Fantastic time to grow dahlias and garlic

The air is different. Its coolness presses against my face.

The sounds in the sky are different too.

Most of the birds have finished rearing their young and have flown on.

Platoons of chattering blackbirds high in the pine trees wait for orders to be deployed, while other species of birds line the high wires passing word to one another to prepare for flight.

The frequent winged whir of the long necked Canada Geese fashion familiar Vs in the air as they beckon our craned necks to follow their southern migration.

Robins’ early morning twittering has been replaced with voices of children at school bus stops.

It is September.

The sky is azure blue and there is a crisp breeze blowing in the garden. Most of the grasses are full seeded and waving.

Bees and butterflies gorge themselves with nectar and pollen from the bright blue Fall Asters, crimson Autumn Joy Sedum, Solidago’s Goldenrod, tiny blue flowers of the Russian Sage and a few lingering roses which are the stars of the show in the perennial garden.

Just when the sweat of summer seemed bothersome, all too soon jackets and sweaters are once agin retrieved. Though the days of summer melted slowly away September’s calendar seems to be marching with increased cadence.

Tasks: weeding and watering

Flowers: cutting and deadheading

Fruit: reaping and gathering

The song of the garden includes harvests of cucumbers for pickles, summer squash for zucchini bread and tomatoes for spaghetti sauce, and then bushels of potatoes to cure.

Frequent visits to the garden find us spying for traces of orange in the pumpkin patch. Seed saving of our favorite annual and perennial flowers lure us from our perches on the porch.

High notes incorporate plans for next year’s garden adventures, records of success and failures, and visits to garden centers and Farmer’s Markets.

Low notes include tracking temperatures of cold nights for crop covers and watching for frost damage.

Some of our plants, such as dahlias, require special attention in the fall. I am not an expert on dahlias but I have friends who are. Contact the Inland Empire Dahlia Society on preparing these treasured tubers for winter.

I do know a little bit about garlic though. Garlic, another bulb type plant, goes into the garden in September for harvests next August. Garlic takes about 240 days from planting to use in your favorite recipes. It is one of those food crops that offers tasty treats at several stages of development. A member of the lily family, garlic cloves are separated from the bulb and planted about five inches deep about eight inches apart with the point up. Its immature flower stems are called scapes and are delicious in salads and stir fry dishes. When the curly scapes are removed the garlic plant can generate more energy to the production of the bulb.

There are three main types of garlic, hardneck, softneck and Elephant or Great-Headed which is not really a true garlic but more like the garden leek. It has a milder flavor and grows a larger bulb with fewer cloves.

I suggest growing lots of garlic to give to your family and friends so they won’t cover their noses when you come to visit.

Margaret Swenson is a Spokane County Master Gardener. Contact Master Gardeners by calling 509-477-2181 or attend their meetings the first and third Fridays of the month at the Cheney Library.