Hello and welcome back!

We’ve been experiencing pretty mild temperatures, very consistently, for a couple of weeks now. An occasional misty day for a few hours is then gone without much incidence. There have been a few occasions of high winds, which really helped to fell the leaves from the trees. It seems that most trees now, except for the walnut and oak, are pretty well leafless at this point. With temperatures nearly 12 degrees Celsius daytime and overnight lows of 3-5 Celsius, (mid 50s F – mid-to-high 40s) we are gliding ever so gently towards our expected first frost of autumn, November 11 – November 20. You can find your first frost here.

All the bulbs were planted without too much fuss, and the only remaining garden task is to begin raking up some of the leaves now that they are done falling. I did manage to catch a few images of autumn color to share.

I propagated several hardy geraniums and other perennials in August. They grew on well enough to get planted up, and I’ve taken precautions to keep them viable for winter and hope they make it! It will be fantastic to add future plants to the garden from ones we already own and enjoy. I really didn’t know the first thing about general propagation. Scattered online quests for know-how and how-to, but nothing tremendously solid. So my skill base was rather non-existent. If you are tired of making the effort only to have no success, then I have the course for you.

Luckily, a garden channel I follow on YouTube offered a propagation course with a thorough breakdown of all the principles of propagation via step-by-step video instruction. Plus, this is not a one-off. The course is yours to keep, and you can consult it anytime for additional support. If you happen to be a dab hand you probably don’t need such a course, but for everyone else, I can certainly recommend the one from Rosy Hardy, plants woman from the UK and owner of Rosy Hardy Gardening and owner of the Perennial Nursery of the same name. I don’t receive anything for making the recommendation, and found the course so very helpful and useful. You can research the course here: https://rosy-hardy.teachable.com/p/rosy-hardy-s-propagation-workshop-launch

The arrival of autumn was also the time when our local adult continuing education and recreation programs (Opinto-Opas 2024-2025 Hiiden Opisto) began enrollment for the autumn/winter and spring terms. A whole host of courses are available, first come, first served every year. Enrollment for some courses fill immediately due to popularity. Of the offerings, everything from languages, art mediums such as painting and ceramics, computer and IT, fitness and wellbeing such as yoga and various dance types, and so much more are offered at cost with days and times to fit every schedule whether retired or young adult. Yours truly has been dancing choreographed routines for a month now twice-weekly and dropped 2 kg already!! Hurray for me :DD

With garden duties now mostly concluded for the season, I’ve been entertained in the off hours by reading through the several books by author Harlan Coben who thankfully is so well-written to be worth the time and expense of sourcing all the books in his vast collection. You might have actually watched a Netflix show which is an adaptation from one of his books without realizing. When I’m not dancing, reading or sleeping I’m either watching said Netflix programs including my favorite genre, True Crime or now clacking away on the keyboard once again playing the computer game Guild Wars 2. Choosing how to pass the time between now and the Christmas season, and then the turn of the year, is pretty vital in a place with dark days of minimal sunlight, which can grab you into a depressive funk if you’re not careful.

Hopefully everything in your world is as it should be. For those excited about Halloween festivities, knock yourself out and have a good time. It’s not something done here, so the hype is mostly non-existent, except for the occasional merchandise one might see in shops. All in all it’s feeling like a typical time of year and about what we can expect weatherwise too. Without much more to mention, I guess that’s it from me.

❤ Until next time!

Kate@vanhatalosuomi