Does it seem like summer has gotten away from us, or is it just me?

While my yard no longer looks like the picture below, in my mind it does at times.

Everything has grown and pots have gotten moved around, some plants have died.

It seems like there is never enough time to get the yard "Summer Party" ready, and then September rears its head, and the party has not happened either. Now not only am I faced with when to have a party, but what to do with all those half dead areas and plants that are no longer happy about the crazy weather that we have been having.

Maybe I will just pull out a chair and sit in the gazebo and try to will it to be spring again so I can take more time to "play" in my yard instead of going to work.  Or I can just start getting it ready for the winter that will most likely catch me by surprise.

When I had space left in my postage-stamped size yard for plants, one of the plant sales I would frequent was the one held by, and at, the Merritt College Horticulture Club in Oakland, California, 12500 Campus Dr. Oakland, CA 94619.  This plant sale occurs twice a year--once in the Spring and again in the Fall. You are in luck--this year's Fall 2016 Plant Sale is being held at Merritt College's Landscape Horticulture Department this upcoming weekend, on Saturday, October 1, 2016, 9 am - 3 pm, and again on Sunday, October 2, 2016, 12 pm - 3 pm.  Although there is usually a wide variety of herbs, annual vegetables, perennial edibles, ornamental, succulent and native plants for sale, what drew me to this plant sale years past,were the unusual, hard-to-find permaculture plants (e.g., tree tomatoes, tree collards, etc.) used to create (backyard) food forests.  Most of the plants being sold are grown by the faculty, students, and volunteers of the college's horticultural program so they grow well in Bay Area climates.   

In addition to the plant sale, there is live music, food, and various vendors on Saturday.  Members of Merritt College's Horticulture Program are also on hand to answer plant questions.  This event is free and family friendly.  

I love creating Fairy Gardens and teaching and inspiring others to create their own fairy gardens. There are so many items to decorate these miniature gardens and I find I am always hunting for tiny characters to tell a story.

Fall is coming and Halloween is just around the corner. Finding papermache pumpkins this year with laser cut openings made me jump with joy. Oh, the ideas that flowed through my head.

Purchasing several pumpkins I began by drilling three holes in the bottom for drainage. Next placing damp garden soil into the opening was completed.  I planted some small sedum pieces to create a green “turf”. You could use Elfin Thyme or dichondra. Any small leaved, low ground cover is perfect.

Then place your miniatures, keeping true to your theme. Push them lightly into the soil. When your created scene (or story) is finished, it's time to decorate the pumpkin opening. I used thick glue and placed it on the opening where I wanted to place artificial moss. Craft stores carry many interesting mosses, some with pieces of wood, driftwood or mushrooms. Arrange your moss in a shape or design that is pleasing to you and press into the glue. Add additional items to the moss such as mini colorful mushrooms, ghosts and skeletons for Halloween. For Thanksgiving, add leaves, acorns, small pinecones or whatever you fancy.

When teaching mini gardens, I'm constantly amazed at the imagination and ingenuity of students. I'm always learning from others. Purchasing miniatures is expensive, so I recommend using coupons, searching goodwill stores, or sharing with friends. Our little granddaughter has her own mini gardens where she has placed Mickey and Minnie Mouse taken from her toy box. She also finds shells, corks and other items in the house or yard that are added to her gardens. The mini gardens are like planted dollhouses.

For those who do not want to water tiny gardens, you can purchase small sized aquarium gravel and anchor your miniatures in the gravel. These can be used inside, as they require no maintenance. If your garden is dark and your miniatures get lost, there are mini lights operated with batteries that can light up these spaces.

Hopefully the photos attached will inspire you to take a leap of faith and create your own holiday garden or make one as a gift for someone special.

While sightseeing in Oregon, we went to Shore Acres State Park.  It is a beautiful, oceanside expanse that was once somebody's lovely home.  While wandering about, we noticed a sign with an arrow pointing the direction to the Botanical Gardens. YEA!!!  There was another sign posted about the upcoming Dahlia Festival, so, interest piqued, in we went.  There were four plots of simply incredible dahlias.  I can only imagine what the gardens will look like when the festival happens!  Steve took the picture below so that I could demonstrate how large the flowers are.

Just for the record, I have not had the best of luck with dahlias in my yard.  I will just blame the underground creatures because the couple that are in pots have done fine.  I love them, but mostly I admire them in other people's gardens.

Anyway, I looked dahlias up on the Internet since I am away from my books.  I'm not a big fan of Wikipedia, but there was a lot of good information there.  However, if you are so inclined and want some really good information on dahlias, go to the ANR (Agriculture and Natural Resources-UC) website and look at "Dahlia- Hints and Culture."

The thing that really intrigued me was the history of the plant.  I had no idea.  Dahlias are native to Mexico and are the National Flower of Mexico.  The Spaniards reported finding the plants way, way back in 1525.  Their medicinal value was noted in the late 1500s.  In 1789, the Director of the Botanical Garden of Mexico City sent "plant parts" to the Director of the Royal Gardens of Madrid, Antonio Jose Cavanilles.  The "parts" bloomed the same year, and again the next year.  Cavanilles shared "parts" with several other botanical gardens in Europe.  In 1791, Cavanilles named the plant "Dahlia" in honor of the Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl.

I always like to appreciate the culinary and medicinal values of plants.  The Aztecs used the tubers as a food crop, the large tubers are sweet potato like.  The Spaniards were not so crazy about the tubers though.  They are still used as staple in Oaxacan cuisine as well as an additive to beverages throughout Central America.  The tubers have a mocha flavor.  The Aztecs also used the stem, which is hollow, to transport water.  (Perhaps, the first straw??). Medicinally, the tuber was used as a treatment for epilepsy and also diabetes.  The insulin is a naturally occurring hormone in the tuber which helped control elevated blood sugar to some extent prior to the discovery of insulin.  There was nothing in the articles to explain how the tubers helped to control epilepsy.  (Perhaps another round of research at another time.)