Between harvest and compost

Where do cornstalks go after the sweet corn is harvested and before they're tossed into the compost pile?

To Bill and Phil's house as part of their annual Halloween extravaganza.

The display also includes giant inflatable pumpkins, a pirate ship, a train and a black cat. Oh, and a simple maze constructed of hay bales.

They'll break down the Halloween decorations as soon as the last trick-or-treaters have visited. Christmas is calling.

Summer in September swan song

The sunny, warm disposition of September has given way to an October so far marked by wind, clouds and rain. Only a few days ago we were enjoying a perfect autumn day. What makes such a day?

Asters so heavy with bloom they can barely keep their heads up and have to lean on the phlox.


Mums in full glory.


So many onions harvested the aroma wafts across the garden.


Sweet corn and shallots (in the stack of trays on the right) are harvested, too. Every year we wonder whether we'll get sweet corn here. And every year we have a respectable harvest. Even when the corn is knocked flat (remember August).


A flock of sandhill cranes flying across the clear blue sky. (Are they heading to Nebraska?) And a couple of late roses floating in a bowl by the bed. And a supper of corn chowder made with freshly harvested corn and potatoes.

And a box of bulbs arriving in the afternoon -- including fall-blooming crocus and a selection of spring-blooming tulips. Gardeners always look ahead.

Gardening isn't for sissies

The sweet corn had a rough night.

Sometimes Mother Nature slaps you around a bit. Last night, she cranked up the wind machine along with the rain. Getting 3 inches of rain wasn't a problem, but that soft earth combined with a steady wind left many of the taller perennials -- bee balm, rudbeckia and allium -- and annuals -- purple millet, black-tipped wheat and snapdragons -- bent over. But the worst was the sweet corn. I'll try to get the plants back on their feet once the rain ends.

Any wagers on whether we'll harvest any ears this year?