We're ~Falling~ For Aldi's September Finds—Here Are Our Top 8 Picks

For too long, the pork industry has been permitted to inflict what amounts to criminal animal cruelty—with the help of billions of dollars in public funding. Approximately two-thirds of mother pigs, weighing 525 to 790 lbs, are trapped within gestation crates for the entirety of their 114-day pregnancy. These stalls, measuring 2.5 feet by 7 feet, cruelly restrict their mobility, permitting only a few steps forward and backward—an experience similar to enduring months of confinement to an airline seat without any cushions. To ward off obesity, producers intentionally subject them to a perpetual state of hunger. 

When Neil Patterson Jr. was about 7 or 8 years old, he saw a painting called “Gathering Chestnuts,” by Tonawanda Seneca artist Ernest Smith. Patterson didn’t realize that the painting showed a grove of American chestnuts, a tree that had been all but extinct since his great-grandparents’ time. Instead, what struck Patterson was the family in the foreground: As a man throws a wooden club to knock chestnuts from the branches above, a child shells the nuts and a woman gathers them in a basket. Even the dog seems engrossed in the process, watching with head cocked as the club sails through the air.

The air in the garden in autumn hangs thick with melancholy and wistfulness as the year’s growing season enters its final phase. Including plants that release autumn fragrance adds an intriguing twist to the atmosphere, seasoning the garden with a sweetness that belies the lingering air of faded glory that pervades it. 

Sara Tramp

Cotinus coggygria ‘Grace’

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The South Garden at Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessen, Delaware, has been nicknamed the “pizza oven” by those who tend it. It sits in full sun, and its antique brick walls and pathways radiate a lot of heat. Yet this garden looks fresh and appealing throughout the seasons, thanks to a colorful palette of North American natives that are perfectly adapted to flourish in this hot, bright spot. Visitors who are inspired to plant these beautiful, border-worthy selections will also be helping to feed the local wildlife that depends on their gardens for forage and shelter. Here are some of the spring and summer stars that brighten the South Garden.

In Issue 181, we got to know some of the plants that grace Mt. Cuba Center’s hot, sunny South Garden during the spring and summer months (10 Great Natives for a Sunny Border). The garden had been recently redesigned to showcase a collection of borderworthy natives that can take the heat of the Zone 7 summers in Hockessin, Delaware.

Just because the weather is cooling doesn't mean that we have to stop using our patios. In fact, sometimes it's even more enjoyable to spend time outdoors in the crisp autumn air. So if you have a patio, why not make the most of it all year long? 

September is a period of transition in the garden.

Delaware State Flower emerges as a symbol of the state’s agrarian legacy and natural allure. Let us learn more about this plant along with its growing requirements and significance.