Astronomy

Night Sky Tonight

Jupiter resides in Capricornus this month in the night sky tonight. With a telescope, you can see the giant red spot.

Saturn is found in the sky all night in the constellation of Capricornus east of Jupiter. A great site in a small telescope with its rings and southern polar region showing along with some of its larger moons.

Venus can be found easily looking west setting 2 hours after sunset. It is the brightest object in the sky beside the moon and the sun setting after the sunset. Venus appears to scoot south because of its location with the earth’s orbit. The planet is in the Libra constellation.

Center of the Orionid meteors
Center of the Orionid meteors

Coming soon the Orionid meteors around October 2 to November 7. That’s when Earth is passing through the stream of debris left behind by Comet Halley, the parent comet of the Orionid shower. 

Summer Triangle

The summer triangle made up of Deneb (Cygnus), Altair (Aquila), and Vega (Lyra) is found looking above the eastern horizon. The triangle is visible all night during the summer. Vega is the brightest star of the three.

Sagittarius and the Scorpion

The constellation of Sagittarius the Archer which you can spot in the south early in the night. Lying east of the scorpion, nowadays it looks more like a teapot than an archer.

Great Square of Pegasus

As fall is coming upon us, the great square of Pegasus starts to rise out of the northeast. Pegasus is the winged horse of the Greek hero Perseus.

Flowers (annual and perennial)

Fall Color for your Perennial Bed

Want some fall color for your perennial bed? There are more choices than mums for adding color in the fall.

Asters

Try asters which come in purple, red, and white daisy-like flowers. They start blooming in September to a hard frost. Two-foot plants require no maintenance.

False Aster

Another plant that looks like an aster is the Boltonia or false aster. The plant differs from a regular aster in that it can grow from 3 to 6 feet depending on the variety. Both the aster and false aster are very hardy.

Stonecrop Sedum

Fall sedum or stonecrop sedum is a 2-foot tall plant with reddish or pink blooms. Being a sedum, it grows with a lack of water, poor soil, and hot temperatures. The colors grow richer as the temperature drops.

Goldenrod

Goldenrod with their bright yellow blooms, unlike their native cousins. Most people think when goldenrod blooms, their allergies get worst. Not the case because their pollen is large and not wind-borne being self-fertile plants. The cause is the other weeds like ragweed and Kochia which do not notice with their small, green florals. Varieties grow from 1 to 3 feet tall. Another plant liking dry, poor soils.

Mums

Of course, the mums, adding fall color coming in most colors. Make sure you have the hardy garden mum which is hardy in our climate. The florist mums you get this time of year are usually not. When planting mix a little sand into the soil because they do not like soggy soil in the winter.

Bluestem grass

Do not forget the ornamental grasses like maiden grass and zebra grasses to add a touch of texture in the autumn.

Like many flower beds in the landscape may be in full glory in the summer and trails down in fall, but it does not have to end. By adding some perennial or annual flowering plants, you can extend your bloom season by 6 weeks.

Flowers (annual and perennial)

Time to Plant Fall Bulbs

It is becoming time to plant fall bulbs showing up in stores now or order online from bulb companies. You can plant the usual tulips, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths, but there are other less familiar bulbs you can try.

Fritillarias

One is the Fritillaria lilies growing up to 4 feet tall with large blooms. Another variety is the snakeshead lily, which has a checkered pattern on the flowers.

Alliums

My favorite is the Alliums which are related to the onion family. There are many species ranging in growth from a foot to over 4 feet. The round heads come in purple, white, yellow, and pink colors.

Dutch iris

We know of the German bearded iris which spreads on top of the ground. There is a Dutch iris that grows from true bulbs. The bulbs are small but the flowers are big. The colors range from blue, yellow, purple, white, and bi-colors.

Planting Guide

A good rule of thumb is to plant the base of the bulb at least 3 times as deep as the bulb is tall. Keep the soil moist after planting until the ground freezes.

Spring-blooming bulbs make a wonderful companion to any annual bed or perennial bed. In the annual bed, they provide early color to start offspring. When you get ready to plant your annual flowers, just plant them between the bulb plants and let them grow. They will cover and hide the yellowing foliage of the bulbs.

In the perennial bed, just plant between the perennials and forget them. Depending on the type of bulbs, you added 6 weeks of bloom time to the bed.

Bulbs will naturalize in the corners of the backyard or around trees and shrubs.

The most important thing to remember is to let the bulb foliage yellow and dry up naturally. Never cut and remove the green foliage, you will cut off the food reserve for next year.