It's moving day! The temperatures are dropping. Our Second Spring garden is cruising along. But some of the plants we've enjoyed all summer are beginning to look nervously toward the house. 🌿 "Sooooo...is there room for me in there?" Maybe.😂 Because today we're talking about: 🏠 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄! Every fall, container gardeners face the same question: 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫? Sometimes the answer is: 𝐘𝐄𝐒! Sometimes it's: 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐄... And occasionally it's: 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟒𝟎-𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐭. 😂 Because overwintering doesn't necessarily mean dragging every container into the living room. We have options! We can: 🏠 Bring the entire plant indoors ✂️ Take cuttings 🌱 Divide a plant 🪴 Move something into a protected location ❄️ Leave cold-hardy plants outside 🗑️ Say goodbye to plants that have completed their season The trick is figuring out which option makes sense for WHICH plant. But before anything crosses the threshold, we need to talk about: 🐛 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒. 🚨 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 #𝟏: 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 Please don't look at your lovely herb pot and think: "𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆!" then carry it straight to the kitchen windowsill beside your houseplants. Because your herb may not be traveling alone. Outdoor plants can be carrying: 🐛 Aphids 🕷️ Spider mites 🪰 Whiteflies 🐜 Ants 🥚 Insect eggs 🐌 Slugs or snails 🪰 Fungus gnats or other organisms in the potting mix And outside? Many of these aren't a huge problem because predators, rain, weather, and the larger ecosystem help keep things in balance. Inside your warm house? You may have just opened: 𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐋𝐋-𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐒. 😂 Warm temperatures. No frost. No rainstorms. No predators. All-you-can-eat plants. They'll leave you a five-star review. 🔍 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟏: 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄 Before bringing ANY outdoor plant inside look carefully. And I mean REALLY look. Check: 🌿 Tops of leaves 🔍 Undersides of leaves 🌱 New growth 🌿 Where leaves meet stems

We've added some beautiful flowers to our Second Spring containers: 🌸 Pansies & violas 🐲 Snapdragons 🌸 Dianthus 🌼 Calendula Today we're adding something that can provide some of the most dramatic fall color of all. Except... 𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐀 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑. 😲 Those huge purple, pink, white, and green rosettes you see filling garden centers every fall? Meet: 🥬 𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐄 & 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀𝐆𝐄! They're leafy vegetables dressed up for a night on the town. 😂 And the colder the weather becomes...𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤. 🌸 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭...𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫? Nope! Look closely at ornamental kale or cabbage. What appears to be one enormous flower is actually a collection of 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒. The leaves form a beautiful rosette, with colors that may include: 💜 Purple 🩷 Pink 🤍 White 💚 Green ❤️ Burgundy And combinations of several colors. That's why these plants are so valuable in fall containers. They give us the appearance of a giant flower...𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦. ❄️ 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬... Unlike many summer plants, ornamental kale and cabbage don't panic when temperatures start dropping. They actually LIKE cool weather. And here's the really fun part: 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. As fall progresses and nights become chilly, those centers may develop richer shades of pink, purple, red, and white. So while we're watching some summer flowers fade... Our ornamental kale may actually be getting prettier. It's almost as though the plant says: "𝐎𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥? 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫." 😂 🥬 𝐎𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐯𝐬. 𝐎𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐞 They're closely related, and you'll often see the names used together. But there's an easy general difference to look for. 🥬 𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀𝐆𝐄 Usually has broader, smoother or more gently wavy leaves and forms a tighter head-like rosette. 🌿 𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐄 Usually has more ruffled, frilly, or deeply textured leaves. Think: 𝐂𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐞 = 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞 = 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫.

