Fall and Winter Garden Tour

It is almost November, and the vast majority of the garden has been planted. Everything is starting to sprout up and take off! Come take a look and see what all I will be growing in the upcoming months, and I will also link all the varieties I am growing in each bed. Be sure to watch the accompanying YouTube video here.

Pollinator Garden

All of the plants in this bed are flourishing for the moment in the cooler weather of true fall here in the south. August and September are always a bit of a struggle with the heat and humidity, so these days are a welcome relief. The plants that are already planted and growing are: 3 types of Salvia/Sage; 5 types of Milkweed including Giant, Tropical, Aquatic, Butterfly Weed and Swamp; Pentas; Butterfly Bush; Pincushion; and Passion Flower. I have also added some Strawberry plants and sowed some Wildflower seeds in the area. Come spring time, I will add Agastache, more Butterfly Weed, more Salvia, Dill and Coneflower.

Rose Garden

The roses are also doing so well in this weather. Some have even flowered! I finally have them all in the ground and the drip irrigation is set up and working wonderfully. They will not grow so much until I prune them back and start fertilizing them in February, and then they will explode with new growth and blooms until the late fall. If you want to see how it is all set up and what varieties I am growing, check out this blog post.

Raised Bed Area

Allllllmost everything has now been planted in the raised bed area! The only things that are left are the Daffodils, which will be planted in grow bags around Thanksgiving, and the Tulips, which will be planted in grow bags around Christmas. Let me share with you what all is in each bed and what varieties I am growing!

Bed 1 and Grow Bags

This bed in the cut flower bed. I had grown some stock flowers from seed indoors, and they are doing fine being transplanted here. I just planted Anemones, and also Poppy, Feverfew, Larkspur, Bluebonnet and Queen Anne’s Lace seeds. There will also be lots of flowers in grow bags in this area, so I will list those below as well. All of the Ranunculus, Daffodils and Tulips will be in grow bags.

Here are the varieties I am growing:

Anemone: Pastel Mix from Halden Garden

Poppy: Iceland Mix and Shirley Mix from Halden Garden; Red Corn Poppy from Wildseed Farms

Feverfew: from Halden Garden

Larkspur: saved seeds from my garden last year

Bluebonnets: saved seeds from my garden last year

Queen Anne’s Lace: from Halden Garden

Ranunculus: Ginette and Pastel Mix from Halden Garden; Buttercup Pastel Mix from a local nursery; assorted saved corms from my garden last year

Daffodils: Large Flowering Mix from Halden Garden; assorted saved bulbs from my garden last year

Tulips: Foxtrot from Halden Garden; Black Parrot and Rosy Diamond from Baker Creek; Queensland and Salmon Impression from The Flower Hat

I also set up a rudimentary support system using jute rope and bamboo supports. It feels like it will work well, but we shall see once the flowers start popping up! Check out my Amazon store for all my fave garden products.

Bed 2

In this bed I have Carrots, Arugula and Cilantro. I have succession planted the carrots so that I can spread out the harvest. Although in my house, carrots are a hit with everyone! I can’t wait to see my kids pulling one out of the dirt and putting it straight in their mouth for a taste. So satisfying!

Here are the varieties I am growing:

Carrots: Amarillo, Pariesienne, New Kuroda and Muscade from Baker Creek; Napoli from Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Arugula: Rocket from Burpee; Wild Rocket from Baker Creek

Cilantro: Slo-Bolt from Baker Creek

Bed 3

In this bed is growing Broccoli, Beets, Radishes and Pansies. I have also succession planted the beets and radishes here as well. I also did something different in this bed… Biochar. Since my husband enjoys grilling with lump charcoal, he gives me the leftover ashes and I sit it with compost for at least a month. Supposedly this can add benefits similar to compost in your garden, so I figured I would try it out in just one bed this fall. I will let you all know what happens! So far the results look pretty good!

Here are the varieties I am growing:

Broccoli: Calabrese and Purple Peacock from Baker Creek; Imperial Hybrid from Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Beets: Golden from Baker Creek and Detroit Dark Red from Burpee

Radishes: China Rose and Malaga from Baker Creek

Pansies: Berna Velvet Blue, Celestial Blue and Swiss Giants from Baker Creek

Bed 4

This is the strawberry bed and will remain so through next summer. I have planted borage in the corners to act as companion plants and attract pollinators here. I am growing 1 plant from this past year and all the others are new bare root plants that were just put in. They are all Sweet Charlie from Willis Orchard Company.

Bed 5

This bed I will lovingly refer to as the Salad Garden. I have 12 different types of Lettuces and other greens growing here along with some onions. This bed will provide me with salads until it warms up in April! I think it will look truly beautiful once they are all growing like crazy. I will also lump the grow bag in the corner of the picture into this group, as it is housing the Kale and Mustard.

Here are the varieties I am growing:

Kale: Russian Red from Baker Creek

Komatsuna: Old Tokyo from Baker Creek

Lettuce: Tennis Ball, Merlot, Tom Thumb and Cosmic Crimson from Baker Creek; Rouge D’Hiver Romaine, Alkindus Butterhead, Little Gem Bibb and Bambi Bibb from Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Mizuna: Japanese Pink from Baker Creek

Mustard: Japanese Red Giant from Baker Creek

Onion: Yellow Spanish Sweet from Seeds of Change

Swiss Chard: Five Color Silver Beet from Baker Creek

Bed 6

This last bed is very simple… it is the Wildflower bed! I sowed mixes of native Texas wildflowers and will just let it go into spring and see what happens. When I did this last year the result was beautiful. I added a bit more Bluebonnets to the mix this time. I get almost all my wildflower seeds from Wildseed Farms. If you ever get the chance to visit while you are in the Fredericksburg area, it is a must, especially in the spring!

Well that is everything my friends! I hope you enjoyed the tour, and be sure to check out the accompanying YouTube video to see more up close.

Comment below and let me know what you are growing in the next few months!

Happy Gardening!

Dani