This is a place to focus on what's currently happening in the gardens. I want to share fun seasonal garden stories & events with you. Josh is going to archive the posting as seasons evolve. We hope you will embrace it with a fun-filled spirit.

Of course, mums are the floral representative for the month of November. How could it be any other flower? There is just no comparison for fall color to mums. Well maybe, a late aster may rival a mum except they show off sooner and for a much shorter blooming period.

How do mums do it? They bloom, and bloom, and bloom. The colors shout out, "Fall is here". "Look here, look at me, I'm a mum you must see." Too bad they don't smell better.

Mums - I don't really like 'em but don't tell on me. They take up so much space and they just keep growing bigger. And you're suppose to cut them back, like in half at some certain time of the season. I can never remember exactly when. I always have to ask Helen, my old neighbor. She's a retired biology teacher and a good gardener. In any case I never get them cut back. They began blooming in August.

Chrysanthemums were cultivated in China as a flowering herb. There is even a "Festival of Happiness" in Japan that celebrates the flower and some ancient emperor adopted the flower as his official seal. Chrysanthemum flowers are boiled to make a sweet drink in some parts of Asia known simply as "chrysanthemum tea". Imagine that! I don't think I'll have the nerve to try it especially if it tastes anything like they smell. Chrysanthemums are also an important natural source of insecticide. So should we really drink it?

The smell of mums always make me think of funerals. Why are they the chosen plant for funerals? Literature states in the United States, the mum is usually regarded as positive and cheerful. So why do we follow customs of Europe and Japan where mums are symbolic of death and are only used for funerals or on graves. Other trivia reports Chrysanthemums were recognized as the official flower of the city of Chicago in 1996. It was in response to the request of the Committee on Beautification of Chicago. I wonder what the thought process was there. And then there is the whole cheerleader pompom mum corsage thing to ponder. That could be where the fun & cheerful part comes in. Another meaning of the mum is love. I like that thought. God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son to die for us. Death may be cause for celebration in some sense. Death becomes a friend to those suffering and in pain. I work every day with old folks just waiting to die. More than once an elderly soul has asked me to pray for them to die. They need to be at peace. Maybe that's how the love / death thing all got started. So now when I see a beautiful, glowing chrysanthemum it will be reminisce of all the glorious stars in the heavens, sparkling jewels in our crowns, and most of all peace.

Chrysanthemums

Month	Birthstone	Flower	Colour	Meaning
November	Yellow Topaz or Citrine	Chrysanthemum	Various	Compassion, Cheerfulness, Friendship, Sensitivity, and Secret Love

• Stop fertilizing houseplants
• Mulch strawberries with 3-5" of straw
• Pot up amaryllis bulbs for forcing
• Water newly planted evergreens thoroughly before the ground freezes
• Harvest parsnips
• Protect hybrid tea roses with soil and mulch
• Winterize lawn mowers
• Protect trees & shrubs from rabbits
• Drain all water from hoses prior to storage
• Clean garden tools & sprayers

ISU Extension 2006 Calendar

3 Good Tips for Gardeners (pdf file)

November/December 2006 Newsletter - 'At the Garden Gate' (pdf file)
Suzette Streigel - Horticulturist
Mahaska County ISU Extension Service
Oskaloosa, IA

Learn all about the month of November.

Flowering Ink Pen Project

It was fun to visit with the old folks and make bouquets of silk flowers. We used florist tape to attach the stems of the artificial flowers to ink pens. The ladies found small vases to put them in and used them on their dinner tables as colorful centerpieces, Then later take them home with them.

Veterans Day honors all war veterans. It marks Armistice Day commemorating the end of World War I. It has evolved as taking time out to honor all living veterans: Those that honorably served in the military in both times of wars and times of peace. Memorial Day in May each year primarily honors those who have died.

Learn more about Veterans Day.

