Fall is here and the Plants know it

The weather here is still beautiful. But the nights are cooler. Gardening is challenging because there are new rules. I have to stop and think "March here is like....September maybe?" The growing season is longer so it's difficult to gauge just which month is comparable. a month ago many flowers were going to seed(collecting seeds has become a obsession to me) and now a number of them are blooming again. We planted our vegetable garden too late yet our two foot tall corn stalks still attempted to tassel and grow corn cobs just like the big guys in the field! We did get some tiny watermelons which were tasty nonetheless. Plants have an internal clock and it's different here. Even though we don't know when things should be planted or ripe, they do. So i'm trying to listen to them.



Some flowers continue to flower through the winter and I'm watching closely to see which ones thrive then. Those are the ones I want a lot of, blooming all year. The patio has been a laboratory(with many pots of all sizes and shapes) all summer where I plant seeds and transplant the babies elsewhere to fill in flowerbeds.We have had ongoing issues with when we get water flowing in the canal (ditch) but Alejandro is growing alfalfa behind us and uses the same canal so we have water. I have a feeling we can always ask Alejandro why we have no water and he'll know. He is 74 years old and you can see him walking around early in the morning and at dusk. We work for 3-4 hours outside in the morning and can hardly walk! He knows a little English and seems to enjoy a friendly chat for a few minutes when he sees us. It's nice to have another friend to help us untangle the mysteries of Chile.