"Cornstalks from last summer's garden now lean toward the kitchen window, and the November wind goes through them in a shudder. Their thin tassels spread out beseeching fingers, and their long bleached blades flutter like ragged clothing."
- Rachel Peden

Hasn't this been a good autumn season? Yes, we do have about three more weeks of autumn, however, it is time to cast aside those cornstalks to the pasture, this the last day of November 2011.... make preparations for new "decos". Christmas decorations are all around. Passed a house last week and OH MY ... the house lights, the blow-up decos, the wooden reindeer .... it was just gorgeous. What is your favorite outdoor Christmastime decoration? I like LIGHTS, yes, lights are my favorite. The more lights, more "bling", the better.

I wonder how daylilies could be incorporated into Christmas decorations? I see bushes covered with colored lights, trees strung with strands of lights, not sure how our wonderful daylilies could shine. Or maybe, daylilies should be left resting, preparing for their show in the spring and summer. Yes, that is it. Daylilies are taking their restful time to rejuvenate.

Hope you find time to take a moment to rest and reflect. Think of pleasant thoughts from the past and think of a plan for the future.

Hope you have a good day and until next time, Happy Gardening.

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
- Elizabeth Lawrence

Yes, as you sip your coffee in the morning, drink tea at noon, or have a "beverage" in the evening, there should be a moment for Mother Nature. For us here in Zone 7, the leaves have changed color and blown off the trees. The leaf color was quite good this year, shorter time however, colorful none the less. We are to have one more day of warm temps, near 70, then below norm, low 50's, for the next while. UP, down, UP, down....North Carolina weather, ya know.

Now that the leaves have changed color, what will you be planning for next years landscape? Think about daylilies as a great perennial. Little to no care for them. They are quite resilient. Our website is undergoing a few changes and will be up and running in the near future. Keep that daylily list going ... looking forward to your visit when we are back online.

Hope you have a good day. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

"I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its tone is mellower, its colours are richer, and it is tinged with a little sorrow. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and its content."
- Lin Yutang

Hope all is well out there. Just saw the weather forecast for us today. And looks like high temp will be 70 degrees then below average for the next days to come. More seasonal, if you will. Time for a jacket, time to turn on the heat, time to make soup for the soul. Yes, autumn is on its way.

Autumn, a good time to take a soil sample. Daylilies grow in most any type of soil, however they do like a neutral or slightly acidic soil. If you want to know specifics about nutrient levels in your soil, the local Extension Office, can provide a soil sample box. You take the box home, take the sample from various places in your garden, return sample to the office and within a few weeks, you will receive a report giving you an analysis of your soil. The Extension Office can provide you with a verbal explanation of the report or maybe give suggestions of way to improve soil, if needed. Some areas do charge for the soil sample, others do not, so please inquire.

There are also soil samplers available, from large auger type to a hand held probe. We have several hand held types and check occasionally. And it is now time to check nutrients levels. In our pastures, in daylily beds and certain areas where growth is minimal. So if you find a less than lavish growth area, please invest a bit of time to find out what is needed.

Hope you have a good day, spending a moment of time outdoors. Listening to, smelling and seeing all that Mother Nature has to offer. Until next time, Happy Gardening.

"In the evenings
I scrape my fingernails clean,
hunt through old catalogues for new seed,
oil work boots and shears.
This garden is no metaphor --
more a task that swallows you into itself,
earth using, as always, everything it can."
- Jan Hirshfield


Hello All ... And did you spend time outdoors yesterday? During travels, saw many folks putting their yards to rest for this 2011 year....mulching and mowing. And oh the things that we do with leaves ... burn, pile, blow, mulch, mow, bag ... oh my!


Leaves make a good mulch around daylilies. Here at Oakville Farm, daylilies are grown in rows. And leaves are placed in between the rows, making a smoother walkway. Then in the spring, when rows are disced, leaves are churned into the ground enriching the soil. Things in nature have a place and purpose, leaves included. :)

Oooops a memory...as a child in school, did you make a leaf collection? I remember classmates making bug collections and rock collections. My favorite being the leaf collection. Autumn leaves. Yes, dissecting leaves, labeling leaves, identifying leaves. And by the end of the "school project", leaves were brown, crunchy and some had disintegrated, leaving nothing for that label. Oh my!!!!


Hope you are taking time to plan for your next year's flower garden updates and changes. Think ... Daylilies. They are a great perennial. Daylilies need 6-8 hours of sunshine daily. During the start-up, daylilies need about an inch of rain/water per week to become established, then thereafter, daylilies are drought tolerant. They can withstand most any water condition. Remember that our Oakville Farm website will be up and running in the near future. So make your daylily list and we will be seeing you soon.

Hope you have a good day and until next time, Happy Gardening.

"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."
- Elizabeth Coatsworth

What a great time of year. :) Hope everyone had a good holiday and didn't eat too much and then found the perfect gift on this "Black Friday" 2011! Did you go shopping out in the public? Several folks I spoke with today, spent time on the web .... finding the perfect present that the UPS man will deliver next week. WOW, what a way to shop!!!

Weather was very nice here today. Remember to check out our personal Oakville Farm weather station, OFW, to see up to the minute stats.

Oakville Farm website will be returning soon. There will be newly added daylilies and price reductions. Check back often, we will let you know when we are up and running once again. And until next time, Happy Gardening.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope this day finds you in the company of family and friends. We give thanks and gratitude for each day, for each relationship, for little things and for family and friends who make us smile. Have a good day ...

And when possible .....

Take time to reflect on goodness that has happened in your life. Goodness that you have spread to others.

Until next time, Happy Gardening.

"In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil. And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November."
- Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden, 1905

Hello

Hope all is well. And that your flower gardens, yards and orchards have succumb to the beautiful autumn season. Resting, dying, hibernating, rejuvenating. Yes, preparing for the 2012 growing season.

What daylilies do you have in mind for next year? Our website, Oakville Farm is currently under construction. It will be up and functioning in time for ordering next year's crop. Think of what colors you want, what height of daylily scape interests you and jot down notes so when we are again on the web ... we can make your daylily dreams come true.

Until next time, have a good day and, Happy Gardening.



Want to wish my sister a Happy Birthday. Have a good one, Karen.