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For the past few years, as the days of Summer get shorter and we all begin to anticipate a welcome change in the seasons, the Gardens here have rung in the coming cool(er) days with the Great Bellingrath Harvest. The Fall Plant Market kicks off the party from September 18th to the 20th this year – kind of like Mardi Gras, it really is a whole season instead of just one event, but we do start it with a big party: three days of music, drinks (lemonade and sweet tea), and plenty of goodies to take home (plants!). We’ll have some excellent late season color if your Summer bedding plants are beginning to get tired, as well as Spring-flowering trees and fragrant shrubs, and of course an offering of tropical houseplants to get you through the chilly Winter with some indoors greenery. We’re pairing this excellent shopping opportunity with our annual STEM Education Day, so there will be tons of local organizations for kids to connect with. It’s also generally just a fantastic time to visit the Gardens and watch as new displays begin unfolding. With so much going on, the Fall Plant Market is our sweet farewell serenade to the long, hot Summers of the South and a grateful hymn to welcome in the actual best time of the year to put new plants in the ground: Fall.
Most people think Spring is the perfect time to plant, but Spring is really about the show perennial plants put on after they’ve saved up all the energy they’ve stored over the past year – Spring may be when plants spend that energy to show up in their finest flowers and fresh foliage, but Fall is really when you want to get your perennial plants started. To produce the best Spring flowers and Summer fruit, most plants need a chance to settle their roots in and get established.
One way to think about it is to remember that plants can’t really move around – they can’t usually pick up and move to a more comfortable climate when things get too warm or too chilly, too wet or too dry – and so they’ve come up with a whole host of different metabolic solutions to cope with the constant changes in their environments. Like us, plants tend to run in cycles. Plants from temperate areas like Lower Alabama, which enjoy warm Summers and cool Winters, tend to have a routine tied both to the individual day and the time of year. They start with a morning routine just like us (minus the coffee), when the growing light and warmth of the day initiate chemical processes that help them generate the energy they use to grow and bloom. They wrap up with a nighttime routine, slowing down and storing their energy, breathing deep, and resting and repairing themselves. On a macrocosmic scale, these cycles are repeated from season to season over the year. When the days are long and warm, with plenty of available sunlight and water, plants generate a lot of energy and get most of their growing done; when things slow down and generally become drier, cooler, and darker, they rest and recuperate, getting everything ready to come back out and celebrate with a bang in the Spring.
So mark your calendars, prepare your garden beds, and begin dreaming about what new and beautiful plants you’ll find and fall in love with at the Fall Plant Market!