By Master Gardener Volunteer Lesley Arrandale
mail@floridanewsline.com

By the time you read this, I hope the above-average temperatures of early September are well behind us, although even in northeast Florida, we may be able to spend the holidays at the beach courtesy of the Florida weather.

If you have a garden, now is the time to plant cool season vegetables. Some of you will have gotten off to a good start already, but with our unpredictable temperatures, planting early can be tricky. In the first week of September, I was still dealing with summer insect pests: stink bugs on the eggplant and harlequin bugs on the not-so flourishing collards. Some leafy vegetables like lettuce can bolt (flower and go to seed) rapidly if the weather is unseasonably warm. It’s a balancing act, as are most gardening activities. For guidance, see the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021. From preparing the planting bed, choosing which vegetables and varieties do best in our area, protecting them from diseases and pests, and caring for them by supplying them with the optimum amounts of nutrients and water, this document covers all the bases. Two more useful resources from the Extension service: The Neighborhood Gardener, https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/mastergardener/newsletter/ and our local newsletter, A New Leaf, http://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/duval/lawns-gardens-and-trees/new-leaf-newsletter/.

Autumn is a peak time for butterflies which are taking advantage of fall-blooming wildflowers like goldenrods (Solidago spp.) and sunflowers (Helianthus ssp.). For pollinators in general, supplying them with a food source for as long as possible will enable them to survive through the winter. Honeybees certainly benefit from a well-stocked hive to see them through. More flowers make for a prettier yard for us humans too! Some plants that are flowering in early fall include Texas bells (Tecoma stans), coreopsis, gloxinia “Bolivian Sunset” (Seemannia, formerly Gloxinia, sylvatica “Bolivian Sunset”), zinnias, salvias, sweet almond bush (Aloysia virgata) and asters (Symphyotrichum ssp.). 

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are routinely visiting orange or red flowers like cardinal’s guard (Odontonema strictum), fire bush (Hamelia patens) and tall red pentas (Pentas lanceolata), building themselves up for migration. According to the Cornell Lab’s “All about birds” website, some of them overwinter in South Florida, and also along the Gulf coast and parts of the southern Atlantic coast. These may not be the same birds we see in our yards in the summer months, however, and are probably migrants from farther north (https://tinyurl.com/y3lpqheu).

I’ve recently noticed a large bumblebee (possibly the eastern American bumblebee Bombus pensylvanicus pensylvanicus) maneuvering itself around my yard. It moves slowly between clusters of fire bush flowers, unhurried and stately. I refer to it as one insect, but they are so alike there could be more than one! I hope so, as populations of bumblebees everywhere are not safe from pesticides and habitat loss. This lovely article from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden website describes the ideal garden for bumblebees and why they need our help to survive: https://tinyurl.com/y2jp6b8y.

The beautiful magenta/purple berries of (what else?) beautyberry shrubs (Callicarpa americana) are now ripening and attracting birds to my yard. Young male northern cardinals are still a little scruffy looking. Their bright red plumage is coming in, but they still have remnants of their mid-brown juvenile feathers. I just hope the local feral cats don’t make a meal of these inexperienced youngsters. 

If you are new to gardening or specifically interested in organic gardening advice, then this is a good place to begin: https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/get-growing/fact-sheets.html. For some of us, “sustainable” is a term that has become increasingly a part of our gardening ethos and for good reason. While we fertilize and irrigate our landscapes, and deal with unwanted pests, it isn’t always obvious that if we don’t take adequate care, we could be harming our wildlife, water, and even our air. Before we apply gardening techniques that affect our environment, be they mechanical or chemical, perhaps we should consider the medical profession’s maxim, “First, do no harm.”