My husband went ahead and cleaned up for me this year. What a great guy! I worked all weekend at my day job and during a wonderful break in the rain, he put the whole garden to bed.

I am super grateful for the help. But every gardener, even those whom share the same house and bed, have a different idea about how the property is best developed and maintained. My husband tends towards a minimalistic view. I like the rambling, move yourself around the plant, tending towards overgrown kind of garden.

Since the days are so short, when I arrived home each evening, there was no way to know how “cleaned-up” the garden really was. I was warned by my man, “everything is tidy now,” he said.

In a quick reprieve in the rain today, I ducked into the front yard to snap a couple of photo’s. I won’t show you here, for I am too sad, but my fig tree is probably dead. I asked what reference he consulted when he decided to cut it back so hard? He said none. It has taken the better part of 10 years to get that tree to produce about 12 lovely figs each year. There is a plethora of tiny fruits that never get big and soft. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. I would have never thought to cut it back like this. So we’ll see next summer if the tree survives and if it bears fruit. We’ll see. Sigh.

But I do like how tidy everything else is. You just have to take it as it comes. That is the life of a gardener. Patience.

Other blog posts about the fall garden:

• The Good Stuff – Winter Apples
• Dandelion House – Good Night Greenhouse