The transition to fall means a new cold weather wardrobe and lots of hot apple cider, but it doesn't signal the end of the planting season.
In fact, many of the fruits and vegetables people love are harvested during the autumn months, along with mums, which are blooming in their fall prime.
Tasha Neal, co-owner of Jack Neal Floral, defined the mum as the ultimate outdoor fall flower.
“They are something that’s hardy, so they’ll come back year after year,” Neal said.
Jack Neal Floral, located at 15 W. Union St., has served Athens for more than 30 years and is family owned and operated.
Gardeners are not limited to mums when planted indoors during the fall. Neal said with sunlight and routine watering, flowers of all varieties can be grown.
Generally speaking, Neal said flowers and grasses planted during the summer will last until the ground frosts over during late fall.
College students living in dorms, however, have little to no space to garden, so Neal recommends succulents to spruce up a drab room.
“I would recommend either the succulents or the cactus gardens for students because they’re also less care,” Neal said.
Gabriella Hayes, a freshman studying journalism, keeps a cactus in her dorm room.
“Plants make me happy,” Hayes said. “I just enjoy the essence that they bring.”
Hayes appreciates the minimal amount of attention her cactus requires and loves the color and life it adds to her room.
“Just being outside is awesome, so bringing pieces of outside inside is really great,” said Hayes.
Flowers, however, are not alone; many vegetables, including beets, kale, carrots and spinach grow in fall weather.
Art Trese, an associate professor of environmental and plant biology, said many edible plants thrive in cooler weather because what is consumed is the leaves or the roots.
“Because they’re planted in the fall and then they’re growing, it’s too late in the year for them to be planning to produce fruit and seeds before the weather gets really cold,” Trese said.
The reason for their growing success varies from plant to plant, Trese said.
“Some plants have what we consider to be the anti-freeze system,” Trese said. “Things in their sap make it so that their sap doesn’t freeze.”
Other plants, Trese said, are structurally built so their cells will not rupture once it becomes too cold.
“[Fall plants are] said to be tastier in the fall than if you were growing the same plant in June,” Trese said.
Students have little opportunity to garden while on campus, but the OHIO Student Farm on West State Street accepts all students who wish to gain valuable gardening experience.
The OHIO Student Farm welcomes volunteers and also offers internships and a PACE work study program.
