. by the time i got mine out and they were ready to bloom, it was way too hot.
for me, they are more challenging to get the timing right than dahlias. i am going to try to do what flower farmers in my zone do! i’m in 6b, so it’s not warm enough here to start them in the fall. my best bet is early spring with protection from the cold.
2 Likes
I’m 6a. So, they bloom early summer before it gets too hot? Do you dig up the corms? I don’t really need another thing to dig up and store, but gosh they’re beautiful. I’ve been eyeing the ones on Eden Brothers, they sell now and in spring, i should probably wait until spring but then I can’t pre-sprout them. They’re also not cheap so I don’t want to use them as annuals.
1 Like
i think you can dig up the corms and save them. they probably won’t last through the winter in zone 6.
i suggest looking up a flower farmer in your area and seeing if one of them has a youtube tutorial or something on instagram describing how they are grown near you. the timing changes a lot based on where you are!
2 Likes
Something else flower related to dive into I guess! Like I need more of that. 
2 Likes
well, it’s a long winter 
might cheer you up on a cold day
1 Like
I have a few garden questions!!
What do yall do at the end of the season to prep your beds for next year? I’ve been just chopping the plants that are done at the base of the soil so far.
If you plant garlic, does it have its own dedicated space in your yard, do you sprinkle it throughout, or do you use the space for a succession sow later? I want to plant some but I don’t want to use a lot of the space I have for plants that need to start right at last frost.
3 Likes
I have an area in the garden for garlic. I’ll probably move it from last year. I harvested my garlic this year in August!
For prepping I try to pull out as many weeds as possible and add a layer of straw. It breaks down nicely over winter and adds to the soil!
2 Likes