NOVEMBER

In early November this  year, the weather was glorious - the sky was blue, the trees were glowing with colour and  the leaves were falling… falling… falling… we raked our leaves, our neighbours leaves, ours again, our neighbours again and still, the leaves fell.  There was much laughter as neighbours brought rakes and helped each other with piles of leaves to spread on their gardens but still with dozens and dozens of bagged leaves left over; we take them to our garden but the rest  head to the city’s compost.

Note: our tree is an Oak and experience shows those leaves have a leathery surface and take too many years to decompose for our garden... so those we bag up and send to the city compost... our neighbours have sugar Maples so we beg their extras and spread on our gardens...

The leaves go from red, to mottled red and then to various shades of yellow or brown.

"Pleasures lie thickest where no pleasures seem:

There's not a leaf that falls upon the ground

But holds some joy of silence or of sound,

Some spirits begotten of a summer dream."

-   Laman Blanchard

It is finally a quiet time in the garden. In spite of early weeks of warm weather, in the third week, we had a frost and some cold nights. The roses are now hilled, the slimy Hosta  and Lily leaves are cut, the Peonies are cut back.

The rest of the garden stands with fluffy seed heads and stately stems waiting for small birds to take what food and shelter they are offered. 

The Agapanthus is covered with compost, leaves and a large pot over it all.  We have been successful using this method for the past two winters now… keeping our fingers crossed it works again.

(Note: this, our third summer, was not so successful. It may have been the heavy rains all Spring and the following weeks and weeks of drought... they had leaves, but no blooms. Perhaps the Japanese Maple has grown enough to shade them. I am not sure.  So this Fall, I am digging them up and will plant again in the Spring.)

Some flowers keep on blooming no matter the weather - no matter the place.  A good lesson for the rest of us… bloom where you are (planted or not)…

"November's sky is chill and drear,
November's leaf is red and sear."
-   Sir Walter Scott

Last night the flakes were silent as they fell to earth.  That magical time when the noise of the city is muffled by snow.

… and today, the puppy stands in contemplation while our side of the street hangs possessively on to the snow, and the other side, facing south, has given its snow up to the sun.

Most of the plants are at rest now… (please don’t wrap  shrubs with burlap so it touches the branches… Ice can glue them to the burlap and a good wind can break the branch.  Best to have the stakes and burlap around, but not touching). 

Now we wait… we think about our garden achievements… what we did and didn’t do and what we want to do next.

Make some notes while you remember.

My urns are filled with greenery and ornaments and I am thinking about decorating inside. I love Christmas time and am thinking about parties and food and a pile of garden books and magazines. 

But if you are like me, I am ready to let my garden go to sleep.  I am ready to read, and take my tea by the window  beside a snoozing puppy, letting the snow cover my garden like a blanket.

Or, perhaps, the snow is reminding you of outdoor arrangements and you are anxious to get started... if so, here are 6 easy steps...check this out

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My true story: “The Little Bird Who Fell From the Sky”

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