By December the garden is wrapping up for a little bit of a rest. It’s almost as though it’s giving me permission to step away & make extra time for the holiday festivities… and then maybe a little nap myself.
Yup – It’s Still Fall
The garry oak drop the last of their leaves in early December, so the first weekend I rake for the final municipal leaf pick up of the season instead of hanging outside lights.
The Clean up
photo by SVSeekins
Hellebore are prepping their blooms for the new year, but some older foliage can detract from the show. Trim back the ragged or blackened leaves.
The rains have softened the ground for digging, so it’s easy to stomp the edger between the beds & lawns.
A few plants, like crocrosmia & calla lily, hold up later than most – – sometimes even past Christmas! But if we get a snowfall, that’s it. They get sheered back when I can find the time. If I cut it back now, the fallen leaves are so easier to rake up around them – – plus the area will be nicely cleared to show off the snowdrops that’ll be blooming soon!
Pruning
photo by SVSeekins
It’s almost shocking to see the blooming Hardy Fuchsia react to a snow flurry. The poor thing withers the moment a flake touches it. But no fear – it’s really only hibernating. Just the same, I trim back the skeleton & dream of the renewed spring growth.
The evergreen Strawberry Tree blooms & bears fruit right up until the snowfall too. When it’s hibernating is the time I like to tidy up any unwieldy branches.
Collect a variety of evergreen trimmings to make wreaths & decorations.
As they go dormant, now’s a good time for serious shaping of deciduous hedges & trees.
Be proactive in pruning out any dead, diseased, or damaged wood before the wicked wind storms bring it down instead.
Planting
photo by SVSeekins
Once all the leaves are raked & the beds are tidied, I turn to the plants that I’ve nursed in pots in the courtyard since summer. (I knew I wouldn’t have watered them enough if I’d planted them out in the beds when I’d first got them. ) Now that the rains are here, it’s safer to move them to where they belong. They’ll settle in naturally without extra work from me.
Tools
photo by SVSeekins
Keep those pruners & clippers sharp
It’s best to clean pruners between bushes. Spray with a 10% bleach + water mixture. This helps prevent the spread of diseases through the garden.
Now that mowing is on hold for a couple months, take the opportunity to give the mower a good cleaning before putting it away.
Veg / Berry Patch (& Orchard)
photo by SVSeekins
Some tender plants will survive longer if they’re protected under row covers
It’s astonishing how well some vegetables survive in the cool if protected from soggy ground: beets…. carrots… kale… chard… leeks…
The CRD Parks department teaches a handy-dandy wreath making workshop before Christmas. They also host a hike or two to help wear off that turkey dinner.
And as a gift idea….
Victoria’s Master Gardeners host a full day of garden speakers in January every couple of years. A ticket in a Christmas stocking would be a pretty sweet treat (and calorie free!)
By November many folks in Victoria are grumbling about how much they hate the sound of the neighbors’ leaf blowers. Everywhere else in Canada folks are dealing with SNOW blowers, so I reckon we can get over ourselves.
photo by SVSeekins
The Fall
Realistically, the leaf blowers aren’t even that useful once the leaves are soggy. Set the noise maker aside & get raking!
photo by SVSeekins
Planting
Although I shop for bulbs in September, (for best selection) I often hold off planting until November. Once the ground is wet I don’t have to kill myself trying to dig deep enough to place the bulbs where they’ll be safe & happy.
Planting trees or shrubs now, while the soil is still a bit warm, gives their roots time to establish before the dormant season. They’ll need regular watering until the weather gets really wet, but they’ll be that much further ahead than if I wait until the spring to plant / move.
photo by SVSeekins
Fall Clean up
As soon as the frost hits, the Begonias & Dahlias turn black & fall overnight. Some folks dig the tubers out & take them inside for the winter. I’m happy that our garden is well-drained, so there’s less chance of them rotting in the ground… And I mulch heavily in the winter to protect them from freezing… so they’re fairly safe.
(Also, I’m lazy that way.)
Many other perennials also collapse or just look downright untidy, so they get sheered. Leaving just an inch or two of stalk helps when I lay mulch. They serve as an easy measuring stick for how much to put on.
