Fall plantings bring promise of a bright bonus come springtime.

Good morning. Well, no matter how good any of us might be at delusional thinking at times, even the best of us cannot deny the colors appearing in the forests.

I have a bright orange tree outside my window that I took notice of on Aug. 29. I tried not to look out that particular window again for the rest of the day. But, like it or not, it is time to think of fall and, consequently, the onset of winter.

Therefore, today’s column will focus on the garden of Web and Kathleen Harrison in Auburn. This spring, I went and spent a lovely morning with Web when his daffodils were in glorious evidence, nodding their yellow, white and pink heads across the spring green lawns.

I decided to hold the story until almost fall so it might serve as an inspiration to those who haven’t planted bulbs or have planted too few. Just one look at his 3,000 or so blossoms makes any gardener “green with envy.” At least, it did me!

Web is the architect of these spring daffodil gardens and takes great joy in them. When he told me he’d been in the Marines and then had coached at Bates, I got a bit confused. I asked him which part of that history led him to plant thousands of daffodils since the macho activities involved in the military and in college sports did not seem to be quite in the same mindset.

He smiled in his engaging and patient way and said, “Marines, athletes and daffodil bulbs – you start them all young and nurture them.” And, he added with a laugh, “Daffodils don’t talk back!”

It is obvious after talking with Web, that there is a whole lot more to daffodils than most of us know. He patiently explained the 13 different divisions of the family and how each has different growth habits, or petal shapes or large and small cups, etc. Needless to say, it is as complicated or as simple as a person wants to make it.

But I did learn a couple of really interesting things that everyone might find fun. All daffodils, no matter which of the 13 divisions they may be categorized in, are narcissus. There isn’t a separate plant by that name. And jonquils, those cute little spring blossoms, aren’t a different plant at all – just one of the 13 categories. So, no matter what you call them, they are all the same family.

The Harrisons’ lovely white Victorian house on a small hill serves as a perfect backdrop to the daffodil beds that meander artistically down the hill through the huge old trees and dot the expanse of spring green lawns. Web has a very particular way of planting his bulbs and shared those tips with me.

However, he does caution that there is only so much you can do in the face of Maine winters. He normally has no problems but the winter of 2003 cost him about 6,000 blossoms. If you remember, that winter was one of almost no snow cover, extended periods of ice and bitter cold. Many, many gardeners lost shrubs and perennials that year, and bulbs suffered the same fate.

Help from the underground

In several places on the Harrisons’ property, there are one or two daffodils or even a small colony of them just popping up as if they had escaped the well-planned beds. Web explained that moles steal the bulbs but, when they realize they don’t want to eat them, they just leave them wherever they happen to be. Voila! Little orphan daffodils pop up hither and yon.

So, it is time to look at that pile of nursery catalogs piling up on the kitchen table and get those bulbs ordered, now. Before you know it, it will be time to put them in the ground – which, by the way, should be done the last couple of weeks of October. You can wait until November and hope for “one more” nice day, but you might be wearing a hat and parka when you plant them. Make sure to mark the planting places well so when spring gardening fever hits, you don’t dig them up!

Until next time, take your last few chances to watch the hummers and songbirds before they head south and, in preparation for their long journey, help them by keeping the feeders full; enjoy the dahlia blooms and cut them for the house; take a hike and have a picnic with friends; and take the time to enjoy the last warm days before the bundling of clothes begins.

Happy gardening!

Jody Goodwin has been gardening for more than 20 years. She lives in Turner with her husband, Ike, her two dogs and two cats. She can be reached by writing to her in care of the Sun Journal, 104 Park St., Lewiston, Maine, 04243-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected]