December 1, 2024
This week marks the beginning of meteorological winter, and there’s no turning back now. The heavy layers of morning frost that coat the gardens tell us that the growing season is officially over. It’s hard to wake up and realize there are no garden chores to be done. The sage and marjoram are still hanging in there along with some winter kale, but most everything else has slunk down into a reluctant hibernation. These are the times I wish for a greenhouse or at least a cloche or two. Every year, I swear that I will be better next growing season in terms of preparing for winter growing, and I am swearing again this year. But all of this takes planning and that plan needs to happen in the heat of summer days when it sometimes feels like there isn’t enough energy to get through the day never mind laying the groundwork for winter greens. I guess I am showing my optimist streak when I mutter the words “maybe next year.”
The dahlia tubers have been all dug and dried and put away in a cold spot of the cellar. My method this year is to dig them up in late October after the frost sends the leaves to a weeping mess. I cut off most of the stems and place them in a dry spot, preferably one that is sunny, for a few days to dry and harden them a bit. I then place them in paper bags which I place in a box in the coolest part of the cellar. I’m trying this method instead of the peat moss method I used last year. Peat moss is getting harder to come by for various environmental reasons so I have to switch up my methods. We shall see how this experiment works out in the spring.
The potted plants have all been brought inside. It is a sad day, that day of bringing in the cache of outdoor plants. It is amazing how the collection grows as the summer days unfold. For just a few brief weeks in our New England summer, our gardens can rival any tropical one. The morning glories wind their way up and around the garden shed as a frame for the assortment of plants that make their home on the porch there. Succulents, cannas, scented geraniums, impatiens, ferns, begonias and nasturtiums. To sit in the greenery surrounded by a myriad of scents is a moment to behold and treasure. We know that it won’t last, and that is what makes it all the more precious. So, the bringing in of the plants is a sad but inevitable day. Some will adjust to their new indoor environment and some will not. There just isn’t enough window space for all of them. The woodstove makes for a dry heat that most plants don’t love, but the succulents seem to be adjusting to their new environment.
Yes, it is time to put summer thoughts aside and embrace what is best about the winter season ahead. It is a mindset that is necessary to get through the coldest and darkest days to come. The deciduous trees have lost most of their leaves by now and stand as mere skeletons of their former selves. This allows the evergreens of the landscape to shine in their rightful light. For most of the year they plod along in their steady way, unappreciated and unnoticed. But now, they emerge from the background, tall and stately, to take their place on center stage. The blue spruce planted years ago on a whim, now towers in the front garden, a perfect specimen of a Christmas tree with twinkling lights that make the darkest December night feel cheery. It is just a couple of weeks until the sun begins to set later in the evening, but for now the march to the solstice is on.
