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<p>NANTICOKE &#8212; Thank heaven for mums.</p><p>That&#8217;s what retired teacher Frank Mrufchinski, 81, of Nanticoke thinks on cold but sunny autumn days when he&#8217;s out feeding birds or simply enjoying his garden.</p><p>The morning glories have faded, of course. So have his miniature roses and coleus. But the mums, bless their hardy root systems, have kept the yard colorful this October and November.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re white, yellow, purple, pink and rust,&#8221; Mrufchinski said. &#8220;I&#8217;ll be sad when they&#8217;re gone. I like to go out and just admire them.&#8221;</p><p>Contemplating the beauty of the flowers reminds Mrufchinski of his youth, when he and his twin sister, Teresa, would accompany their mother to the Forty Hours Devotion at the former St. Stanislaus Church in Nanticoke and see &#8220;beautiful white mums in golden vases&#8221; on the altar.</p><p>He&#8217;s not sure where those particular flowers came from, although he distinctly remembers another time when a Sister asked the twins to bring her white peonies to decorate the church for First Holy Communion. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t have any, but our neighbor Mrs. Rynkiewicz did,&#8221; he said. &#8220;She was glad to give us some.&#8221;</p><p>The rectory of that church had a well-kept garden, too. &#8220;It was like the flower showplace of Nanticoke,&#8221; Mrufchinski said, recalling how children from the parish school enjoyed munching grapes from the rectory garden&#8217;s arbor as an occasional treat.</p><p>Memories aside, Mrufchinski still enjoys tending his garden. Last May, he bought several mum plants for his yard, dug the holes and stuck them in. &#8220;I have good dirt,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You&#8217;ve got to have good dirt.&#8221;</p><p>Some of the mums he planted in previous years bloomed again this year, but he suspected not all of them would come back so he planted additional ones.</p><p>Beverly Turner, of Perennial Point Gardening Center in Plains, said not all &#8216;hardy mums&#8217; will return year after year as perennials in Northeastern Pennsylvania. &#8220;&#8216;Hardy&#8217; means that they can withstand a few fall frosts without blackening and either going dormant or dying,&#8221; she said.</p><p>&#8220;A fall-purchased &#8216;hardy mum&#8217; has been specifically produced to provide fall color, and they should usually be treated as annuals,&#8221; Turner wrote in an email. &#8220;Planting them as early in the season as possible will increase their chance of survival, as will not cutting back their foliage.&#8221;</p><p>When Turner saw a photograph of Mrufchinski&#8217;s mums, the gardening expert said, &#8220;Wow, these are really beautiful! They look exceptionally well cared for.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of folks, including me, will take a potted mum home and miss daily watering it, resulting in an alive but less beauteous plant,&#8221; Turner said.</p><p>If you want to have flowers that bloom in the fall, Turner said, mums are a great choice as are Montauk Daisies and Shasta Daisies. Mentioning the Latin names Dendranthemum, Leucanthemum and Nippoanthemum, she said they&#8217;re all in the chrysanthemum family, all late-blooming and, incidentally, all deer-resistant.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111615Mums1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Plant mums, Frank Mrufchinski suggests, and you&#8217;ll have a colorful garden to enjoy in the autumn. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111615Mums1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Plant mums, Frank Mrufchinski suggests, and you&#8217;ll have a colorful garden to enjoy in the autumn. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111615Mums2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Look closely and you&#8217;ll see one of the hardy mums in Frank Mrufchinski&#8217;s garden has attracted a bee. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111615Mums2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Look closely and you&#8217;ll see one of the hardy mums in Frank Mrufchinski&#8217;s garden has attracted a bee. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111615Mums3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mums like the ones in Frank Mrufchinski&#8217;s Nanticoke garden are hardy flowers that usually can withstand a few frosts. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111615Mums3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Mums like the ones in Frank Mrufchinski&#8217;s Nanticoke garden are hardy flowers that usually can withstand a few frosts. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Nanticoke man reports flowers still going strong in November</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> We resurrected our garden series to accommodate lovely fall flowers still blooming. As winter approaches, if you would like to share tips on how to prepare garden for the impending frost and snow, drop us a line at ae@www.timesleader.com or write to the A&amp;E Department, c/o Times Leader, 15 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mums are good choice for a fall garden, Nanticoke man says