By Chuck Goecke

 Cooling fall temperatures invite us outside again. So, why not spruce up your landscape with some wonderful fall color, especially with warm shades that glow in the ripening autumn sun? The quintessential fall perennial is the chrysanthemum. They come in a myriad of colors — mostly warm shades — that complement autumn foliage. Popular colors are rust and the many burgundy shades. Bright yellows and whites are great sparks of color in the garden or on a table, grouped in containers. Chrysanthemum blooms come in a wide variety of forms. Some are like dense cushions or mounds of button-like flowers. Some look like daisies. Best of all, they are available from your favorite nursery in full bloom. Better yet, buy them when the buds are just starting to break, to get the longest enjoyment of their peak bloom.

Unfortunately, many people are not aware that chrysanthemums will return next year, and remove them after they are finished blooming. They are tough, hardy perennials that just need average care. Cutting them back several times in early summer will give you nice, bushy plants. Several of the other fall-blooming perennials also benefit from ‘hair-cuts” during the early season. Asters are tough cousins of the chrysanthemums, with similar daisy-like flowers. Goldenrod is an equally tough native with plume-like flowers.

By choosing several varieties of each of these fall plants, with differing bloom seasons, it is possible to have blooms throughout the fall. North Haven Gardens prides itself on having the nicest, well-budded plants, grown and cared for to put on a spectacular show in your fall garden.

Organic gardening can be as simple as you want. It seems that we tend to make it more difficult than need be. If you haven’t been “organic” in the garden, now would be a good time to start. Moving from more conventional methods to organic gardening can be a challenge. You must have patience and let Mother Nature work her magic. Don’t give up. Results come slowly at first. It can take up to three years to get a previously chemically treated yard into organic balance.

Many good reference books are available to help you with this endeavor. North Haven Gardens carries both books and a wide selection of organic products. One of the most important products we can provide for you is organic compost. Our native soil isn’t as bad as we think it is — it just needs help reaching its potential. By mixing compost in with all new plantings, we help nature by allowing more air to get to the plant roots. We can also help with water penetration and containing moisture in the gardens with the addition of mulch.

To be a successful organic gardener, you must begin to learn the difference between good and bad insects. Know that to have a population of good (beneficial) insects, you must have some of the bad. Tolerance can be a well-learned lesson for us all. A few holes in a plant’s leaves won’t take away from the beauty of the plant as a whole. We need to look past this and enjoy our gardens. Nature will repay you with the return of earthworms to help work and aerate your soil. Overall, plants really enjoy being treated in an organic manner. Whatever you decide, please use caution when using any control method — whether organic or synthetic. Any control is meant to kill. Read the instructions carefully and use only as recommended.