September fruit has a habit of looking more mysterious after you pick it. A cluster of grapes that seemed almost black on the vine turns blue-gray in the basket. A plum looks as if it has been dusted with flour. Touch either one and your fingertip leaves a dark, glossy mark, as though you have rubbed a small window through…
Powdery mildew often arrives looking almost harmless. A squash leaf that was green yesterday appears dusted with flour. A phlox stem has a pale bloom on its upper leaves. The cucumber patch still looks productive, the zinnias are still bright, and yet the garden has acquired a strange white weather of its own. The first instinct is usually to blame…
