The Last Bites

 

A last blast of summer heat this week and dry weather made for some crispy leaves when fall officially arrived this week. A lingering Covid infection restricted me to watering the plants on the deck and sweeping off the early fallen leaves. Yet the buds on the asters and the drooping clusters of viburnum fruits (Viburnum dentatum and prunifolium, in particular) remind me that there are still two months of eating.

Fruits of Viburnum prunifolium ripening

Now is a good time to take stock of your fall garden, evaluate whether it still has something to offer for the critters that might come through before the year is done.

• Insects finish up their life cycle: bumble bees are still gathering pollen and nectar to provision the next generation; the last of the caterpillars (future moths and butterflies) are still eating some foliage. Some of those caterpillars will yet become bird food for warblers.

• Some birds fuel up to migrate: they eat high fat fruits like spicebush (Lindera benzoin), wax myrtle (Morella cerifera), Viburnum, black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), dogwood (Benthamidia florida, formerly Cornus florida). Did you leave your pokeweed up all year? If so, leave the fruits for the birds!*

 

Asters, even the small ones, provide much help to bees
and their seeds feed birds

It’s important to have high quality vegetation in September-October. This includes late-blooming annuals and perennials like native asters, blazingstars (Liatris), goldenrod (Solidago), and boneset/thoroughwort (Eupatorium). I’ve linked some of my earlier blogs on these plants so that you can get ideas and species names. Many folks are leery of introducing goldenrod to their garden, but my post provides information on garden-friendly ones that won't overrun your space.

Seasonal fall sales are happening now in Georgia. It’s a good time to pick up things to fill any gaps you may identify in your bloom timeline. I also encourage you to visit some of the smaller native plant nurseries in the state; they are run by families dedicated to bringing native plants into the landscape. Look for the column marked “Primarily Natives” in this table to find them.

*Other ideas for fall fruit can be found in this post.