...Oops...

As I was working on this on October 28, my computer crashed.... of course I said a few (a lot) of choice words and shed a few frustrated tears... well, a lot of those too.

But today, almost 3 weeks later... I am back on my keyboard with a new hard drive... the wonderful folks at SBI who host my site, were able to change the sending date which means you will get a late one, but not a half-finished newsletter.

November started off like a late summer and yesterday, SNOW.... (Nov. 16)

And in spite of not having access to my computer, Lucy celebrated Hallowe'en... perhaps celebrating is not the right word, but she tolerated our giggles.

NOVEMBER

She stands

In tattered gold

Tossing bits of amber

And jade, jewels of a year grown old:

November

There is still Colour in the Garden

Japanese Blood Grass,(Imperata cylindrica)

Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra)

Heuchera comes in so many colours...

Tree Peony, Forest Grass

Solomon Seal

Leave Your Garden Standing...

We all like tidy gardens

but the wee beneficial insects like it messier.

Leave the seed heads for chickadees and goldfinches.

Vary the length of other stems that are hollow

so wee insects and some bees will lay eggs in them,

hatching in the spring…

then, leave them all summer

as the other new growth will soon hide them

and still give places to shelter.

Take the hollow stems you cut off

and put them on their sides

in a pot for the same reason.

For lots more on Fall Gardening... look here...

Fall-gardening.html

“Delicious Autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it

and if I were a bird,

I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns.”

George Eliot (1819-1880)

Dirty Little Secrets...

1 - be gentle… no roto-tilling - it damages tiny fungal threads and disturbs small soil animals

2 - add organic material at least fall and spring

3 - cover your soil - mulch… holds moisture, keeps weeds down

4 - add nitrogen to these hungry plants like Kale, cabbage, lettuce, corn and tomatoes and sunflowers

(thanks to the Home Garden Seed Association)

Home Garden Seed Assoc.

Compost...

LEAVES are carbon-rich, and increase soil vitality and texture while enhancing soil’s ability to hold moisture (less watering) and adds nutrients and increases plant resilience against pests and diseases

Leave some that break down easily, (Maple) on the garden and put compost on top of them.

Cut them with mower and put on compost pile… or if you have no room to do this, put them out with yard waste ( our city composts them)

NULCH - keeps moisture in, protects the soil and breaks down to feed plants and soil.

Hydrangea Pruning

I have added a lot on this, because

I have been getting so many questions

about when to prune Hydrangeas

... so here it is..

Mophead

MOPHEAD HYDRANGEA

or.."Bigleaf"…. Hydrangea macrophylla

Endless summer, Cityline etc

shades of pink, blue, purple, white

Blooms on OLD wood or last year’s growth Stems)

PRUNE ONLY AFTER BLOOMING

... and wait till the little buds turn green in the spring

and then ONLY cut back the dead AFTER it leafs out

MOPHEAD (photo HGTV)

LACECAP (photo Ron Sheldrick) #sheldrickr

If you prune in the fall,

you may cut off those small buds

just above the leaves

(see sketch above)

Those will be next year's blooms.

Smooth Hydrangea (Annabelle)

SMOOTH HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea arborescens

native to Eastern North America

“Annabelle”

blooms on NEW wood

prune back to ground,

or to cascade blooms,

cut short in front, to tallest in back

or random lengths of stems for overall blooms

ANNABELLE

(photo - Ron Sheldrick) #sheldrickr

Panicle Hydrangea

PANICLE HYDRANGEA -Hydrangea paniculata

Cold hardy

Cone-shaped blooms, dense blossoms

Blooms on NEW wood…

Cut back EARLY SPRING for bushier

Limelight, Little Lime,

Bobo, Vanilla Strawberry

Often in “tree” form

Oakleaf Hydrangea...

OAKLEAF HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea quercifolia

Native to USA… prefers part shade

blooms on OLD Wood….

PRUNE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY -Just the OVERGROWN OR DEADWOOD

Pee Wee, Gatsby

OAKLEAF

(photo Lowes)

Climbing Hydrangea...

CLIMBING HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea anomala subs. petiolaris

Self-clinging woody vine

Blooms on OLD wood so just prune for size but remove any dead

or spent blooms (in spring)

"Easter"? Hydrangea...

These are often sold around Easter in pots - pink or blue.

They used to be planted with neonicotinoids which are now regulated.

It the tag says they are in the soil,

wash the roots well before planting in your garden.

They may not do well in colder zones,

but if you are fortunate,

they will come back for a few seasons like this one.

PRUNE old blooms only...

otherwise prune the same as the Endless Summer.

Photo: Sandy Spremo

Overwintering Roses...

PLEASE don't prune your roses in the fall or strip off the leaves... they need all that green in the leaves and stems to go back down to the roost.. this feeds them so they are strong all winter, building disease and pest resistance for the following season.

And, leave the rose hips... full of vitamin C... and the birds love them...

There are some canes you can prune... like the one below....prune any damaged canes back to a healthy stem or bud.

Long ("lax") canes may reach over a path or walkway

and snag your coat... or your pet...

prune them back just enough

to keep them out of the way.

Then hill up your roses with compost or mulch and a thick layer of leaves.

Make sure the bud union

(where the stems or canes meet the root)

are buried at least a few inches below the soil level

... if you haven't done that, use more compost and mulch to cover it.

That bud union,

if not buried can easily freeze in zones 5 and lower

- often killing the rose

or shortening its life.

...there is more here....

overwintering-roses.html

Lucy and I are sad Summer is over,

but she confesses to LOVING the snow...

and yesterday she jumped into it...

diving head first.... leaping like a rabbit....

In the meantime,

we are cutting boughs,

hunting for last year's decorations to reuse

- making arrangements for friends and ourselves..

I LOVE the HOLIDAYS...

And for me, that means CHRISTMAS !!

Until next time....

Be sure to love this time of slowing down;

time to read and plan next year's garden.

...and how about a great gift ?

When I sell a copy of my book

(The Little Bird Who Fell From the Sky)

for a child who attends a school,

I donate one to their school library.

If you wish to purchase one with another for a school,

please send a note to:

birdieboxpress@gmail.com

They are now in schools in Ontario, Labrador, New Brunswick,

Latvia, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec, BC,

Arizona, California, Florida, the UK,

Tennessee, Missouri,

France, Nicaragua

and Massachusetts.

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