Outdoors Recreation

The Observant Gardener: Our Gardens Transition to Fall

Sunflower in September. Photo by Judith Canty Graves.

September … where fall and summer meet. ~ Will Wallace Harney

By Judith Canty Graves

September is a time of change in the garden. The changes happen rapidly this month, beginning with daylight and temperature. Even though the days are still warm and summery, the sun sets earlier and rises later. Nights are cooler.

As I notice these changes, I reflect on how the growing season has gone, and begin to prepare for the upcoming autumn. I want to believe that summer will last a few more months because the sunflowers and zinnias still have many blooms, but I can see that there are signs of seasonal change as other plants die and decay.

The first to go are the squashes. I always love to plant their seeds in the spring, watch them emerge and produce lush foliage. Then, later, I look forward to their orange flowers and delicious squash. By late August, however, their season is over and it is time to remove the dying plants.

Some tomatoes are also done by the end of August, but others continue, such as the San Marzano tomatoes. Gradually, I pull up the spent plants and their cages. I also remove any lettuce that has finished for the season, although sometimes the neighborhood bears perform that chore for me as they seem to have a taste for old lettuce plants.

In September, sunflowers turn their heads down and begin to produce the seeds that goldfinches love. They lose their flower petals, but the outer green leaves, called bracts, remain around the sunflower head, which becomes a magnet for birds as they devour the seeds. By mid-month it is time to start taking the tall stalks down.

The brilliant orange tithonia flowers begin to fade in late summer. By September, their petals fall off and they begin to produce seeds. Zinnia blooms also fade at this time, but the plants will continue to produce new blooms.

The nasturtiums that grow on the borders of my vegetable beds are also producing seeds by September, another sign of transition. In June and July, their colorful blooms were vibrant. But now their season is over.

Throughout the month, the sun sits lower on the horizon and the light changes daily. After the autumnal equinox, there is more darkness as the sunset is earlier and the sunrise is later. As I work in the garden, I cast long, dark shadows as early as six o’clock in the evening. At this point the changes are rapid and dramatic.

The pollinator garden now feels different to me. After all the motion of butterflies and bees over the summer, suddenly there is no activity. I still see an occasional swallowtail butterfly here and there, but not many. There are only a few bees still looking for nectar among the remaining flowers. I sense a quiet and a stillness. The faded flowers and the seasonal changes of less sunlight and cooler temperatures have caused some pollinators to die and some to migrate.

By late September, the weather is usually warm and sunny during the day, but the nights and mornings are chilly. Summer is waning, the changes are happening and I savor every glorious day as the fall season begins.

Judith Canty Graves is an Asheville gardener with a background in photojournalism. Follow @TheObservantGardener on Instagram to see new garden photos daily.

Leave a Comment