Welcome to gardening in September ~
The time is ticking away and soon the fall rains will return. Plan a party while the weather holds and celebrate your gardening successes!
Night Lighting can set the MOOD for FUN!
Just like moving into a new house and throwing a party with the goal of hanging the last the photo before the doorbell rings; throwing a party in your garden can serve a similar purpose. Does your patio perimeter beg for layers of bold foliage? Your entry containers need some fresh, welcoming vibrance? Does entering your backyard pit man vs. wild; your loppers against engulfing blackberry, ivy and bramble? Or just want to throw a party irregardless of how your lawn looks? September is the month to put the shovel to the grindstone and HGTV your landscape with a fabulous, celebratory party!!!
Why September? Several reasons to attack landscaping goals this month come to mind; cooler days to work are more enjoyable, the rain will return to naturally water your plants and, for the plant nerd in all of us, knowing that there will be tons of root growth occurring before the permafrost hits & the growing season occurs next year helps us to sleep more soundly at night. The last reason is simple; your friends are back in town and everyone loves connecting after a summer away.
So get your planting, mulching & weeding done so you can get onto the fun part; the festivities! Choosing a reason to throw a party should not be a party pooper. Let your gardening spirit rule the roost & let those ideas fly. Some fanciful, frolicking & freakin’ fun can be had with the ideas below or better yet, email me your ideas for party pandemonium and I’ll post them on the Gardens Alive Design facebook page!!!
Here are some ideas to get those evites out:
- Sweet summer scents abounds amongst candles glowing from mason jars hung in branches, full bodied wines, salty cheeses & bountiful bouquets teaming with cuttings of nicotiana, amaranth & sword fern from your garden. Accentuate everything with peacock feathers! Decorate in deep maroon, black and white and add pillows and blankets for warmth as the night draws on. Serve steamy marionberry cobbler with nutmeg whip cream and make your guests gasp! Do I hear some great classic jazz playing in the background?
- “Earth it Up “with table runners of moss, river rock and interesting branches. Uncomplicate the food prep by serving organic, farmers market produce on cutting boards with a quality knife for a ‘cut your own’ raw meal. Serve berries, nuts & olives on grape leaf plates. Remember ‘simplicity is bliss’! Wheat grass shots or custom smoothies fresh from your juicer are as difficult as this party gets. Cut ornamental grasses tied with twine to make compostable centerpieces. Hire a circle of drummers to entertain and gather donations for your local food bank, school garden or native plant restoration project. Shall there be a book to discuss or community event to plan – have a greater good to this gathering.
- Harvest Party! Gather families and celebrate the end of the season with straw bales, corn stalks & swags of fall leaves adorning doorways & gates. Family memories can be made bobbing for apples, having a sack race or stuffing a scarecrow to take home. Roast popcorn over the bonfire and serve with homemade rootbeer. Tables dressed for fall can include vintage fabrics, wildflowers arranged in white enamel coffee pots & mismatched salvaged silverware add to the country charm. For dinner, serve pumpkin soup baked in a pumpkin, homemade rolls & tomato/basil salad. Bread pudding drizzled with hot caramel and a generous scoop of cold homemade vanilla bean ice cream will make everyone scream!
Create Memories for your Family & Friends with a Fall Harvest Party
- Guerrilla Gardening with your Girlfriends! Unleash your inner renegade against neglect and the scarcity of beautiful public spaces as a place to grown things be they flora-rific, tasty or both. Rendezvous after dark for planning your riot clean-up to team up against trash. Then create your seed ‘bombs’ of red poppy, corn or sunflower surrounded by soil, fertilizer and playdough. Rendezvous locations can include your garage, your back patio or local parking lot – with dim lighting of course! Dressing in camo, packin’ a garden trowel & wearing you stilettos are NOT optional. The stilettos help to make quick holes in which to drop your seeds and scram. ‘Let’s fight the filth with forks & flowers’ shall be your mantra as you convert that discarded city lot, corner stop sign or sidewalk strip from weeds to wildflowers. All rebels welcome!!!
Whether you have a patio garden or a massive landscape; an end of summer soiree gives you the added motivation to polish those perennials, gather other gardeners & party with your pals. Last but not least, invite YOURSELF to YOUR party! Novel idea: be sure to enjoy your own party – send yourself and invitation, arrive as a guest with a mental plan to HAVE FUN!!!
September typically holds the last of our warm, dry days and eves. Enjoy connecting before the busy holiday months begin. The setting is perfect & your garden awaits!
There you have it, there’s no reason not to party now. Party On Gardeners!!!
p.s. Share these party ideas with a friend and support the reach of my newsletter with the following link . . .
Thank you~ Kirsten Lints, CPH
Be sure to ‘Like’ Gardens Alive Design on Facebook to stay updated weekly and communicate with me about your party plans.
