The Autumn Equinox and Landscapes

Posted by Georgene A. Bramlage Sep 22, 2006

Autumn equinox begins in 2006 on Sept. 23, at 12:03 A.M. EDT (Sept. 23, 04:03 UT*). The sun enters the sign of Libra; autumn begins.

It is that time of year when there are exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness at the equator. If you live in a different place , however, you will see a little bit more or a little bit less than 12 hours of daylight.

In the northern hemisphere, the equinox signals the approaching end of the garden season; in the southern hemisphere, it signals the beginning. Here in the north, daylight hours dwindle until we reach the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the start of winter. It is time to:

• plant spring-blooming bulbs;
• bring tender plants indoors;
• gather weeds for the last time:
• rake leaves from beneath trees and out of beds;
• bring lawn furniture and hoses indoors;
and
• start planning for next year!

Gardeners in the southern hemisphere celebrate the winter holidays with backyard barbeques and sports. This is when they put their new garden year plans into action. Their gardens are just beginning to peak with lots of color, and ripe fruits and vegetables. The longest days of their garden year will be right around Christmas.

To be precise, the Winter Solstice in 2006 is Dec. 21, 7:22 P.M. EST (Dec. 22, 00:22 UT*). The sun enters the sign of Capricorn; winter begins.

For more about how daily and yearly rotations of the sun are important in planning landscape designs, please check out my article Environmental Factors: Part 2.

***Universal time (UT) is the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). See Info Please for a conversion table of universal time to civil time.