KDH loves the launch of the Fall season in the Hamptons. All of the fruits and vegetables change, the light, the color of the sky, what I want to wear, and where I want to go out to dinner….everything becomes fun and fresh again with the advent of Fall! If summer in the Hamptons is epitomized by bunches of gorgeous blooming hydrangea, then the Fall season flower scheme is chock full of multi-colored Mums!

Mums are beautiful fall plants that come in great autumn colors such as ambers, gold, oranges, purples, violets, whites and shades of red and pink. The plants add bursts of gorgeous color to Autumn gardens in the Hamptons and festive Fall porches. [see my “mummy” porch pix from last season below!]

KDH loves the giant size and selection at Nurel’s Farmers Market, located just over the bridge in Hampton Bays [pictured here].  If you take good care of your mums, they will last until winter.  Check out the easy instructions further below:

Here’s how I put together my Fall harvest scene last season….who says buddha doesn’t like colorful Mums?

How To Care For Potted Mums [from www.ehow.com]

• 1

  Water the mums regularly. Soak the mums until water runs out through the holes in the pot bottom. After the initial soaking, water daily or until soil is moist. Don’t allow the potted soil to dry out, as this will harm the plant.

• 2

  Keep mums in natural light or in the direct sun, whether indoors or out. Mum plants need plenty of sun for proper growth. Keep them away from night lighting, as this disturbs their flowering cycle.

• 3

  Deadhead spent blooms. After flowers begin to wilt and die, pluck them from the plant at the base of the flower. Leave on any buds, blooming flowers and leaves.

• 4

  Allow the mum plants to go dormant over the winter. Keep them outside once the blooms die, and mound the pots with dried leaves or garden refuse to prevent premature freezing.

• 5

  Prune the mum plants in the late winter or early spring before new growth begins. Cut back stems to about 12 to 18 inches or shorter for bushier plants.

• 6

  Water mum plants in the spring as new growth begins and color returns to the plants. Keep them well watered throughout the spring, fertilizing once a week for the first couple months and then ceasing fertilization once blooms are present.