I do admit I am saddened by this.  I enjoyed my time outside every day.  There is still work to be done to get things ready for next spring so I will be sharing some of that with you.

October’s Monthly Habit in the home section of Marilyn’s Way Is Paper Clutter.  I have gotten very involved in it this year because I feel this will be the year that I am finally through with all the past paper clutter that needs to be thrown away or shredded.  The biggest job so far was the cancelled checks.

So is there a monthly habit for Gardening?  Since I got very involved with learning about flowers this year, I have found one habit in October to practice if I want a nice flower garden next year. Deadheading and saving seeds for next year.

Because my mom has been doing this for years, many of my flowers came from her seeds and samples of her perennials.  Now it is time for me to start saving seeds for next year.

One of the first things to do is deadhead the flowers as the bloom goes away.  This stimulates more flowers to blossom.  The thing is that many of the deadheads are not completely dried out.  If you deadhead them and put in a container before they are completely dry, you will have mold.  No one wants that especially after taking the time to do the deadheading with saving the seeds for next year in mind.

Next one has to have a place for them to dry out.  Luckily I have this counter.  Most of the stuff in the picture is dried out so now will be putting them in plastic bags and containers.  Still many to deadhead outside and when it warms up a bit, that is what I will be doing.

Gardening doesn’t have to be expensive especially when you have friends that garden.  Many have seed swaps and that would be fun to get into next year.

All I know is that I do know more about flower gardening than I did last year this time and I am pleased with that!
Keep Gardening!
Marilyn