Our extended family is gathering at our house tomorrow for Thanksgiving Dinner. It will be a feast. I spent 7 hours in the kitchen today preparing the food. I have all these fun recipes I just had to make. Since I’ve started preparing most of the food a day ahead I actually get to enjoy the day when everyone is here. Don’t get me wrong, there will still be plenty to do tomorrow to actually get the food on the table. I’ll be getting up at 6:00 A.M. to put the turkey in the oven but that’s the easy part. Thanksgiving Day is an important day to take time out to give thanks for all our blessing. We all stand in a circle, holding hands, for a group prayer. Each person says one thing they feel grateful for in life. It is touching, bonding us together as family and friends.

Yummy Cheesy Mashed Potato Recipe

Extended Indian Summer has allotted lots of extra time for fall garden chores. There is really no excuse not to have everything cleaned up out in the garden this year but I still don't. It seems I never get done. I don't even know what it would feel like to have everything done anymore. I do feel good that things are done as well as they are though.

Indian Summer

I did get all the bulbs and tubers dug & dried & stored away (except for those few caladium I forgot). They never store well for me anyway. I did have a few that did well this year though that I had 'kept-over'. I have methodically emptied out all my big clay pots and other containers over the past several weeks. Last week I cut off tall sedums and other towering dormant plants. Today, thanks to the wonderful sun & warm weather I got all my pots moved and stored for the upcoming winter months. And I pushed the lawn mower around mulching up the last of the fallen leaves. I dumped them in spots where the soil is in need of serious amending. I was also able to pull out the dead zinnias and harvest their seed. I even got hosta seeds harvested over the last couple weeks. My potting shed is in pretty good shape too. Of course, it will still need a major overhaul come spring. So all-in-all things are ready for winter here. After the holidays it will be time to start scouring the catalogs and websites for exciting new plants for garden 2007.

Garden Tips: Guidelines to Seasonal Chores
Growing and Overwintering Tender Perennials
Cannas for Home Landscapes

I'm a perpetual student of plants and gardens and ponds. I'm always on the lookout for better, easier ways to do things in the garden. I get information from other gardeners, magazines, books, and on-line garden websites. The ISU Extension Service is a excellent source of information on so many specific topics. I encourage all interested in learning more to visit their local extension service in person and/or on-line. Last year I took an on-line landscaping course just for fun! It was a good thing!

www.extension.iastate.edu/store/

Repeat Performance - Flowering Ink Pen Project / Only this time I remembered my camera. But then almost forgot to take pictures. It was fun! I had a good time!

Also see November 7th MG entry for more details.

All about Thanksgiving

More about Thanksgiving.

The history of Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell.

Fun Turkey Stuff for Kids / Grandkids

Benjamin Franklin, who proposed the turkey as the official United States' bird, was dismayed when the bald eagle was chosen over the turkey. Franklin wrote to his daughter, referring to the eagle's "bad moral character," saying, "I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country! The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America."

Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation (NTF) has presented the President of the United States with a live turkey and two dressed turkeys in celebration of Thanksgiving. The annual presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey to the President has become a traditional holiday ritual in the nation's capital, signaling the unofficial beginning of the holiday season and providing the President an opportunity to reflect publicly on the meaning of the Thanksgiving season. After the ceremony, the live bird retires to a historical farm to live out the rest of its years.

www.eatturkey.com/consumer/history/history.html

Being born into a very small farming community, with both sets of grandparents being farmers, I'm bonded to farming traditions.

My Grandpa Baer always brought me Indian Corn to hang by my back-door in fall.

Now I visit the farmer's market to find it. It's not the same but still fun! I never see Indian Corn without thinking of my grandpa.

Also see Autumn 2005 for Harvest Time.

Bringing our love of the outdoors, indoors is a good thing. Hey, my house isn't fancy but I try to surround myself with things that make me smile.

I love reds, and I love yellows, and I love greens. Earth colors that's me. Add seasonal interest indoors using fun things you like.

Let your love of gardening show all through the house.

Try it! You'll like it! (What commercial was that?) Sort of like "Please don't squeeze the Charmin. And Where's the Beef?"

November brings autumn to an end; even though the first day of winter doesn't arrive until December 21. November leaves us with warm memories of family & friendship or is it with memories of being warm?