The Tenth Month in the Garden

October, the tenth month. Where’s the beauty in it? Newly arrived freezing temperatures at night which cause flowering annuals and perennials to give up their plot, the first of many piles of leaves to rake, the perennials which require a cut-back and some mildly back-breaking bending and snipping… where’s the beauty? Well, open your mind to it, and you’ll find it everywhere.

The colors brought to the eye by mums, the smell of leaves that have just begun to fall, the easy brush-away cleanup of hostas that served the garden all summer but wilted under the first frost… there is beauty in these sights and smells, and in the ease of certain tasks. And then there are the berries and flowers that are still visible. Coral Berries barely show until now, and in October, they contrast with fall colors as they show off their plump, pale pink berries. (How much “baby pink” do you see in autumn? Not much. This is an unexpectedly beautiful sight.) Panicle Hydrangeas have many seasons of beauty, but in October, mine offer flowers in muted tones of wine and mauve… perfect for providing autumn interest in garden beds that, in summer, got their brighter color from annuals and perennials that have long since stopped blooming.

And then there are those perennials that actually hold off on blooming until autumn. I just saw the last of the honey-scented flowers on my Sweet Autumn Clematis—perennials that require little care and cover ground (or fences) with clouds of white flowers. And Montauk Daisies: Their white faces illuminate the garden on October nights when the moon catches them just right. They smile, even in the dark of night, as if they’re getting ready to enjoy trick-or-treaters, bats in flight… these late-blooming perennials make the most of October. Sometimes I pass my Montauk Daisies and, before catching glimpses of their bright-white daisy faces, take notice of the powerful herbal aroma of their stems and leaves. This is their season. They wait all summer for this… for flowering and for getting gardeners to take notice. And oh, I do take notice.

In my gardening life, October is truly a busy month. There’s no rest for the gardener who wants to clean up well, cut back, leave just a few self-seeders, and get some spring-flowering bulbs into the cooled earth. And even though my hostas wilt under the first frosts, permitting easy cleanup, most of my perennials stay pretty tough (though generally flowerless at this time of year). Being a dutiful gardener means getting cold, getting tired, getting the sense that everything in the garden has “gone by”, and lamenting the ease and beauty of summer. But this tenth month—it IS beautiful. 

For me, October and the impending dormant-garden months that come after it give me permission to focus on things other than the garden: children’s school, indoor housework, holiday prep, reading or cooking or crafting, and dreaming of the annuals and perennials I’ll add to my garden when spring rolls around again. The tenth month gives me permission to change focus for a while, building up a store of energy that will be useful when—how is it possible that another cleanup will be necessary?—spring cleanup and planting can begin. Yes, I already miss summer, but I’m going to take a little stroll now to see if my Montauk Daisy faces are smiling up at the moon. I’ll take the tenth month for all the beauty it offers… and be glad I can.