Falling into Fall

Fall Prerequisites Photo by Emmy Ulmschneider

By Emmy Ulmschneider, Master Gardener

If you garden, especially if you have a native yard, you can see and feel the changes that tell you fall is just around the corner.    Although we are accustomed to the terms spring, summer, fall, and winter, technically there are two ways used to describe these same seasons.  Meteorologists use temperature to define seasons; at the other end of spectrum, astronomers use the Earth’s position relative to the sun to define seasons.  Meteorological seasons are more closely aligned to our civil calendar:  For us in the northern hemisphere meteorological spring is March, April, and May; meteorological summer is June, July, and August; meteorological fall is September, October, and November; and meteorological winter is December, January, and February. But astronomical seasons are defined by the position of the earth in relation to the sun. In the equinox, which marks the start of spring and fall, day and night are equal in length and we experience almost equal hours of day and night.  A solstice marks the start of summer and winter when one Earth hemisphere is tilted towards or away from the sun resulting in the longest or shortest day of the year.  And these dates may vary from year to year.  In 2025, the autumnal equinox falls on Monday, Sept. 22 the spring equinox occurred on Thursday March 12. (For more information see https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-seasons)

But in my garden as well as yours, it is not these terms or dates that matter.  My seasons are defined by the experiences that I have and the changes I see.   I notice, and perhaps you as well notice, the small changes such as the time of sunset or sunrise, or the average daily temperature.  You might be aware of changes in the behavior of the animals and plants that inhabit your garden, the amount and kind of produce your harvest, or how late in the evening you can work in your garden.   

What defines my seasons are the changes I see in the plants and animals in my garden, the bloom time of some plants or the appearance of certain birds like warblers.  So, when Frostweed, Verbesina virginica, starts blooming I can tell fall and Monarch migration are just around the corner.  But this year, my frostweed started blooming in June, too early to think about fall.  I can only imagine what natural cues triggered their blooming.   There are sites where you can follow Monarch and bird migration in real time.  And from these sites I can see that the best is still to come.  If you are interested in following the overall fall bird migration, try:   https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/

If you want to follow the Monarch migration as the Eastern Monarchs migrate south though Texas, try:  https://maps.journeynorth.org/map/?year=2025&map=monarch-adult-fall

From the Journey North site you can even follow the signs of fall across the United States or track hummingbirds in their southern migration.   The signs of fall are all around us if you are aware.  So, get out there and celebrate the signs of the seasons that define our lives on Earth!  

If you have questions, call the AgriLife office in Odessa at 498-4071 or in Midland at 686-4700.   Additional information, and our blog for access to past articles, is available at westtexasgardening.org.  Click on “Resource

Fall Blooming Schoolhouse Lily, Rhodophiala bifida

Photo by Emmy Ulmschneider