The first frosts have destroyed the lush blooms in the flowerbeds. The flowers have turned black and withered, and it's time to completely remove the wilted bushes. Sadly, the vibrant bushes that bloomed yesterday have turned into trash, and the flowerbeds look unkempt.
I spent the weekend tidying up the flower beds. Saturday and Sunday were warm and sunny—a mini Indian summer. Rain and a cooler temperature are expected on Monday, followed by frosts and snow showers.
I tore out all the frozen annuals by the roots—dahlias, zinnias, marigolds, cosmos. Many of the annual bushes were still green and blooming—snapdragons, sweet peas, asters, rudbeckia, alyssum, lavatera.
I removed most of the flowers, but left some to let them delight us a little longer.
She placed mountains of plucked flowers into a garden wheelbarrow.
My husband took them to the compost bin. The flower beds became empty, bright, and spacious.
I put some marigold and rudbeckia bushes aside; I'll need them later when I need to protect perennial flowers from freezing and to retain snow.
They need to be brought into the greenhouse so that they dry thoroughly.
I trimmed the perennials, removed the weeds, loosened the soil and covered the bushes with humus.
I watered the peonies with phytosporin, since in the spring one peony bush was exposed unknown disease, and I spent the whole summer trying to cure him. Next spring I'll find out if I managed to save him.
I dug up the gladioli tubers, shook off the soil, cut off the stems and leaves, and shortened some of the roots.
Once you've taken the tubers home, you need to wash them to remove any soil, treat them for diseases and pests, and dry them well so they can be preserved until spring.
At home, after thoroughly washing the tubers under warm running water, I separated the old bulbs and the babies.
I treated the plant against pests and diseases with the Maxim Dachnik preparation.
Let them dry, then I'll remove the roots completely and trim the stems, leaving 2-3 cm. I'll put them in boxes, and the gladioli will be stored in the apartment for a month, then in the refrigerator until spring.
Flowers that freeze in winter here in Krasnoyarsk—roses, chrysanthemums—also need to be dug up.
Chrysanthemums are still blooming and are not afraid of light frosts.
I'll deal with them later, when the leaves freeze.
I'll also do some rose gardening in a few days. I cut off the last blooming roses before the frost.
I didn't have time to get everything done over the weekend. I didn't get all my flowerbeds and gardens in perfect order. But there's still time; we come to the dacha every day after work and do dacha chores.