Any of the spring blooming perennials that have out grown their space are prime for dividing.
eg. iris… red hot pokers… peony…
The November storms bring all sorts of seaweed up high on the beaches. That seaweed makes fabulous fertilizer for the gardens.
photo by SVSeekins
Irrigation
The fall rains take a loooong time to soak in, so it’s often surprisingly dry deep down until mid or late in November. It’s a fine balance between keeping the watering hose while needed, & getting it inside before the freeze Realistically the hoses will survive a frost, so once the Dahlias drop dead & turn black, I know it’s time to quit watering & bring the hose inside….
Ditto for blowing out the irrigation sprinklers
photo by SVSeekins
Pruning
As the roses finish up, prune them back by 1/3 for the winter. Hold off until the forsythia blooms in March to prune them fully.
Prune birches & laburnum as soon as the leaves are off & their structure is most apparent. They tend to ‘bleed’ when cut in the winter.
As they go dormant, now’s a good time for serious shaping of deciduous hedges.
If growing in a spot that gets strong winter winds, reduce the height of the Butterfly Bush & Lavatera, but otherwise save the pruning until spring.
Be proactive in pruning out any dead, diseased, or damaged wood before the wicked wind storms hit (we know they’re coming!)
photo by SVSeekins
Tools
Keep those pruners & clippers sharp
It’s best to clean pruners between bushes. Spray with a 10% bleach + water mixture. This helps prevent the spread of diseases through the garden.
Lawns
photo by SVSeekins
The lawn is green, & the falling leaves are brown. The mower clippings are a great combo for the compost bin.
Mowing the lawn just a little makes raking all the leaves & acorns easier, but only do it if the grass is too long to rake. We’ll soon be completely finished with this chore for the year 🙂
photo by SVSeekins
Veg / Berry Patch (& Orchard)
It’s clean up time in the veggie patch. Compost any of the annuals that have finished, but garbage any foliage that has mildew or disease on it (it’s best to keep out of the garden cycle)
Some tender plants will survive longer if they’re protected under row covers
Plant garlic now for a crop to harvest next July
It’s harvest time for late apples… squash… salad greens… beets…. carrots… cabbage… kale… chard… leeks…
Bay trees & young rosemary are too tender to survive outside, so if you want to keep them, find some space inside for them
Large Rhubarb can be divided now to rejuvenate & increase production
Cut back the asparagus to about an inch & mulch well over it. (Like rhubarb, it’s a heavy feeder)
Spray peaches against peach leaf curl
photo by SVSeekins
Greenhouse
Tidy up the greenhouse & any of the plants intended to overwinter there. Any powdery mildew or other disease will spread while my attention is elsewhere – -putting everything at risk!
Even an unheated greenhouse does the trick for overwintering tender plants like some of the sedums I couldn’t resist… Now I just have to remember to water them every once in a while — but just a little bit!
Clean any freshly emptied pots in bleachy wash water. No sense storing possible virus over winter. Besides, it’s so nice in spring to start planting without having to clean up first.
photo by SVSeekins
Ponds & Water Gardens
Clear out any of the annual floating plants before they end up rotting & sinking to the bottom
Move water lilies into deeper water where they’re less likely to freeze
Stretch a fine net over the pond to keep the leaves out of the water. They’ll mush up & cause all sorts of mess in pumps.
There are more than enough garden clubs around Victoria that I could easily attend a different one each week of the month. Here is just a sample plan :
AND THEN….
There’s the Victoria Natural History Society – – a club that host weeklytalks through the fall and winter! (I especially appreciate the botany presentations on the 3rd Tuesday.)
To encourage the last of the tomatoes to ripen, most of the leaves have been removed from the vines for weeks now. So, imagine my surprise when there appeared a flower!
The vines are pretty much naked. It’s time to tidy up the tomato bed before winter.
photo by SVSeekins
I found a big fistful of orangey-red tomatoes. They make good snacks, although aren’t as tasty as the sun-warmed-super-red tomatoes we enjoyed in September.
But more impressive is how many green tomatoes survived on those naked vines. (Unfortunately, they’re not so tasty. )
Now the question is:
What do I do with 1 pound (600 g) of green tomatoes?
Any ideas?
Recipes?
Garden Variety Life 