Yesterday we started adding color to our Second Spring garden with pansies and violas. Today we're going... 𝐔𝐏! ⬆️🌸 Because one of the tricks to creating a beautiful container is having plants at different heights. And today's flower can give us exactly that. Meet the wonderfully colorful... 🌸 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐏𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍! Snapdragons produce tall spikes covered with flowers in shades of: ❤️ Red 🩷 Pink 💛 Yellow 🧡 Orange 🤍 White 💜 Purple 🌸 And all sorts of beautiful combinations in between. But before we talk about growing them... We need to answer the question every child—and quite a few adults—eventually asks: 🐲 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐏𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍? 😂 𝐆𝐨 𝐀𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝...𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫! Take an individual snapdragon flower and gently squeeze the sides near its base. If you find just the right spot... 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫'𝐬 "𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡" 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬! Release it... and the mouth closes again. It looks a little like a tiny dragon opening and closing its jaws. Hence: 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐏 + 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍. 🐲🌸 If you have grandchildren nearby, you now have approximately 15 minutes of free entertainment. You're welcome. 😂 🍂 𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 Here's why they belong in our Second Spring garden. Snapdragons are 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥-𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬. They often struggle or slow down during intense summer heat, particularly in warmer climates. But when temperatures begin cooling? They can put on a beautiful show. That's why you may see garden centers filling back up with snapdragons as fall approaches. While some summer flowers are preparing to call it quits... Snapdragons may be saying: "𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧." 🌸 ❄️ 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 Those flowers look delicate. The plants aren't nearly as fragile as they appear. Established snapdragons can tolerate chilly temperatures and light frost. Exactly how long they'll continue blooming depends on your climate, variety, and weather conditions. In mild climates, they can perform for a surprisingly long time. In colder climates, they'll eventually encounter temperatures that are simply too severe.

We've grown the vegetables. We've planted the herbs. Now it's time for our Second Spring containers to get... 🌸 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑! And we're starting with two little flowers that look delicate but are considerably tougher than they appear: 𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐒 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐒! These cheerful flowers arrive just when many of our summer containers are beginning to look a little... well... tired. 😂 The petunias are exhausted. The heat has taken its toll. Some containers have reached the: "𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑤𝑒'𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒." stage. Then along come pansies and violas saying: "Move over. We've got fall covered." 🌸🍂 🌸 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚...𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞? They're closely related, which is why they look so similar. But there are some general differences you'll notice at the garden center. 🌸 𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐒 Pansies usually have: 🌼 Larger flowers 🎨 Bold color combinations 😊 Those wonderful little "faces" on many varieties They make a BIG impact even though the plants themselves aren't huge. 🌸 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐒 Violas generally have: 🌼 Smaller flowers 🌸 LOTS of blooms 💪 Excellent cool-weather toughness They may not have the giant flowers of pansies, but they often make up for it with sheer quantity. Think of it this way: Pansies are the show-offs. Violas bring the whole extended family. 😂 Fortunately, there's absolutely no rule saying you have to choose. 🍂 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥? Here's where pansies and violas really shine. These plants prefer the cooler temperatures that arrive as summer begins winding down. While many warm-season flowers start slowing down... Pansies and violas are just getting comfortable. They can tolerate chilly weather and even some frost. Exactly how long they'll continue flowering depends on your climate, variety, and conditions, but in many areas they provide color well into fall. In milder climates, they may even continue through much of winter. And gardeners in colder climates may see established plants surprise them by returning when

There are certain smells that instantly remind you of fall. 🍎 Apples and cinnamon. 🎃 Pumpkin spice. 🔥 Wood smoke. And then there's the unmistakable earthy fragrance of... 🌿 𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐄. If you've ever made stuffing or dressing for Thanksgiving dinner, there's a good chance sage was somewhere in that recipe. But here's something many gardeners don't realize: 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐣𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. It's a beautiful perennial plant that grows wonderfully in containers. And if you get one growing now... You may eventually walk outside, snip a few leaves, and bring fresh sage from your own garden into your holiday kitchen. There's something pretty satisfying about that. 🌿🦃 🌿𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞 Sage is another Mediterranean herb. Which means yesterday's thyme lesson is going to sound VERY familiar. Sage likes: ☀️ Sunshine 🌬️ Good air circulation 🪴 Excellent drainage 💧 Soil that isn't constantly wet And it generally doesn't appreciate a gardener standing nearby saying: "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐲. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫." 😂 Thyme and sage could happily form the: "𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐍" 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁. 🪴 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 This is something to think about when you're choosing a container. That adorable little sage transplant at the garden center can eventually become a small woody shrub. Depending on the variety and growing conditions, common culinary sage can grow a couple of feet tall and wide. So while you don't need to put a tiny transplant into an enormous container immediately, plan for its future. A mature plant will appreciate a pot roughly: 🪴 𝟏𝟐 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫 And you may eventually need to move it into something bigger. As always... 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. ☀️ 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 Sage performs best with lots of light. Aim for around: ☀️ 𝟔+ 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐧 A sunny patio, balcony, deck, or doorstep can be an excellent location. Good sunlight helps keep the plant sturdy and supports the wonderfully fragrant leaves we're growing it for.